W.o.W

Allright. Here it is. Zero's official review of World of Warcraft. To start... this game is amazing. Hands down my favorite MMO. I had never played an MMO before WoW and this one had me hooked instantly, even though it wasn't the type of game I was into or had enjoyed up to that point. The graphics are incredible... albeit not "realistic" but there is a depth and realism that just grabs you and sucks you in. You'll begin taking screenshots for the background on your monitor because the scenery is that beautiful. The visible distance on this game is uncanny, you are actually able to see so far into the distance that everything blurs and becomes fuzzy as it disappears from view. The gameplay is ever-evolving and literally is the most fun you can possibly have on a computer.

At the beginning of the game, you choose and build your own character, choosing from, Horde or Alliance, and then ultimately choosing your race and their physical characteristics. Races include Elves, Humans, Dwarves, Orcs, Trolls, and even Tauren (big, hairy, ugly cows). You enter the world to a flurry of short, introduction quests. As your levels grow, you begin to encounter "instances" or sub-worlds that are specific to you and your group. You gather up a group of your friends, or people around your level and venture into the "instance" to work as a group to accomplish a common goal, usually to defeat a certain high powered enemy. Most instances are 5 man instances, but they actually grow all the way up to 40 person instances, and more in depth instances are in the works by the good folks at Blizzard to be sure. Eventually you'll gain enough levels (all the way up to 60) to begin Person vs. Person combat. Taking on members of the opposite faction is the most rewarding and addicting aspect of this game. Believe me, there is nearly no joy that compares to crushing a nerd in another part of the country into cyber-dust. PvP as it is called, is literally worth all of the work it takes to get to level 60.

The goal of most players however, is to get gear and loot. Gear your player out with the right gear, and you will annihilate everyone in your path. Get to 60 with worthless gear and you will be mocked. It is entirely up to you. Gear comes on several levels... starting with Grey. Grey items are very common and essentially worthless. Green is next, and they are uncommon items, and generally good items to have. The next is Blue (rare), and they are often very good items... good stats, and good armor levels. Finally, well, not quite finally, but for 99.9% of anyone who touches the game, finally, we come to Purple (epic) items. Purple items are extremely good and generally, at level 60, there are several tiers of purple items, some better than others, but all very good. Lastly, there is Orange (Legendary) items. There are only about 4 of these anywhere in the game and they are... amazing, to say the least. They are absolutely stunning in power, and are almost unobtainable. A member of the opposite faction with one of these should be avoided at all costs. That's putting it lightly. They will smoke you and gloat over you in less than 10 seconds.

That being said, getting to level 60 is... a task to say the least. You will take 10+ IN GAME days to get to level 60. Let me clarify that... that is 240 hours actually at the computer screen, minimum, to get to level 60. This game is time-consuming like you have no idea, and will ultimately become your life if you're not careful. As a recovering addict myself, I feel it is my duty to warn each and every person who touches this game. My main character, that is the only one I got to level 60, had 68 DAYS played time when I quit. That is... PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THIS... 1632 hours played time. Played. Sitting at the computer. In less than a year. Let me also clarify that I had many other alternate characters, including one that was level 52 that had well over 10 days played time. I will tell you honestly, that I lost a lot because of my addiction to this game. I lost my girlfriend, my enrollment at my college, the respect of my friends and family, among other things. I won't say that this is entirely the games fault, because it's not, but the game does do an incredible job of hooking you and holding you there.

As I draw this, my first review, to a close, I will say this. If you can handle the addiction factor of this game, and have a serious amount of self-control, then I would highly recommend this game to you. If you have any sort of an addictive personality, I would probably avoid this game at all costs, even though you will enjoy it. Lastly, I come to my rating for this game, and I will say... despite all the downfalls to the game, on a general level of enjoyment and value, I rate this game a 9 out of 10.