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By Tom McNamara, Posted December 10, 2004
Verdict: World of Warcraft, like any MMO, is a tough game to score. Your play experience will have no concrete resolution, and content and character class balancing will make for a slightly different experience from one month to the next. And WoW III had some debilitating issues at launch trying to handle the record-breaking number of people filing in for subscriptions. After having written about the extremely long queues, they have dwindled to almost nothing, even at peak playing times, and the game has become much more stable. I still get the occasional crash, but WoW still has a polish that puts most other MMO launches to shame. Almost a victim of its own popularity, World of Warcraft quickly found its feet, serving up no fewer than eighty-eight servers across the country, with more likely on the way.
By Steve Butts, Posted January 30, 2007
Verdict: Few World of Warcraft players would consider their experience complete without the additions that The Burning Crusade brings. The ridiculous first-day sales numbers support this. If you didn’t care for the gameplay of the original game, there’s nothing here that’s going to change your mind. Still, players who are new to MMOs won’t find a better introduction than the two new races found here.
For players who already love the game and have been anxious to break through the level cap, The Burning Crusade is a done deal. They bought it on day one and are now happily butting up against the new level cap.
Still, the forty-dollar price tag is a bit steep, particularly for players who aren’t inclined to try the new races or aren’t powerful enough yet to venture into Outland.
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By Charles Onyett, Posted November 26, 2008
Verdict: With Wrath of the Lich King, World of Warcraft’s play style has been tweaked to be more accessible, addictive, and deeper. Any longtime player is sure to be pleased with what Blizzard’s done here since it gives the higher level population a wealth of new content for play as well as improves the overall look of the world. And let’s be honest, if you’re going to spend hundreds of hours in a virtual space, it helps if it’s pretty. It’s an MMO system that works, as the game’s success underlines, but you’ve got to ask yourself after four years how long this kind of momentum can last. Perhaps within the next two years, or by the time the next World of Warcraft expansion is released, there’ll be a clearer answer.
As for now, Blizzard is more than content to build on World
By Nick Kolan, Posted December 22, 2010
Verdict: If you include the vast changes to the core game, Cataclysm is far and away the most impressive expansion to an MMO ever made, but if you just isolate what Cataclysm itself gets you, it’s ultimately less content than Wrath of the Lich King. It’s also better content than Wrath, with engaging storylines, inventive quests, and some very striking visuals. Even without the core Azeroth changes, Cataclysm is an excellent expansion in its own right, and worthy of your attention whether you’re a veteran of Northrend or a grunt just getting your toes wet for the first time.
By Charles Onyett, Posted October 4, 2012
Verdict: Mists of Pandaria is an expansion built for the high level player that shows off Blizzard’s skill with dungeon design and offers plenty of rewards for long-term play. It’s also the best questing in World of Warcraft, with strong emphasis on storytelling, resulting in an entertaining run from 85 to 90 that seldom tumbles into tedium. While not all the new systems dazzle, more than anything, Mists proves that Blizzard’s venerable MMO is still one of the best around, a mix of breezy questing, top tier class design, and multiple systems to encourage the cutthroat competition that props up the end game. World of Warcraft is still devilishly effective at teasing god-like power, where you start with nothing and climb step by step up a colossal mountain of progression until you can, someday, sp
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By Leif Johnson, Posted on November 13, 2014
Verdict: Warlords of Draenor demonstrates that World of Warcraft remains perched on top of the MMO heap for a reason. An emphasis on fun pervades every detail of the experience, whether it’s in the prevalent rare enemies dotting the countryside, the chance of upgradable loot, or bonus areas that encourage exploration. It somewhat dangerously overemphasizes single-player gameplay with its admittedly entertaining garrisons, but it does much to counter this tendency with design decisions that encourage socialization in the outside world. It’s a triumph that Blizzard should rightfully be proud of, and it hints that the team still possesses enough talent to extend WoW’s lifetime beyond a decade.
By Leif Johnson, Posted September 8, 2016
Verdict: After months of missteps, Legion shows World of Warcraft finding its footing again and asserting its relevance after more than a decade. Many elements make this an expansion worth enjoying, including class halls, gigantic zones filled with memorable stories, better socialization, the actiony new Demon Hunter class, and world quests. The one big question mark is whether Blizzard can maintain that energy after launch, but so far the outlook seems promising.
By Joseph Bradford, Posted August 24, 2018
Verdict: Battle for Azeroth has a lot to live up to thanks to its stellar predecessor in Legion, and for the most part it delivers. The storylines feel more intimate than Legion, and while the spectre of Azeroth itself dying is still looming overhead, on the whole it was nice to simply sit back and help solve the relatively smaller problems plaguing Kul Tiras and Zandalar. But, while it definitely feels as though the Heart of Azeroth and Azerite armor will be important in the patches to come, and Blizzard fixed the grind right now their implementation feels forgettable. Island Expeditions also feel lacking overall, but the new Foothold excursions and new Battlegrounds map make up for the former’s lackluster debut. Ultimately Battle for Azeroth is a worthy if somewhat less ambitious successor
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World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Review
By Leana Hafer, Posted December 9, 2020
Verdict: The 10 levels you’ll spend getting to know the Shadowlands definitely live up to the standard of quality I expect from Blizzard in terms of zone design, music, and affecting character moments. And at max level, this is probably the most compelling World of Warcraft’s beckoning call to stick around has ever been, mainly because of Torghast and the chances it presents you to craft your own legendary items. But the fact remains that max-level play is designed to keep you around as long as possible with a limited amount of drip-fed story and repetitive daily and weekly activities, even if Shadowlands has more of them, and they’re more fun, than any previous expansion. Don’t get me wrong: this one ranks highly in the pantheon, up there with Legion and Wrath of the Lich King, partly because it makes some honest and substantial attempts to reinvent the tired endgame formula. I’m just still not sure if it goes far enough to hold my interest, and subscription dollars, in between the meatier story drops in major patches.