WoW--What's all the hype about?

[Felon]

Everything has mostly been covered by the above posts, but to wholly simplify:
The whole thing turns every other MMORPG on its head.
'Nuff said.

Actually, the above posts don't really address most of my concerns, and yours is pretty representative of what I was talking about: gushing without elaboration.

Of course, I'm playing it myself, so I can answer my own questions. The fuss is that people got all worked up about a game because of the license involved, rather than any actual innovations within the game itself. Now please folks, spare "Blizzard doesn't innovate, they perfect" line. As explanations go it just kind of rings empty.

Sorry if I sound PO'ed, but I'm writing this as my toon is auto-running from the nearest graveyard (which is not very near) because the designers thought it would be cute to give all monsters the ability to stun players who are trying to run away from them, and to do extra damage from behind, and to let the beastie get in about 8 free licks.

Dont get me wrong. I'm having fun at the moment, but it's nothing new. WoW has pretty much the same flaws as every other MMORPG before it. It's fresh now, but eventually--and I hope it's soon--people will get the rose-colored glasses off and just the game for what it is. Nice, but average.

 

[Pielorinho]

Now please folks, spare "Blizzard doesn't innovate, they perfect" line. As explanations go it just kind of rings empty.

For you, perhaps--not for me. Rather than have the hippest grapefruit-garlic sorbet frittata, I'd much rather get a cone of really spectacular chocolate. Blizzard's reputation for polishing, not innovating, goes back to the first Warcraft game in the early nineties (itself just an iterative approach to the earlier Dune RTS).

At any rate, we'll see; my guess is that you'll find, once the reviews start to pour in, that WoW gets rated far higher than EQII.

Except for the lag issues, of course.

I'm sorry you're not as giddy about the game as I am, though--I'm having lots of fun with it!

Daniel

 

[Pielorinho]

Heh--posted about ten minutes too soon. Gamespot gives it a 9.5, one of the highest ratings I've seen them give out ever, higher than I recall them giving any previous Blizzard game, and far higher than Everquest's rating in the high 7's. From the review:

Though massively multiplayer online role-playing games have been around for years, it has taken this long for the genre's breakthrough hit to finally emerge. Here is the online role-playing game you should play, no matter who you are. This is because World of Warcraft brings out all the best aspects of this style of gaming, if not many of the best aspects of gaming in general. It also features many of the specific characteristics that have made Blizzard Entertainment's previous games so entertaining, memorable, long-lasting, and successful. Of course, the company's past track record did not guarantee that World of Warcraft could have turned out this well. Such high quality simply cannot be expected, nor should it be missed.

Daniel

 

[Ranger REG]

I still don't see how this is better than Neverwinter Night.

 

[Thanee]

It's just more massive.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Thanee]

Sorry if I sound PO'ed, but I'm writing this as my toon is auto-running from the nearest graveyard (which is not very near) because the designers thought it would be cute to give all monsters the ability to stun players who are trying to run away from them, and to do extra damage from behind, and to let the beastie get in about 8 free licks.

If it weren't a bit dangerous, then it was boring, no?

Dont get me wrong. I'm having fun at the moment, but it's nothing new. WoW has pretty much the same flaws as every other MMORPG before it.

What flaws do you mean specifically?

I think they have removed many of the typical flaws, while - of course - some genre-defining traits remain.

It's fresh now, but eventually--and I hope it's soon--people will get the rose-colored glasses off and just the game for what it is. Nice, but average.

Well, average isn't a term I would use and I don't really think I'm looking through rose-colored glasses there.

Both WoW and EQ2 are certainly far above the average.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Felon]

Heh--posted about ten minutes too soon. Gamespot gives it a 9.5, one of the highest ratings I've seen them give out ever, higher than I recall them giving any previous Blizzard game, and far higher than Everquest's rating in the high 7's.

GameSpot is pretty notorious for the shameless populism of their reviews. For instance, they gave Master of Orion III a sterling nine-point-something-or-other the first week it came out when it sold big, then after gamers everywhere experienced buyer's remorse and called it a turd sandwich, they recalled the original review and posted a negative one, dropping the rating to 6.7.

Of course, you can just say that the first one was an "early review" or a "first impression", but all that does is indicate that reviewing a game after only brief gameplay is pretty uninsightful.

