Prepare to loose yourself
I love RPGs, but I could never seem to get into MMOs, but a couple of my good friends at work played WoW and finally talked me into trying it. I went into this thinking it was just another EQ, but I was very wrong.
WoW is extremely in depth, with a HUGE world to explore and thousands of quests to undertake...sure, just like EQ. Where WoW stands apart though is taking up the on going battle of the Warcraft universe, the Alliance versus the Horde. And I'm not talking about massive quests to undertake to continue the war, i'm talking about player versus player combat, which each side at each others throats, with no other goal than to kill. not to duel, but to kill each other for the sake of your side whether it be Horde or whether it be Alliance.
Don't get me wrong, it's not just a matter of running around killing each other for fun, there are rewards that go along with that. First of all, you hahve a ranking system based on Honor points. For killing players higher level than you, you get honor points which then give you higher ranks and access to exclusive items and equipment. Then there's the bragging right that come along with your ranks.
However, you can also make yourself look bad by killing lower level players and getting dishonorable points. There's no reward for that, other than taking satisfaction in killing a player who never stood a chance against you...but what fun is that.
WoW is certainly immersive, and you'll find yourself spending alot of time playing, but be warned, when i say alot of time, I mean just that, ALOT of time. Like any other MMO, it takes a significant amount of time just to get place to place (unless you're higher level and have a mount), and some quests may be out of your ability to finish until you gain a few levels, which again can take some time. But, if you've got time to spare, you love fanatasy worlds, you love RPGs and you like playing with other people WoW is for you.
Noobs to masters can enjoy this game as it's controls are easily picked up but not easily mastered.
The major downfall to the game is the same as any other MMO, the monthly fees. But what do you expect from a game that never ends and is constantly having new material put in? Things are always changing, and thanks to having so many other people online, any given game will never be the same as the last.
So, in the end it's up to you to judge whether it's worth the $15 a month to play or not, but at least give it a try. if you don't like it, then yo can cancel after your first month, and if you do, well, what's $15 versus hours and hours of fun?