Digitally Disillusioned

One thing I’ve really neglected to dwell on in the semi-review capacity of this series is something at the core of the World of Warcraft experience: graphics and sound. Perhaps if I were playing another MMO this would be a secondary concern, but in World of Warcraft it certainly isn’t as this game is simply lavish in its attention to detail.

From the moment you enter the world of Azeroth you are surrounded by incredibly lush visuals that absolutely immerse you in the game. While outlying settlements can be considered a bit sparse, they still are fantastically rendered and a wonder to behold. This of course doesn’t hold a candle to the larger cities, and while I’ve only thus far experienced Ironforge, fantastic doesn’t begin to capture its impression. Even from a distance one is taken aback at how absolutely gorgeous it is. And in that respect, World of Warcraft really takes advantage of the hardware you have at hand. Last night in the game one of my companions remarked on how epic a presence Ironforge maintained from a distance. We had just cleared out a troll encampment which must have cost the trolls a pretty penny as the view was fantastic, well, for my friend at least. My draw distance was set to a more modest setting and I was unable to take it in until I cranked it up to the maximum. While this offered me the same undeniably impressive view, regrettably it killed my framerates. It was still playable, but unpleasantly so.

He is running a Athlon XP 3200 with a Radeon 9800 Pro at 1024×768. My 20″ Intel iMac was set to its native 1650×1080 resolution using its built in Radeon Mobility 1600. So the point here is two-fold: first, it looks stunning and lavish even on modest settings; and second, that it will maximize your experience if your hardware can support it. I can only describe the balancing act Blizzard has performed here as perfect.

Playing second fiddle to the graphics is the sound, but it only comes in second due to the over-the-top production of the visuals. While the sound effects are substantial, it’s hard to get excited about grunts, growls, zaps, and clashes. What one can get exceedingly excited about is the music which is just brilliant in design and execution. Those who have experienced more of the game than I tell me it only gets better as you progress through the content, but the music so far has been utterly beautiful and so subtly accents the gameplay that, honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a game sound so good. So, whatever anyone anywhere things of World of Warcraft as a game, it is hard to argue that Blizzard has done anything but put on the best game face humanly possible.

Tonight was the first night that it was going to be three of us conquering the challenges set before us. Previously I’d hit level 8, and both my friends took some spare time to ensure their characters - a dwarven paladin and a dwarven hunter - were on equal footing. However, somehow I’d managed to not complete most of the quests in the Khandros area while they both had. Our first adventure then was to catch me up on quests. Our first stop was a local Troll haunt. Attentive readers should note that this is the actual cave we were looking for three nights previous when we went entirely the wrong way, eventually ending our night confronting Old Icebeard, the 11th level reaper of death. Being of a level somewhat advanced for the situation, we made short work of the trolls, and quickly moved on to our next obligation: the leper gnomes of Gnomeregan.

This presumably was a bit of a homecoming for my character, as Gnomeregan is the fatherland of all gnomes who now live in exile as it had befallen some dread misfortune. Our quest was only sending us to the surrounding hills to loot gears and cogs from my gnomish brethren that had fallen prey to a curse induced leprosy. Indeed, our very quest was integral to the restoration of the leper gnomes to normality. But one can’t make an omelet without, well, you know, so the three of us (four if you count the imp) set about smashing little gnomish heads in for the required parts. This led to a number of party deaths, a series of which left me cold and alone and without mana with one leper gnome before me. While I emerged victorious from the “gnomish knife fight” it was a situation fraught with peril, as well as being pretty damn funny.

A few simple fetch quests remained, including the devious switcheroo of a competitor’s ale into the vaults of the local bar, and gods be praised, I was soon rewarded with a robe to replace my questionable attire. While purple and white, it restored much of my lost dignity while offering protection equivalent with what the current shops were offering.

We then proceeded on a number of quests to enable our hunter player to learn how to obtain pets. While time consuming and covering established territory, nothing was quite as amusing as watching him dismiss his snow leopard to recruit the required bear and having said leopard instantly bite his face off.

A fantastic side effect of our gnomish foray was that I was now drowning in linen, a reagent I previously was complaining about. As I’m sure everyone who plays the game already knows, most if not all humanoid characters in World of Warcraft will drop linen when killed. I would have had even more linen if trial characters were able to trade, but I was finally able to put my tailoring skills to the test and made, compared to my current bankroll, a bloody fortune doing so. While I am still many levels of tailoring away from being able to craft the pattern I found many nights ago, it was deeply satisfying to explore the skill and craft a few items, especially when the profits were so tidy.

Another feature of World of Warcraft I encountered in substantial quantities tonight were treasure chests, seemingly random drops of booty found in various places including, oddly enough, the bottom of a lake. While the contents were never extraordinarily exciting, they were impressive compared to the loot monsters were dropping and it was a big thrill to discover one, especially when they were found just off the beaten path.

As our play wound down for the evening - having completed all the local quests and achieving level 10 and my first talent, as yet unallocated - we then proceeded to experiment in, well, base jumping. What I mean is we’d throw ourselves off the highest hills we could find and see how much damage we could take. It doesn’t sound like much, but it was really funny. I won with 140 points of damage, which damn near killed me.

After our paladin called it a night, I had one quest remaining in my inventory, and I really wanted to see it through as it was going to take me beyond the boundaries of my starting kingdom for the first time. It was a simple delivery of beer quest, and it required a substantial bit of footwork to the east. However in the end I was greeted with my first look on World of Warcraft without snow on everything. A mist filled the sky, and I swear I could actually smell the fresh air.

It was, in fact, a liberating experience. While I know the game world is large, this was my first substantial step into a larger world, and I was excited at the prospects of uncovering what the world had in store for me. The long road ahead begins with but a single step, and this was mine.

It was not long after this that I completed my quest and retired for the night, obviously in dire need of some sleep.