My First Taste of WoW...
March 2nd 2008 10:30
Nearly everyone around the world that has internet would surely of heard something about the game World Of Warcraft. Nerdy kind of talk about Mages and Druids and how to get to mythtical places and the like has been going on for years. And has almost become mainstream, being mentioned in TV shows and other media. With over 10 million subscribers, bets are that you either play or know of someone who plays the game.
Now I have been playing MMO's for a while now, my first and still favourite is the failing Star Wars Galaxies. It tought me everything i needed to know about MMO's and is still my benchmark when trying out an new MMO to play. I have tried a few MMO's since playing SWG for example Anarchy Online, City of Heroes and Villans, EvE online etc but the one game i hadnt tried, and didnt really want to was World of Warcraft.
So why after so many years have i decided to try it? Simply because i miss that community interaction i enjoyed while playing Star Wars Galaxies. And seeing WoW's massive fanbase i thought id give it a try.
So i loaded it up, created my 10 day free trial account and had a look just now. And here are my thoughts after playing it for a little bit.
The first thing i noticed, and didnt like at all was the Character customization. For such a popular game i was expecting something else... perhaps a little more complex than the one i saw when i played runescape? Basically you choose a race and gender which is fair enough. But from there you have to select a premade face, choose hair from a limited (and not so great) selection. Its all about selecting from a small amount of choices, rather than the face morphing i was used to in SWG, there were far more combinations.
Next thing i noticed was you had to select a class from a handful of Racial Classes, thats something i never really agreed with. Why should my choice in race decide what class i want? I dont mind if there was some sort of penalty for selecting a class that didnt go with that race, but not having the choice just isnt right.
So with my character selected, i went with a male Night Elve Druid, i loaded into the game and began. The little intro was nice. I imagine each race has their own, which is a nice touch makes it feel like theres a storyline from the beginning. Something missing from the MMO's ive played.
I walked up to a quest giver and clicked on him, and he spoke. And i do mean spoke as in audio if only for two words which was nice. So i did a couple of quests, which were simple kill missions (i dont know if there is other kind of missions), and had a look around.
Now for those who havent played Star Wars Galaxies, this probably wont make much sense but this is the best way i can explain it. Originally when SWG was released all the planets were pretty much free-for-all in the way you could move around the map. Basically point in a direction and you can run that way till you hit the end of the map, besides running into buildings/trees or other objects. But from what i saw of WoW its more like the wookie planet of Kashyyyk that was released as an expansion (Rage of the Wookies), where you have to follow paths everywhere you go. Trees and Mountains block you from venturing too far off track. Essentially restricting your movement. Though have heard that with the use of "mounts" you can fly over them, but that is later on in gameplay.
So far the game is nothing compared to Star Wars Galaxies, is there anything else to do in the game than just combat?? The whole game seems combat orientated, even the crafting is only for personal gain in combat...
Hopefully i will find out before my 10 days is up...
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Comment by AmyHuang
Project Job Search
Travel Debate
Travel String
Love Adventures
I found WoW the same, so I refuse to play it. Besides, it's such a waste of time. I'd rather be spending the time outdoors these days.
Comment by Mavryk
Proteus Gaming
I'm used to Star Wars Galaxies where there was a community, where crafters made items for both combat and non-combat, and they couldn't fight. You could buy a house and decorate it with stuff you've either bought at the market or found on your adventures. There was even an Entertainer class (also noncombat), who would play music or dance at a local cantina (Inn) that plaers could visit and chat to.
There was a fair bit of gameplay that didnt involve combat for those who were not interested.