Like many people across the world, I spent a countless amount of time and money on a little game called EverQuest. I?d get home and play for five hours, do some work, play some more, get some sleep and then repeat the next day. It was a vicious cycle that caused my real life to grind to a halt. This eventually led me quitting the game forever and declaring I would not get sucked in by another massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) again. I?ve done very well for over four years, but unfortunately it is time for me to break that vow, for World of Warcraft will soon be upon us.

World of Warcraft could be the next big thing when it is released later this summer. Using the very popular Warcraft franchise and the familiar setting of Azeroth, players are instantly familiar with the game characters and settings. The first thing to do is create your character. All the familiar races are here, separated into two factions. The Alliance is made up of the Humans, Night Elves, Dwarves and Gnomes. The Horde is made up of the Orcs, Tauren, Undead, and Trolls. Each race has certain classes, such as Hunter, Paladin, Rogue, and Shaman, that your character can be. Once the race and class for your character is chosen, it?s time to customize your look through body type, hair, and other features that give your character a unique look and feel. Much like the rest of the game, the character creation process is very streamlined and easy to use. In minutes you?ll be in the world of Warcraft.

World of Warcraft bases a good portion of its gameplay around quests, given by non-player characters (NPCs) throughout the world. Getting quests is simple; as you walk around the world, you?ll come across NPCs with giant yellow exclamation points over their heads. This means they have a quest for you. Once you talk to the NPC, you will be given a brief story concerning the quest, a description of what needs to be done for the quest to be completed, and a list of what you will receive as a reward for completing a quest. If you need to find a certain character for a quest, he?ll have a giant yellow question mark over his head, making searching areas for key NPCs a breeze.

There are quests for all types of players here. If you enjoy a good dungeon crawl to find a creature or NPC to kill, those are available. If you?d rather scour the countryside looking for items, those are also available. Some quests are short, requiring only one action to be completed. Others are massive, multi-part quests that take not just hours, but days and days to fully complete. Since it?s your choice on what type of quest to take on, this offers a wide variety of options for players who don?t have a lot of time to spent to players who play the game all day and night. All the quests are worth experience as well as different rewards, and the experience is usually suitable for what level you receive the quest at. Quests are also listed in your Quest Log, so you can see what quests you have accepted. The Quest Log color codes the quests (green, yellow, red) based on difficulty, so you have some idea of how difficult a certain quest is.

Since the name of the game is choice and accessibility, there are a number of different trade skills you can choose to train in to increase the profitability and productivity of your character. There are gathering skills, like fishing and skinning. Then there are production skills, such as blacksmithing, alchemy, and cooking. There are also skills such as enchanting and first aid that you can be trained in. Each of these skills have their advantages and disadvantages and cost a decent amount of money to learn, which makes learning a number of them difficult, especially early on. However, once you choose a couple trade skills to learn and use, it?s easy to earn some money by selling items and help out your party if you are in a particularly difficult battle. If none of the trade skills make you hot and bothered in the pantaloons, don?t worry about them ? you aren?t required to train in any. They are only there for players who want to add another dimension to their character (and subsequently spend a lot more of their time playing the game).

A good portion of your game time will be spent in combat. Combat takes place using the tried and true turn-based method. It?s really no different than any other MMORPG ? once you start attacking the computer automatically attacks the creature once per turn until one of you is dead. The only control you have over combat is the use of abilities and spells. After enough combat, eventually you?ll take a turn for the worse and die. If you?re lucky, there will be someone around you or in your party that can revive you. Otherwise, you become a ghost and must go retrieve your corpse. When you are a ghost you run faster than normal and are also invisible to most all players/NPCs in the game. It?s not the best system for dealing death, but it?s not the worst either. Experience points aren?t lost unless you decide to not recover your body for whatever reason ? hopefully, you won?t choose that route.

World of Warcraft is a game that is already massive amounts of fun and will only get better as the beta progresses and the retail release nears. The game world is simply massive and there are tons of things to do, for both solo adventurers and groups of adventurers. Blizzard is attempting to make the game accessible for all types and styles of players and so far, it seems to be working. If the beta is a good indication of what the final product will be like, Blizzard has a bona fide hit on their hands.

#1 - Bulldog - 04/07/04 @ 12:40 AM EST Who votes I whip Manveer for spelling Blizzard as BLIZZERD.

#2 - Anon@141.150.16.192 - 04/07/04 @ 12:49 AM EST I don't like MMORPGs.. they promise lots and get old real fast.

#3 - Talon - 04/07/04 @ 04:14 AM EST I'm thinking a few lashes are in order.

