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Genre: Massively multiplayer role-playing game (MMORPG)

Format: Four CDs

Developer: Blizzard

Publisher: Blizzard

Minimum System Requirements: Mac OSX v10.3.5, 933MHz G4, 512MB RAM, video card with 32MB, 4GB free hard drive space, 8X CD-ROM drive, 56k or higher modem with an Internet connection

Review Computers: 1GHz iMac with 256MB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 video card with 64MB of DDR RAM and running Mac OS X v10.3.5; 1.5GHz 17" PowerBook with 512MB RAM, ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (AGP 4X) graphics processor with 64MB of DDR SDRAM

Network Feature: Required

Price: $49.99 (first 30 days free, then $14.99/month or $12.99/month in six-month blocks)

ESRB Rating: Teen (blood, violence)

Availability: Now

Official Website: [url=http://www.worldofwarcraft.com]http://www.worldofwarcraft.com[/url]

A lot is made of the addictive quality of MMORPG's, and World of Warcraft (WoW) will be no exception. The game features fantastic graphics, an amazing, expansive world and thousands of other human beings to play with, as well as a game structure designed to keep you playing (and paying) month after month.

Set in the world of Azeroth, WoW allows you to participate in the Warcraft franchise from a very different perspective: not as a general commanding huge armies from on high, but as a single character adventuring, building your abilities, and taking part in the large conflict between the Alliance of humans, dwarves, elves and gnomes versus the Horde of orcs, trolls, undead and tauren (humanoid bulls).

First of all, the game is absolutely gorgeous. I was absolutely stunned at the use of color and design. All the races adventure and have cities that will amaze you with their beauty. Sure, the undead live in cemeteries and abandoned buildings, but it's been designed so that it looks like a twisted house of horrors, or something from the mind of Tim Burton.

The gameplay itself is enjoyable, provided you understand that this is a game without an ending. You don't play this game to "win." You can't win. The point isn't to win. The point is to build your character and interact with others. This is a social exercise, designed to encourage cooperation and keep you paying the monthly access fees.

It's fairly straightforward: you gain experience by killing monsters and completing quests. As you become more powerful, so do the monsters, and the quests become more challenging, meaning the game has a fairly consistent challenge level. However, you can only adventure by yourself for so long before you start to run into "elite" quests specifically designed to be completed by several characters working together. In WoW, you see, your character can handle one monster at a time rather easily, but when they team up (or "aggro") they'll squash other characters easily. Also, your character can only gain experience by killing enemies more powerful, or slightly less powerful than himself, so you have to keep moving to the next area to gain experience.

As for the getting help, well, that's up to you. While NPCs will assign you quests, most of your interaction in the game will be with the other players. Not only do you have to find the right mix of abilities, you'll have to find the right mix of personalities with which to play. The game provides a social tool that can broadcast your desire to join a group, but really, you're just going to have to bite the bullet and start talking to people. Aaaaaaaah!

There's a diversity of roleplaying options. In addition to the type of server—player versus player (PvP), where killing each other is allowed; normal, where characters can fight in designated areas; and role playing (RP), where people are expected to stay "in character" with their interactions—you have the races and character classes from which to choose.

What's truly great about this game is the way all the races have been thought out and are presented from their own perspective. For example, the undead don't see themselves as evil; they've just liberated themselves from the mindless Scourge, and are fighting to maintain their land and their free will. In fact, all the NPCs are presented with regular human names, reinforcing the fact that they're not trying to be nightmare creatures.

Each race starts off in its own area where characters can build up their skills before journeying to the larger cities where the cultures interact. The world is made up of several gigantic areas, all of which load as a single map for your character; no lengthy wait times when traveling from one area to another.

Choosing a character class will also alter how you play. Fighters have more hit points, obviously, than magic users who stay back from a fight, casting spells, but it's more than that. Each class has special abilities to call on, and how they're used varies.

Magic users burn mana for their spells, and need to rest to gain it back. Fighters power their more dangerous attacks with rage, which they build as a fight goes on. Rogues have moves built on a two-step system of attacks that build "skill points" on a foe, then a finishing move that causes damage based on how many skill points they've scored. Characters can assume animal forms or acquire pets to help them fight.

WoW is a fun game to play...if you're looking for a new hobby. The game itself is expensive, and even more so if you want to continue playing it. There's always a sensation of having to play just a little longer, to reach the next level, or finish the next quest, or discover a new area. But the game is also frustrating in that regard, because you don't really achieve closure. Sure, you can clear out the dungeon and save the city like your quest told you to, but then the monsters all respawn so that the next hero can take them on. To get any fun out of the game, you have to enjoy playing on its terms.

Technically, the game is solid...mostly. There have been a few instances of servers going down because they were overloaded (which means you can't play the character you've been working on) or because a glitch locked players out of the sign-on. Lag is a minor annoyance, especially when you're in the middle of a giant battle.

However, in my short time playing WoW, I've become totally hooked. I was impressed at how much fun the game was to play right away: unlike, say, EverQuest, which makes a newbie grind away for hours to get one decent piece of equipment. The beginning levels of WoW were simple and rewarding.

Ultimately, WoW is a hobby game: you can play it infrequently, but you'll have a hard time keeping friends who will quickly surpass you if they play regularly. But its absolutely gorgeous design and carrot/stick mentality will probably hook you.

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