Morrowind Meets MUD

Strange as it may seem for a hardened gamer such as myself, I never really got into MMPORGs the way many of my friends and associates have. Sure, I wasted far too many hours of my life on one particularly large MUD, but somehow the graphical interface of the MMPORG always seemed to take away from the sheer detail available in the seemingly primitive MUDs. Everquest looked and felt terrible even for it's time and both Asheron's Call and it's sequel completely failed to grab me – I got my graphical RPG goodness from brilliant single player games like my beloved Morrowind.

Although World of Warcraft still isn't quite up to the graphical standards of the Morrowinds of the gaming world (a couple of years older and MW still looks better in this reviewer's opinion), for a MMPORG the graphics are outstanding. When the pleasant appearance drew me in for “a look”, I promised myself I would not get addicted, not on the eve of the beginning of my second year at university, not with essays due just around the corner. An hour or two adventuring within the World of Warcraft and my promise wasn't worth the good intentions it was based on. I went in full of cynicism about the genre...... and failed to come out. I had very quickly become a convert.

For the dozen or so of you out there who don't know, World of Warcraft is a massive multiplayer online role playing game based on the races featured in Blizzard's ever-popular (but recently rather average) Warcraft series of games. This series has until now been associated with real time strategy games, but with WoW, a genre change has been made for the better.

As with all MMPORGs, World of Warcraft is an expensive proposition. Not only do you have to buy the game, once you have played for a month you are then required to cough up a monthly subscription fee. It's really a bit rude in my opinion to actually charge for the game itself when you then have to pay to play the game you already paid for. A fairer way of doing things would be to require people to purchase 3 or 4 months worth of play to begin with, so a fair amount is paid for the game, but you aren't left with a useless piece of software if you choose not to pay after the first month.

The game takes place fully online (There is no single player mode) on a variety of servers (aka – worlds). These worlds come in three types, each catering to a specific gaming taste. This is a real bonus for those who like their gaming experience to be “just so”.

On a normal server, the game play is based on adventuring with very limited player versus player options. This is the server type I chose, because in my experience PvP tends to be about strong players preying on weaker players who just want to play the game, rather than being about any sort of skill and gamesmanship. This was one of the lamest things about Everquest.

PvP servers appear in menacing red letters on the server list so players know just what they are in for. Some level restrictions apply, but basically you are fair game unless you are in a city or a low level area. Player-killers can pit themselves against each other safe in the knowledge that everyone knew what they were getting into when they joined the server.

The final and rarest type of server is the roleplay server, for those who want to keep their game experience in character. You wont see any lame character names here or discussions about the football game from last weekend – its all hardcore RPG.

Once you have chosen your server and got into the game, the best way I can describe what you are greeted with is as a sort of “Morrowind meets A very good text-based MUD”. The action is third person 3D like Morrowind, but the game play, when it all boils down, is all MUD.

Variety is the name of the game here. Eight race types are available, four from the good or “alliance” side and four from the evil “horde” side. Your race dictates where you begin in this massive world and also your selection of character classes. For example, “night elves” have the option to play a Hunter, Druid, Priest, Rogue or Warrior, while different options exist for human players. I thought this added for some neat variety.

Another aspect of WoW which steers away from the “cookie cutter character” syndrome are the various “Professions” characters may learn and use. Two primary professions may be chosen by each character and these range from the ability to skin certain creatures after you have killed them, the harvesting of herbs, right up to mining, blacksmithing and even engineering. This variety of special abilities offers for an extraordinary amount of game play diversity and characters which can be tailored to the taste of the individual gamer. Luckily, the option exists to forsake your career in a profession and choose a new one if you tire of/regret your choice of profession.

Scattered throughout the world are a variety of non player characters who may be interacted with. Some can train your character in abilities, some can sell and buy items, some may even have a quest to bestow upon you. A good amount of these quests are one-offs, but others reach epic proportions and follow a path sending you from one end of the land to the other on various errands and adventures. Most of these are interesting to some degree and they often help to prompt the player to explore new and exciting areas of the world.

Of course, one of the main factors in any online game is interaction with other player characters and WoW is no different. Adventuring in groups is a rewarding experience and the game has some novel ideas for solving some of the great dilemmas such as “who will get that extra special item we found”. Grouping with a friend or friends really is the way to experience this game, especially if you have access to some sort of VoIP software such as Teamspeak.

With the good elements of playing with others, there are obviously downsides. On a MUD, I usually expect to find low level characters begging for help from higher level ones (very annoying), but with WoW I found it to be quite the opposite. Now, this might sound ungrateful of me, but sometimes I wish people would just leave me alone! Having a high level character charge in like the cavalry and help slaughter the monsters you are struggling to get through, before trying to give you a small fortune in money because they have so much isn't really my cup of tea. I like to do things myself or with my group-mate and sometimes it is hard to avoid being “helped” by people who have nothing better to do.

Another annoyance are the “guilds”. These are the “clans” of World of Warcraft and it seems pretty much anyone can start one. Fine if you are into that sort of thing, but the 257th time in three days you have been asked to join a different guil...... you get my drift.

The final real gripe I have about this otherwise excellent game is the small matter of levelling being so amazingly fast. Im going at about 1.5 levels per hour at the moment and im not even actively trying to level quickly. For a MMPORG this is positively lightspeed and might be a turn-off for some hardened long-play gamers.

Graphically as I mentioned above, the game is excellent for a MMPORG and good for any other type of game. The music is ok, but I quickly turned it off and just enjoyed the pleasant environmental sounds.

Overall, World of Warcraft is one of the most addictive games I have played in a long, long time. The sheer variety of options and the magnitude of the gaming environment ensure all of its players will be kept amused for a long time to come. The only real downside is the continued cost to the player, both financial and through all the spare time eaten up by this whole new world which lies a mere click or two away.