Is World of Warcraft Losing Its Charm?

Blizzard knows how to make a good game. No one doubts that. From the Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo series have come the greatest profits in history for video games. World of Warcraft itself has a population bigger than most U.S. states.

Of course, we all remember the first time we played WoW. Jumping on, looking around, having your jaw drop at the amazing beauty, admiring the game itself, and spending the first week messing around and learning it. Arguably, games are the best when you first play them because of the sense of “newness” that makes you feel like you’ve stumbled upon gold. However, after two expansion packs and nothing that changes how the game works majorly, the formula of spells and combat have grown weary for many. It isn’t that the formula is bad, because it is actually better than most RPG’s, but it has been the same for so long now that people might have started becoming sick of it. The graphics, no matter how outdated, are still stunning and beautiful, especially in the new expansion pack, Wrath of the Lich King. The quest and leveling system, character stats, and talents are well made, offering a well balanced mix of strategy and preference. The characters are lively, and the story is good, especially if you are familiar with Warcraft lore from previous games. The game interface is awesome, allowing extreme customization with the use of fan-made addons.

Now, with all that aside, what is the matter with the formula that has started to push players away? I think many can agree that the main reason is because of the lack of interaction. That may be a big claim, because combat in WoW takes more work on your part than many other games. Still, however, people want to be immersed in the game. The reason FPS’ are so popular is because its in first person. You feel into the game because it is like looking from your own perspective. I’m not saying that WoW needs to go first person (you can already do that by scrolling in on the mouse wheel) but what I’m saying is that maybe a few tips from the FPS department wouldn’t hurt. Blizzard needs to find a way to make you more immersed in the game play. It’s amazing when you are just exploring, and it is truly right then where you feel like your character is you and you have come upon this world of awesome beauty. Then, however, you go to combat and fall back to yourself, forced to press buttons for spells and powers. Maybe a new system that lacks auto-attack would work out. If Blizzard could effectively make the game a sort of FPSMMORPG, maybe it would solve the problem. For example, for guns and bows, keep reloading times, but put a cross hair and have people learn to aim themselves. The same with swords. Let people click to swing, and depending on how heavy it is, the time before the can swing again, and also, maybe, right click to bring up a shield to lower the damage taken. Technically, a mix between Oblivion and Darkfall.

Who knows what will happen. World of Warcraft is an amazing game and well worth the fee to play it. Blizzard deserves kudos for the amazing effort they put into WoW. We can only hope that Blizzard can effectively save WoW from falling into the depression that haunts the RPG genre. They are pretty good at that, after all.