/ #4 - Houdini - 04/07/04 @ 09:31 AM EST as long as it doesnt require boring and tedious work to level up and enjoy the game to its fullest potential, i'llplay. in Earth and Beyond i got real pissed when i had to level up trade and exploration in order to continue advancing. the game had those 2 skills and combat.. combat was fun, flying for 15-30 real time minutes on trade runs got real old real fast. exploring got old as u uncovered everything and then were forced to be a tour guide for newbies. yawn. as long as WoW is at least 90% fun action.. i'm in. i'd whip Eidolon anyhow, typos or not. look at him, he needs a beating.

/ #5 - colinp - 04/07/04 @ 10:38 AM EST I never gave any other MMORPG a glance but WoW might just be the one that convinces me. Of course, I'll probably be in Japan by the time it gets released so maybe I shouldn't even get my hopes up about the game... Shit, I might miss out on alot of games.

/ #6 - BorderCollie - 04/07/04 @ 11:55 AM EST I wonder how long it will be until someone commits suicide over something that happens in the game. People did that over Everquest. Stupid people.

#7 - sweetjimmy - 04/07/04 @ 12:25 PM EST yes, but not tongue lashes this time, talon! / So far, I've played UO, DAoC, EQ, and SW:G, and the only one that held my interest for more than a couple weeks was UO. The interfaces were horrible, but it was the first and at one time, long, long ago, it did have charm. All the 3D Morpigs seem like the same thing to me. If any developer can buck that trend, though, it's gotta be Blizzard. Yes, I'll give this one a try. I've heard lots of good things about it. Maybe I can get my wife into it,/have something to play with her aside from dungeon siege (blech). /

/ / #8 - Arioch - 04/07/04 @ 01:00 PM EST It/e. I also played many MMORPGs and spent the most time playing UO. I gave up DAOC over a year ago and WoW is the only one coming out that I am interested in.

/ / - sweetjimmy- 04/07/04 @ 02:07 PM EST UO was the last game to really get my heart pumping. Nothing like outrunning a group of PKer's and hiding to watch them run right past you. Good times!

/ / - Pezman- 04/07/04 @ 03:22 PM EST Needs screenshots of Two Headed Ogre Players.

/ / - murry2- 04/07/04 @ 04:20 PM EST I've never played an MMORPG but this one looks good. The guys at pennyarcade seem to love the beta.

/ - Meeks- 04/07/04 @ 07:13 PM EST Looking forward to this one and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes the most. / Currently I'm in the City of Heroes beta and, I must admit, that game is loads of fun to play. Eat my justice!

/ / #13 - Anon@68.209.219.234 - 04/07/04 @ 10:48 PM EST / I'd say, for those of you that hate MMORPG's because they promise much and offer little, to look at WoW.

/ / #14 - Anon@220.240.60.121 - 04/08/04 @ 12:11 AM EST / is it just me or has nay one else noticed that with all the MMORPG's about of late, its like 'we cant stop them from pir8ing our games, but we can stop them playing them..... namely with: disalowing pir8 copies on the servers, and charging subscription fees... therefor eliminateing one of the reasons behind pir8ing..

/ / #15 - Eidolon - 04/08/04 @ 01:06 AM EST That's not just MMORPG's Look at application software - everything is becoming embedded and placed on application servers and you just purchase a license instead of an actual copy. Keeps a flow of income, makes updating easier, and reduces pirating. It's a paradigm shift in all software not just MMORPGs

/ / #16 - nVidiot_Whore - 04/08/04 @ 02:30 AM EST Rapists < Murderers < Pedophiles < MMORPG Players < Everyone Else.

/ / #17 - Anon@68.78.74.239 - 04/08/04 @ 05:54 AM EST STOP USING WEBSITE STOCK PHOTOS IN GODDAMN REVIEWS

/ / #18 - Houdini - 04/08/04 @ 09:30 AM EST what is #17 talking about?

#19 - EyeLikeP00 - 04/08/04 @ 09:33 AM EST its true about more software requireing subscription and licensing. i hate it. while its easier for the companies to ensure that people are actually paying for their software, it's totally gouging the users. i have no problem with the idea of paying yearly for virus scanning software - BUT i do have a problem with paying $30 US (I'm in canada) for that. the way i see it, if i'm going to have to pay on a regular basis, why should i be paying the full cost of the software each time?? subscriptions should be cheap, so that you're paying for the full cost of the program over the lifetime of the subscription.

/ #20 - Anon@206.186.16.51 - 04/08/04 @ 09:45 AM EST WoW > then all.

/ #21 - sweetjimmy - 04/08/04 @ 10:23 AM EST 17- some games are pretty pissy when it comes to taking screen shots. I previewed one a while back where the game would crash out whenever I alt+tab'ed over to photoshop. The worst thing was it was a beta and it took a good 3 or 4 minutes to load up from the start, so to take 8 screen shots, it took me 25 minutes of load time alone. Then I had to play until something exciting happened... add quite a bit more time on there... Also, in some previews, developers are pretty picky about what screens you can use; you cannot use anything that shows unfinished content for instance. Best to just play it safe and not get into trouble.Last Edited on 04/08/04 @ 10:23 AM EST

#22 - Bulldog - 04/08/04 @ 02:19 PM EST // nods head at Sweetjimmy.