And just so, the WoW review is indeed vague and uninsightful in its relentless fawning. It heaps praise without going into depth to any level of detail, offering opinion without supporting it with reasons.

The worst thing about World of Warcraft is that you can't just play it all the time. After all, chances are if you start, you'll never want to stop.

Over-the-top gushing. Really disappointing--I was actually expecting to concede a few points. Like I said, WoW is fun enough, just nothing special.

I am particularly amused to see them say that there is no room for class envy.

Personally, I'm going to wait and see what TechTV's review is like. They have a very unhealthy honesty in their reviews. They declared SWG a tedious, frustrating dud even when it was selling like hotcakes and GameSpot and PC Gamer were calling it a great evolutionary step.

I'm sorry you're not as giddy about the game as I am, though--I'm having lots of fun with it!

You're still in the honeymoon phase. I've been like that about MMORPG's myself. At any rate, thanks for the advice on the warlock pet quest. I hope others read it and benefit.

 

[Pielorinho]

Perhaps I'm in the honeymoon phase, true--but I had no such honeymoon phase with FFXI, which I put down after three hours of playing, and I've been in the honeymoon phase all through the stress test and the two weeks of the open beta and now through the retail release.

I've never noticed Gamespot to be especially fawning; indeed, look at their review for Everquest II, which says it's good but nothing exceptional, by way of comparison. But obviously your experience with them is different from mine.

It seems more likely that this game is exactly to my tastes, and it's not to your tastes. Which is fine.

Daniel

 

[Felon]

If it weren't a bit dangerous, then it was boring, no?

Thanee, c'mon. Are you saying it would be boring if characters had a decent chance of getting away from fights they didn't want to be in in the first place? It's bad enough they do extra damag from rear attacks, but having those attacks actually stun the fleeing character is going out of their way to make there are lots of trips to the graveyard. We're not talking about a challenge, we're talking a tremendous source of frustration.

What flaws do you mean specifically?

The stuff I've mentioned already covers a lot of it.

Grinding? Yes, lots of grinding.

Forced grouping? Well, yes, if you wait long enough to do a quest you should eventually be high enough to fight off multiple mobs, when they're green or gray to you (and so is the quest). When I was 14th I'd still get killed fighting Burning Blade warlocks on my voidwalker pet quest. There seems to be few classes that can handle multiple attackers. That's a big deal in a game where spawns walk right into you--or even respawn in groups right on top of you. Soloability is pretty much all about the ability to fend off groups, and not just desperately hoping you can successfully pick away at the bad guys one at a time.

Forced hunting? Well, hunting for animal pieces has easily constituted the majority of my quests. I've been into one or two caves, and one fort.

Instanced content? Haven't seen any.

Hell runs? There are hell runs aplenty, and there's apparently not a convenient keystroke to let you cycle through monsters within your radius. Combine that with with monsters that stun you when attacking from behind, and you have yourself a problem. Heck, even getting to a trainer in a major city is a 5 or 10 minute trek...one way.

Class distinction? There's a lot of fun and cool powers to distinguish one class from another, but players do lack distinction and uniqueness from other characters of the same class. Sadly, I am really no different from any other warlock of my level.

Another issue not addressed is what happens when there's a lot of disparity between character levels? I'm already losing ground to my friends who play more than I do.

I think they have removed many of the typical flaws, while - of course - some genre-defining traits remain.

Folks will have a lot of fun with WoW for many months. Some folks will stay with it forever (just like there have been folks still playing EQ and Ultima Online and Gemstone for years and years after more advanced games emerged). But really, now I want to ask you guys: what is so polished about WoW? What do you think makes it turn other MMORPG's on there heads? If you opt to respond, please be detailed.

 

[Felon]

I've never noticed Gamespot to be especially fawning; indeed, look at their review for Everquest II, which says it's good but nothing exceptional, by way of comparison.

But see, that's what I mean. They gave a lukewarm review to a game that received a lukewarm reception. And yet, after reading both reviews, I have no idea how the feel WoW is superior EQII. Do you?

It seems more likely that this game is exactly to my tastes, and it's not to your tastes. Which is fine.
Daniel

Fair enough.

In addition to the license, I also think the character classes really sell the game. A class bestows many more interesting abilities as it progresses than it does in other MMORPG's I've played. But if another one of my friends was playing a warlock, I know my enjoyment would be diminished heavily by realizing that we're basically clones.