Game Look: World of Warcraft

My Story:
I started playing World of Warcraft (WoW) my freshman year of high school. I beta tested for a couple of months and got hooked beyond belief. After playing a season of football, I did nothing with my free time but play the game. After 3 years of a love/hate relationship, I still find myself coming back to this game in time of boredom.

Review:
This game is addictive. Addictive enough that anyone who wishes to have a live should go nowhere near this game. 8 million players world wide should tell you that this game is good. Addictively good. Well, enough of that.

Huge world, inviting story line, and a deep, involved community is what this game is all about. From low level questing, to mid level PvPing ( Player vs. Player), to the massive four to six hour long boss raids, this game will have you hooked. There is a ton of things to explore, and a lot to accomplish.

The game is created by Blizzard, creators of many successful franchises, including Diablo, Diablo II, Starcraft, and the Warcraft Series, which is what WoW is based off of.

The only downside one could have with this game is the $15 a month fee, but in my opinion, it's worth it.

Graphics:
I don't have an over the top computer that could run a military database like the one my brother spent months building, but the graphics are still nice. My four year old Vaio runs the game smoothly, and the actual game servers rarely give you lag. The lush environments and harsh action is displayed beautifully in this game.

Gameplay:
Again, if you don't want to ruin your social life, do not go near this game. The gameplay mechanics are easy to learn, but hard to master. If you play on a Player vs. Player realm, you'll find yourself frustrated time and time again, yet still be enjoying the game. There is sooooo much to do, that you'll find yourself aimlessly wandering from place to place for hours.

The group aspect of the game is immense, and you'll make friends and enemies quickly. At higher levels, groups are essential for larger "Boss" battles and "Raids", which consist of anywhere from 5 to 25 players.

The Virtual to Real Revolution:
With an over the top popular online game, there comes some real money to be made. There are countless gold sellers, power levelers, and item sellers throughout the net that will sell you virtual currency for real, cold, hard cash. This sometimes make it tempting to just go out and have somebody play the game for you, and you'd pay them. Why would you though? If the game is not fun, then don't play it. I've lost many of friends to this, and hopefully you wont turn to this in times of deperation.

My Opinion:
Buy the game, it comes with a 30 day free play time, and trust me, you wont play for only those 30 days. It's so addictive, it's scary. I've recommended the game to friends that I haven't seen for more than 30 min. outside their homes because of it.

No matter what, try it, there's a 5 day trial floating around worldofwarcraft.com, and I'm sure you'll get hooked.