Game Review 2007
World Of Warcraft
Platform: PC game
Genre: MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game)
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Production Model Year: November 23, 2004
Cost of Game: $50 SGD
Game Requirements:
Windows:Windows 2000, Windows Vista or Windows Xp
Intel pentium III or AMD Athlon 800 MHz
512 MB or more of RAM32 MB
3D video card with Hardware
T&L or better6.0 GB free HD space
4× CD-ROM drive5
6 kbit/s or faster Internet connection
Macintosh:
Mac OS X 10.3.9 or newer9
33 MHz or higher
G4, or G5, Intel processor
512 MB RAM or higher
ATI or NVIDIA video card with 32 MB
Video RAM or more
6.0 GB free HD space
4× CD-ROM
drive56 kbit/s or faster
Internet connection
2 Months Subscription of $50 SGD
Input: Keyboard, mouse
Game Description:
World of Warcraft is a MMORPG. As with other MMORPGs, players control a character avatar within a persistent game world, exploring the landscape, fighting monsters, and interacting with NPCs as well as other players. The game rewards success with money, items, and experience, which in turn allow players to improve their skill and power. Players can level their characters from level one up to level 60, level 70 if they have The Burning Crusade expansion (released on January 16, 2007)
Game Play:
With 8 different Races to choose from (2 more in expansion), players can choose to opt for Alliance or the opposing faction Horde. each faction consists of 9 different classes.The nine available classes are Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, and Warrior.
Players can choose either PVP(player versus player) or PVE (player versus enemy) when entering a realm. In PVP, players can kill the opposing faction when in a contested area while PVE focuses more on leveling. With 2 different servers and 60 over realms, there is always space for more!
Much of World of Warcraft is structured around questing, so there's always something to do or somewhere to go, even if you don't have a lot of time. Whenever you enter a major new location for the first time, you'll feel almost overwhelmed by the number of quests available, which you'll be able to clearly spot since quest-giving characters helpfully stand there with a big, noticeable exclamation mark over their heads. Luckily, the game's more-than-a-thousand quests are made quite manageable by only being offered to you when you're qualified to complete them.
During the course of playing the game, players may choose to develop side skills for their character(s). These non-combat skills are called professions. Professions are divided into two categories, primary and secondary.Primary professions are skills related to the creation and enhancement of weapons and armor, and can be subdivided into gathering and crafting professions. The gathering professions in WoW are Herbalism, Mining, and Skinning. Crafting professions include Blacksmithing, Leatherworking, Tailoring, Alchemy, Engineering, Enchanting, Jewelcrafting (added in The Burning Crusade expansion). Crafting professions also have specialization categories that when trained, allow for more diverse items to be created, depending on the character's direction in the game. There is also the Enchanting profession, which allows a character to enchant weapons and armor, and also disenchant magical items in his or her possession. A character is limited to two primary professions.Secondary professions are skills that serve to enhance the player's experience. The Secondary professions are First Aid, Cooking and Fishing. Characters can learn all three Secondary professions. The Rogue class has two unique secondary professions: Poisons and Lock Picking.
As the game progresses, player discovers many Instances, or simply dungeons which player group up with other online players to defeat bosses for experience, money and rare items in the process.
The World of the game is very large and as you explore, you'll also discover a variety of means of rapid transit. For instance, you'll be able to quickly and conveniently cover large distances by flying on the backs of gryphons, wyverns, and more, which can ferry you from point to point for a small fee. Land mounts are available to players at level 40 for each specific race.
Of course, player death is inevitable in a game such as this, but it's here where one of World of Warcraft's most unlikely innovations rears its head: Death in this game really is nothing to get bent out of shape about, so when you get killed, don't worry. Previous games of this type have made it a point of penalizing the player upon death (death should be very bad, right?), such as by inflicting an increasingly steep experience point penalty, directly resulting in a sense of failure and wasted time. More-recent online RPGs have doled out more-lenient penalties in the interest of appealing to more players, but World of Warcraft all but eliminates the sense of penalty altogether--which turns out to be a great thing. Here, death mostly just puts you out of the action for a bit, which is undesirable enough as it is. You automatically respawn as a ghost (or a wisp in the case of the night elf race) at the nearest graveyard, and you can usually double back pretty quickly to where you fell; alternatively, a healer-type character can resurrect you, or you can choose to come back to life at the graveyard (although you'll be weakened for a while if you do this). When you die, your items' durability will also degrade slightly, though this isn't permanent in the long run or harmful in the short run. You'll simply need to pay to get them repaired by certain types of non-player characters before their durability ratings drop to zero and they're rendered useless. In all, the game's death penalty feels just right, in that it's consequential without being frustrating.
You'll spot some excellent little details as you play, such as birds fluttering high up in the sky or squirrels and rabbits skittering about or skeletons of slain friends and foes dotting the landscape in the aftermath of a PvP skirmish. The various weather effects are also outstanding. In a great touch, the game takes place in real time, so if you play at night, it'll be nighttime in Azeroth too :)
World of Warcraft also sounds uncharacteristically excellent for an online RPG. Subtle ambient effects work wonderfully in concert with the visuals, making the world seem that much more alive.The music truly is outstanding, but by default it plays rather softly, mostly just for an extra bit of ambience. Meanwhile, Warcraft III fans will feel right at home during battles, which feature many of the same hard-hitting effects, as well as plenty of new ones.
World of Warcraft also makes good use of speech, both for player characters' occasional outbursts and also for all non-player characters, who'll verbally greet you, which helps evoke their personalities. Many of the enemies you'll face also make some rather memorable noises when you manage to draw their wrath.
The worst thing about World of Warcraft is that you can't just play it all the time. After all, chances are if you start, you'll never want to stop. Again, though, part of what makes this game so remarkable is it doesn't assume that all you have to do in your busy life is play this one game.
This is a stunning achievement that will make you feel privileged to be a game player.
Graphics:
No small part of the pleasure of playing World of Warcraft comes from admiring its richly detailed, visually inspired gameworld. The game sports its own cohesive, highly stylized look that's influenced by comic book art and anime.
Sounds:
World of Warcraft also sounds uncharacteristically excellent for an online RPG. The choice of music would seem to bring you to another world within the game when players logs into the game.
Conclusion:
Although with a $25 per month subscription, the highly detailed environment and sophisticated PVP system, it is a must try for every hardcore gamers!
i'm still trying to figure out the sequences and maybe create other shapes as well. If u know anything share it with me :D
