A great game let down by poor servers
I have been a player of Role-Playing games, and other MMORPGs for some time now, and when World of Warcraft was unveiled I was very excited, and when I first got the game, it was great! However, over time and as patches came out, the game has degraded in my opinion…
Graphics: 9/10
The graphics are great. It may not need huge expensive statistics to run, but it still looks great and the world is generally a nice place to travel through. There are many different environments which are basically extending on the World Editor templates which you may remember from Warcraft three, but they are great and really bring the world alive. The reason it doesn't get a 10 is because of a few FPS problems in certain parts of the world, such as Ironforge.
Sound: 10/10
The sound mixes really nicely with the graphics. A nice peaceful tune plays as you walk through the green lands of Elwynn, and a savage, battle tune plays as you run past the Blackrock Orcs fortress… The music doesn't get annoying, and doesn't play in a way that it drowns out the other sounds, and it is optional to stop the music from repeating. There is no annoying music when you engage in combat either! A great plus, which makes grinding combat far less annoying.
The sound effects are great too, with every different race in the game having a different set of noises, whether it is their battle cry or their death call. Also, in instances certain bosses have some great speeches! Also, each combination of gender and race has their own set of voice commands, which are fitting and also fun to hear. Some people on the forums even claim to be addicted to hearing Murloc's dying… Well, I think that's only a good thing as far as the game is concerned… But perhaps not good for Murloc…
Gameplay PvE: 7/10
Now this is where it begins to let itself down…
At first, when you play the game its great, really fun combat and skills… However, as you progress it is more of the same thing over and over… Combat turns into you just repeating a certain order of moves, so you can destroy the monster(s) as quick as possible so you can continue towards your goal. This becomes quite boring if you are playing alone, as it is basically kill, loot, kill, loot, kill, loot…
But, on the positive side, there is a brilliant quest system in game to make grinding far less boring. The rewards are almost always worth it, and you get a nice chunk of extra experience for your bother. You also gain reputation with whatever faction you do the quest for, allowing you access to discounts from shopkeepers! There are quests to suit every person: Solo quests, 2-3 people quests, 5 man group quests and even HUGE 40 man raids!
It is possible to Solo all the way to level 60, but you will miss out on lots of fun instances and good loot. It would also be quite boring…
There are a few things to do if you get bored of questing/grinding… Such as PvP in Battlegrounds, duelling people to practice technique, doing some of the few skills in the game and a few other world events that occur from time to time…
Gameplay PvP: 4/10
Now this is down to your opinion… I for one dislike the PvP that is existant in World of Warcraft now, due to the Honour system…
The good old days of raiding towns and slaughtering everything are gone… You will be penalised for doing that. The only safe way to PvP without penalty is to que for ages to enter a battleground, in which you have to complete a certain objective… However, this is ruined by idiots who don't work as a team, which then causes you to be thrown back in the que with no reward, hoping for a better team next time…
If you were able to attack towns at will without penalty, this game would be legendary and an example to all games to come… The honour system is broken too, rewarding people who sit and grind all day with prizes, other than people with lots of skill yet not so much time to play. Also, merely killing one Civilian NPC, even if by accident, can knock off up to half a rank. Since you share these “dishonour kills” with team mates, a loser can end up ruining everything for you.
Server types, Rule enforcement, Reliablility: 2/10
Yet another part where the game falls down… Servers suffer from constant lag, ping with the servers is crap, and two cities (Ironforge and Orgrimmar) require at least double the recommended system specs to be playable at all.
Also, the Game Masters are terrible. I have had many experiences with them where they don't have a clue what they are doing, such as one not knowing what AFK meant, and another not knowing what a hunter pet's HP bar was… They do not enforce the rules much, especially on Role-Play Servers…
Overview: 6/10
What happened to the epic world battles I was told about? I get penalised for taking part in raiding cities! Customer support? Non-existent… Servers still laggy after a year?
These points let down what would otherwise be a great game… It's a real shame… Hopefully they will improve on these problems in the future, perhaps when they expand the game…