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World of Warcraft
Reviewed by:
Nathan Herman
(2/24/08) |
Accessibility Rating
7.9
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Game Overview --
World of Warcraft (WoW) is Blizzard's 800 pound gorilla sitting firmly atop the MMORPG market. Frankly, if you haven't heard of WoW, you're probably still in 1998. It follows the story line/lore of the previous RTS Warcraft games for setting, and basically just refines standard MMORPG conventions for gameplay. Why is that special? Why are there currently 10 million subscribers? It all comes down to the massive amount of polish and work that’s been pumped into this behemoth since its launch in 2004. Blizzard has really focused on making WoW the flagship title of the genre, not so much by innovation, but by attempting to perfect existing ideas.
There are probably hundreds of reviews out there where you can read about gameplay mechanics, balance, graphics, and whatnot... after all this game has been out for almost 4 years. So, let's get to the important question: how is it going to work for YOU?
Accessibility & UI/Controls --
By default, WoW is controlled with a combination of keyboard and mouse. There is a "click to move" function, but in crowded cities and raids it's nearly useless due to players and monsters getting in the way of your clicks. Something that helps me however, is the "move and steer key". Instead of having to map forwards, left, and right to separate keys, I can use the move and steer key. When pressed and held, it makes me run forward, while mouse movement steers me... similar to a FPS. This definitely won't work for everybody, but it's always good to have options.
The twitch factor for this game is relatively low despite its real-time combat. Each spell has a two second "global cool down" that prevents the need of quickly spamming different spells and abilities. As with most games, PVP is more hectic and intense... requiring you to position yourself correctly to hit your madly jumping and running opponents.
There isn't really any need for subtitles in this game, but when a character/monster does talk, the text is printed into the chat log. There is a built-in voice chat for party/raid/guild members, which to my knowledge, cannot be subtitled. If you're hearing-impaired, your best bet would be to either tell that to your party/guild, or just say you can't use voice chat... not everyone uses it anyway.
One of the most unique things about WoW is its Add-on (or mod) system. Though not as powerful as it was in the beginning of WoW's lifecycle, the Add-On system allows users to create modifications to interface and usability. Whereas most first-person shooter mods changed the core gameplay, WoW's add-ons generally make the game "easier" to play. For example, the add-on Healbot helps healers by displaying a small window with potential heal targets... simply click a person's name, and heal them. Without this add-on, you would need to click the person's portrait, or press F2-F5, and then click the correct healing spell, or press the spell's hotkey. Sometimes Blizzard even adopts add-ons into the basic UI, making it a part of the game forever. This boosts the accessibility simply by giving the user more options and customizability.
Summary --
WoW is a difficult game for me to rate subjectively. I've been playing it for about three years, and absolutely love it. I can play it well, but it's always hard for me to estimate how people will do with games I enjoy. You'll be able to decide that more effectively than I can, so it's difficult for me to put a score on this. Hopefully I've given you enough information to decide. Be warned, however: addiction is extremely likely...
Pros |
Cons |
• Excellent add-on system that boosts customizability
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• Click-to-move system is difficult to manage |
• Move and steer key cuts down on key bindings
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PVP is difficult for individuals with low mobility/reflexes |
| • Moderately low twitch factor
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