Well, I haven't been playing anything else with consistency for months now. That should be enough to tell you this rocks

User Rating: 9.8 | World of Warcraft PC
I feel like more of a collector than an actual user of games. I see something I like, I shout like a giddy school girl, and then I buy the game. OK, maybe not the schook girl part, but you get the idea. Most times, the excitement for the game wears down after a while. I always feel like games lose their luster, especially modern games with their lowered difficulty levels and graphics-for-the-expense-of-gameplay attitude that runs ramapant in the industry today. World of Warcraft is NOT one of those games.

I originally bought it around the end of last summer at the call of my friend Ryan. He and my friend Joe had been playing as hunters for the past summer, and were completely engrossed. Naturally, I'm into good games (but not MMOs; I despise monthly fees really) and thus I wanted to check it out. Luckily, my PC Gamer DVD contained a free fourteen day demo and I played it. My human warrior hit lvl 23 before I knew it. But then I lost focus. See, my friends were 34 and 36 before I even began, and not playing with people I knew felt...weird. I just sorta quit (because of that and the school year).

Recently, however, I got right back into the fray this March because a huge group of people I know were playing. Now I have a lvl 48 NE hunter, which has been going pretty smoothly.

What makes it so great?

Well, I'm not gonna bore you with the obvious. The community aspect is what really drives this game. Just being able to have fun questing with other people is a rush in itself. I can't quite put the feeling into words, but it is most certainly there. What really makes the game are the instances. Dungeons are always cool, and Blizzard took the time to make these places challenging and fun - something you rarely find in games these days. The classes are well balanced; if you play well, you are an important asset to the group regardless of class. True, some members of the game typecast you based on class ("Are you a resto druid" may as well be a catchphrase by now) but you truly can play a class any way you desire. That's why it is good to have friends and family along for the ride; you can set up when you want to go somewhere. Makes life alot easier when you schedule your play time as well; it does not need to absorb you life too much.

I can only see one problem with the game that bugs me a bit: other people. Sometimes you just have problems finding a group. Really, it depends on the time of day. All in all, it's not the games fault anyway.

Really, this is truly superb. If you don't want to play another game, make your last purchase this one.

Oh, and I have a request. Please annoy Padfeet on Shattered Hand. It'll be good fun.