Some time ago I was given the opportunity to enter the World of Warcraft beta, by merit of being a pseudo-journalist with a penchant for pestering corporate types who have access to this sort of cyber shindig. If you’re one of those gamers who has never really taken it upon themselves to familiarize with these sorts of games, it is perhaps best described as several thousand geeks gathering in one shared virtual world for the largest, mostly ungodly game of Dungeons & Dragons ever made imaginable by man. Just sit back and imagine the palpable ambiance for a moment, and then give thanks that those odor-generating peripheral devices for the PC never quite took off. Yes, yet another massively multiplayer online title, yet another fantasy game with drunken dwarves and effeminate elves, and yet more button mashing to receive a pellet. And though it has all the essential elements to be another generic clone of other successful MMO titles, WoW has made itself readily apparent to be more than the sum of its parts, in some respects. Then there’s the other twenty hours of the day, when it’s little more than a pretty version of Everquest, sans the openly malevolent developers. In any event, beta impressions are to follow, and it is important to stress that they are no more than that: impressions of a game in an unfinished beta state and still quite some time from a retail release.

The title is of course based on Blizzard’s hugely successful RTS series, Warcraft, where one took control of minions and sent them scurrying about, harvesting resources and slaughtering the local wildlife in some effort to save or destroy the natural order of the world. In this MMO version, one will instead be cast as the individual minion mentioned previously, only without the omniscient guidance of a higher power. The player can choose between the forces of the Horde or Alliance, their respective races, and those character classes available to their race. This simple series of selections immediately determines what sort of play experience lies ahead for the player, be it soaking up and dealing damage with a melee class, providing healing and enhancements with a support class, or blasting the screaming life essence out of everything in sight with a caster class. Between these generalized careers are also hybrid characters which function as a sort of “jack of all trades, master of none” class, those that can fight, heal, and blast enemies all at once, for those players who prefer a little versatility in their online avatars. Often the important first step is simply finding which aspect appeals most to you and applying yourself to that class, though most players will go through several test characters before finding one that best suits their play style.

Now that you’ve chosen who you’ll be and what you’ll do in the game, you’ll be transported to a low-level “newbie” region to begin your trek to greatness. These regions are relatively safe, quiet locales off the beaten path, where a player can gain their first few levels, learn a bit about the world and the back-story regarding their chosen race, gain some gear or spells, and then depart, now better equipped, into the world at large. Regions ramp up in difficulty as the player ranges farther afield in a rather logical and obvious fashion: monsters will be larger and more aggressive the further the player travels, and the rewards will be greater. And the reward system, invariably, is what most MMO titles boil down to. Though some players prefer exploration and socialization, the bottom line is that you simply cannot go certain places without being properly equipped and powered, unless you’re satisfied with spending a lot of time on your back staring at the sky with your entrails strewn about you in a meat-themed halo. So it’s advisable that prospective players be somewhat prepared to spend time acquiring gear and earning money to purchase equipment if they expect to have any sort of chances for survival over the course of their play experience.

WoW incorporates a rather robust graphics engine, and though the oft-times “cartoony” appearance may be somewhat of a turn-off for some players, it is very much true to Blizzard’s artistic stylings in past titles. Exaggerated features, ridiculously muscled limbs, and brightly-colored trappings are the order of the day, with the player able to customize their character’s physical aspects in regards to skin tone, face, hair style and color, piercings, even war paint. And though at this time there is no way to change the color or appearance of the gear you acquire, each major item will change how you look as well as perform, making for some rather interesting compromises between fashion and function. The world as well is quite beautiful and detailed, with vibrant colors, ground foliage, and constantly changing day/night cycles, which are currently mirror Pacific Daylight Time. It’s a rather interesting experience to notice the in-game sun setting between snow-capped mountain peaks, and then to look outside and realize that damn, it really is that late already. When in combat, the constant visual effects and explosions of light both dazzle and inform the player as to how the battle is going and who is doing what, allowing for one to focus more on staying alive and enjoying the display instead of reading battle text at the bottom of the screen. Though should one wish to analyze statistics and information, the GUI can be customized to a great extent to inform the player in a somewhat more literal fashion as to how events are unfolding.

The audio is similarly impressive with the sound of steel clashing, grunts of pain or exertion ringing out, battle cries and pleas for assistance. Moreover there are all sorts of ambient noise appropriate to the region the player is moving through, be it sighing winds and buzzing insects in the more arid regions, or the dark rustling and cries of unseen beasties in shadowed woodland areas. Played over this is some very pleasant background music to set the mood, which can range from intense combat riffs to melodic stringed ensembles, and each of these different sound stimuli can be adjusted or disabled as the player prefers. There are also vocal commands customized for each race, such as cheers of victory, intimidating challenges, cries for help, or cautioning notes. These can be heard not only by the people in your group, but also your immediate surroundings, which many players take great pleasure in enthusiastically sharing to no end. Delightfully, this can also be disabled at one’s discretion.

Gameplay follows a rather standard set of rules, with the assumption that most quests will involve killing things, collecting objects, or carrying something to another non-player character elsewhere in the world. This often involves an awful lot of running around over extensive distances, but to ameliorate this, Blizzard has been kind enough to include flight paths between significant points for each faction, with wyverns and bats for the Horde to ride, hippogriffs and gryphons for the Alliance. Once a player has opened a flight path, they can always return to it from another, connected location for a small monetary settlement. This is also arguably the best way to see the world, as the visuals from a hundred feet up are easily the most impressive to be had. Combat itself is both simplistic and complex at different levels. A player may select a target in their field of view with the mouse cursor or by cycling through targets with a hotkey, and then attack in whatever manner they see fit. In the event of death, the player can either utilize a resurrection item (assuming they have one in their inventory), or release their spirit and appear in a ghostly form at the local graveyard. From there they can return to their carcass in relative safety (Blizzard has cautioned that certain creatures in the game will be able to attack ghosts at some point) and return to life once they find a safe means of doing so by moving to a less vulnerable spot and rejoining the world of the living.

In addition to laying waste to the various and assorted creatures of the world, one can also engage in combat with other players, either in a one-on-one duel method, or should they opt for the Player vs. Player server, all-out war. While the former is merely a battle to the last few fragments of health, the PvP server imposes frequent and violent death at the hands of other gamers, to the enjoyment of many people, the author of this article included. While the PvP system is very bare bones at this time, it is also the most promising and compelling form of combat in the game, as every player has different equipment, strategies, and means of combat, which force one to adapt on the fly and constantly re-assess their own strengths and weaknesses.

If there is one thing Blizzard is showing with WoW, it is that they can take a rather stagnant and tired medium, such as the MMO fantasy genre, and give it a hitherto unprecedented amount of polish and style. While the setting and play style is not particularly innovative or ground-breaking (being based on an existing franchise and established form, respectively), it is very well done and presented, and furthermore quite friendly to players both new to the game or the genre as a whole. With a relatively short learning curve for the basics, and almost no limit as to how far a determined player can take their play experience over time, this game in its current beta state is more presentable and bug-free than many MMO titles that have been in retail for a year or more. It is however, not without its own critical shortcomings and questionable design decisions, which will be addressed in the next beta impressions article.