PC GAME REVIEW Upcoming 'Warcraft' is worth the wait

The game, to be released this summer, is not intimidating.
By VICTOR GODINEZ
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Online role-playing game "World of Warcraft" may not hit store shelves until the end of the summer, but it's not too early to say that this game is going to be huge. Blizzard probably could have counted on healthy sales based on the glowing reputation of its Warcraft real-time strategy games. Here, the developers have clearly poured a lot of time and money into this game.
Warcraft strategy games put you in command of massive armies, but "World of Warcraft" gives you a single character to control. You can choose your race -- orc, human, undead and so forth -- as well as your profession.
Although online role-playing games such as "Final Fantasy XI" can be intimidating for players with little online experience, "World of Warcraft" makes gamers feel right at home.
You can lumber off into the woods, killing wolves and thieves at random, but the most rewarding experience is talking to the computer-controlled characters who give you short quests.
For instance, I had to kill a local crime lord and bring his head back to the sheriff. In return, I got a piece of armor to upgrade my defenses, which came in handy on my next quest to clear a gold mine of monsters.
Gradual challenges
So the game gradually provides tougher quests, allowing you to upgrade your character and explore different parts of the map without feeling overwhelmed or unchallenged.
At the same time, there are swarms of other online players chatting, helping to clear out bad guys and selling their unneeded loot to other players.
"World of Warcraft" isn't a revolutionary game, and it does have some kinks the developers need to work out. But the superb player interface and thoughtful mission design mean "World of Warcraft" will be in high demand when it is released.
X"World of Warcraft," by Blizzard Entertainment for PC use, is not yet priced or rated.