The world in which your character lives is occupied by both non-player characters, as well as other players just like you. Your character is still alive, just waiting for you to return and continue the adventure. When you stop playing, that is not the end of your game. You create a character(s), and it “lives†online. For those unfamiliar with the concept, it basically means that the game takes place online, in a massive world hosted on Blizzard Entertainments servers.
Nor did I know anything at all about World of Warcraft (WoW).Ī quick few minutes of online reading revealed that WoW is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Perhaps I had signed up for it months before, but I honestly did not remember. So I was surprised to get an email from Blizzard telling me I had been approved and invited to join their online test of something called “ World of Warcraft†during their beta test of the online system.
#WORLD OF WARCRAFT MAC MAC#
No reason, really, but I had fallen out of Mac computer games. I don’t usually play games on my Macintosh anymore. Nowadays, if I need a video game fix, it is usually Playstation 2, X-Box, or GameCube that quenches that desire. And as fun as Starcraft has been, it, too, is essentially Warcraft, albeit in space.Īs the publisher or, as well as other writing gigs, I have had scant time to keep up with the world of Macintosh gaming over the last few years. While the graphics between Warcraft II and III are vastly different, it was essentially the same game, albeit with far superior game play. You had to create a town, build up an army, and defeat the other armies in battle, either computer controlled or against real people. The first three major Warcraft games were similar in that you had a gods-eye view. (Donkey Kong and Mario come to mind.)īlizzard must employ some smart people. And even then, most reincarnations of those franchise games tend to become either watered-down versions of the original, or keep even the least vestiges of recognizable content with the originals over time. Very few games become institutions unto themselves, and less have a shelf life of over a decade.
#WORLD OF WARCRAFT MAC SERIES#
But their crown jewel is still the Warcraft series of games. Of course, this was 1996, and in the decade since, online gaming has evolved to the point that Warcraft II, while arguably still a fun game to play, seems quaint by comparison.īlizzard Entertainment has crafted some of the best games of all time, from Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, and more.
Online play, I thought, was at its pinnacle. To build archers, regular soldiers, or a combination of both? Build a ton of warriors, or a few but get the upgrades going, making one upgraded warrior equal to a few regular ones? Perhaps creating a bunch of the little suicide bomber guys that could take out a small building(s) in a single hit, but were easily killed from a distance if spotted? Rushing to build up my defenses, while also building a strike force able to seek out and engage his town was nerve wrecking to say the least. Where and when Mike would strike was half the fun.
But with Warcraft II, all I could see was my own little army. Up until that time, playing head to head against real world people meant stale console games that were fun, but a little too easy if for no other reason than you could easily see the other players side of the television, where they were hiding, etc.