Of Orcs and Heroes: World of Warcraft

By Jonathan Berohn

With the success of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies, now is a good time to be associated with all things Orc. If your Orcs also happen to be the stars of a successful computer game franchise, even better. Such is the situation Blizzard Entertainment finds itself in with the upcoming release of its first MMORPG, World of Warcraft.

MMORPG, for those of you who don't spend every waking minute glued to your computer, is short for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. In short, these are Internet games where thousands of people play at the same time, interacting with each other in the guise of whatever character they play.

MMORPGs have been around for years. Sony's Everquest still has a dedicated following even though the game has been out for ages. New entries such as Anarchy Online and Star Wars Galaxies have also carved out a sizable group of players. The MMORPG is a new venture for Blizzard, though, which is well known for its fantasy simulation and smaller scale computer games.

Three of Blizzard's titles, Diablo, Starcraft, and Warcraft, are widely regarded as standards in their genres. That, in large part, is the source of all the excitement over World of Warcraft. Warcraft I, II, and III have sold millions of copies, and Blizzard's legion of fans can't wait to take the next step.

And it does promise to be an intriguing step. Players can choose characters from among Humans, Orcs, Elves, Trolls-even the walking dead. They can then specialize in such professions as Warrior, Mage, Priest, and Shaman to focus their skills. Once you have chosen your character, you then can explore miles and miles of exotic terrain, dense cities, and forbidding dungeons. Blizzard promises to update the game with new quests and adventures regularly.

That last bit is perhaps the most promising aspect of the game (and well it should be since, like most MMORPGs World of Warcraft will have a monthly fee to play). Blizzard is traditionally horrid with updates, so here's hoping they keep their word this time. The final release of the World of Warcraft is slated for mid-late 2004, but you can check out the progress and sign up for the free beta test now at the Blizzard site.