#23 - Anon@68.106.2.56 - 04/08/04 @ 10:16 PM EST when does World of Warcraft comes out?

#24 - Anon@24.220.145.72 - 04/08/04 @ 10:36 PM EST I just hope there will be Alliance vs Horde

#25 - Eidolon - 04/09/04 @ 12:22 AM EST #23 - sometime this summer #24 - yes there is Alliance vs. Horde. In fact you can only party with people in your group... as for PvP i'm not sure what the deal is with that, but if you are a Human you can't go adventuring with an Orc... gotta stay in your faction.

#26 - Anon@67.164.26.152 - 04/09/04 @ 12:28 AM EST I believe they stated PVP will be implemented in duel and in PK-enabled, alliance/horde based PVP zones. Read the battle.net forums for more info...

#27 - Anon@24.66.94.140 - 04/09/04 @ 05:15 AM EST this game looks super slick and all i gotta say is i cant wait to play.

/ #28 - Houdini - 04/09/04 @ 08:53 AM EST i'd like to see a lil bitty gnome hanging out with some huge-ass orcs, that'd be rather amusing. so.. if a bunch of folks here at GG get WoW.. we ought to group up. its not like 2k4 where u might play 15 minutes.. chances are if youre playing WoW, you will run across one another in that given timespan. i'll probably pick this one up, but only if u guys let me play with you. *cute/ / / #29 - Anon@217.209.65.223 - 04/09/04 @ 09:52 AM EST / / #30 - Anon@24.45.158.105 - 04/09/04 @ 10:26 AM EST / / #31 - sweetjimmy - 04/09/04 @ 10:31 AM EST / / #32 - EyeLikeP00 - 04/09/04 @ 11:05 AM EST i have no regrets... #33 - Anon@80.166.156.69 - 04/09/04 @ 12:06 PM EST EvilFreak / i think WoW is going to be a great game, and not to mention that the two-headed ogre l/

/ / #34 - Anon@68.228.34.60 - 04/09/04 @ 12:54 PM EST / 2 headed ogres were april fools

/ / #35 - Anon@194.106.46.181 - 04/09/04 @ 12:57 PM EST / erm... is it just me or was 2 headed ogres an april fools joke?

/ / #36 - Anon@194.106.46.181 - 04/09/04 @ 12:58 PM EST / you beat me!

/ / #37 - Bulldog - 04/09/04 @ 01:10 PM EST / Yes, 2 headed ogres were an April Fool's joke.

/ / #38 - Anon@67.82.185.83 - 04/09/04 @ 01:24 PM EST / its going to just end up being another everquest with a different player base (the blizzard game players) - the huge difference though, is that blizzard actually cares about its customers while sony doesn't. You can tell because blizzard at least attempted to make the games fair, fun, and balanced even on the free battle.net servers for games like wc3/TFT/starcraft/diablo2, etc.

/ / #39 - Anon@67.82.185.83 - 04/09/04 @ 01:25 PM EST / its going to just end up being another everquest with a different player base (the blizzard game players) - the huge difference though, is that blizzard actually cares about its customers while sony doesn't. You can tell because blizzard at least attempted to make the games fair, fun, and balanced even on the free battle.net servers for games like wc3/TFT/starcraft/diablo2, etc.

/ / #40 - Anon@67.82.185.83 - 04/09/04 @ 01:25 PM EST / sorry about double post =/

/ / #41 - Anon@194.106.46.181 - 04/09/04 @ 02:12 PM EST / i cant believe you! Double poster are idiots!

/ #42Anon@194.106.46.181 - 04/09/04 @ 02:12 PM EST i cant believe you! Double poster are idiots!

/ / / #43 - Anon@24.82.238.19 - 04/09/04 @ 03:42 PM EST i wanna have sex with an undead woman

/ / / #44 - sweetjimmy - 04/09/04 @ 04:00 PM EST ew! Unnecrophilia!

/ / / #45 - Anon@62.252.192.13 - 04/09/04 @ 05:02 PM EST When can i see this game being releast, realisticly

/ / / #46 - Anon@200.138.207.108 - 04/09/04 @ 07:15 PM EST cococ do c?

/ / / #47 - Anon@200.138.207.108 - 04/09/04 @ 07:16 PM EST Anon

/ / / #48 - Anon@64.12.116.141 - 04/09/04 @ 08:35 PM EST Pickle flavored chicken are good people too ya know

/ / / #49 - Anon@138.217.98.33 - 04/09/04 @ 08:55 PM EST No, says legolas975 on runescape, i think that ogres were real. all other things were jokes though. Compared 2 what im playing now wow will rock. It, from what i have heard of everquest, is better. It also has more charecter and storyline.