Review by smartyhall
(7 months ago, using version 2.4.2)
Features:
Performance:
Interface:
Price:
While WoW is one of the most popular and successful MMORPGs ever developed,
it still suffers from all of the common problems of the genera. It's full of
grind, puerile players, and a relatively static game world. While the
environments may be interesting and expansive, the quests are all too often
repetitive clones of one that came before -- and after some play, the
environments and monsters become repetitive, different-colored clones of one
another. Also, the recurring monthly charges regardless of actual playtime by
users is disadvantageous to casual gamers such as myself, as is the amount of
time one must invest to actually be able to level a character and its gear to
the point where the often much better developed end-game content may even be
entered, let alone enjoyed. The only thing that kept me playing as long as I did
was the fact that WoW had consumed the free time -- and in at least one case,
the entire life -- of my friends; it was a choice between never interacting with
them or subjecting myself to doing so within the confines of Azeroth and
Outland. However, I must say that when I chose to view it as a complex,
real-time econometric simulation, I did find manipulating and occasionally
crashing the markets for various virtual goods was quite stimulating, but then I
discovered Eve Online, a game built almost explicitly around market dynamics. In
the end, I can say that while a relatively well-developed game, it's not one I
could recommend.
Review by smartyhall (7 months ago, using version 2.4.2)
While WoW is one of the most popular and successful MMORPGs ever developed, it still suffers from all of the common problems of the genera. It's full of grind, puerile players, and a relatively static game world. While the environments may be interesting and expansive, the quests are all too often repetitive clones of one that came before -- and after some play, the environments and monsters become repetitive, different-colored clones of one another. Also, the recurring monthly charges regardless of actual playtime by users is disadvantageous to casual gamers such as myself, as is the amount of time one must invest to actually be able to level a character and its gear to the point where the often much better developed end-game content may even be entered, let alone enjoyed. The only thing that kept me playing as long as I did was the fact that WoW had consumed the free time -- and in at least one case, the entire life -- of my friends; it was a choice between never interacting with them or subjecting myself to doing so within the confines of Azeroth and Outland. However, I must say that when I chose to view it as a complex, real-time econometric simulation, I did find manipulating and occasionally crashing the markets for various virtual goods was quite stimulating, but then I discovered Eve Online, a game built almost explicitly around market dynamics. In the end, I can say that while a relatively well-developed game, it's not one I could recommend.