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Real news from the virtual world:

-HAMMER TIME: Four years after its launch, Blizzard Entertainment’s “World of Warcraft” continues to dominate the field of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (known by the acronym MMORPG). It’s not for lack of competition; dozens of companies have tried to peel off some of the 10 million “WoW” subscribers, only to be stymied by technical problems, lack of polish and player attrition. Funcom’s “Age of Conan,” for example, got off to a fast start earlier this year, only to be derailed by those problems.

The latest challenger is determined to avoid such issues. “Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning,” the sword-and-sorcery fantasy developed by Mythic Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts, has already attracted 750,000 players since its September debut. But Mythic co-founder Mark Jacobs said: “The launch is just the beginning. Even the first year is only a step.”

“No MMORPG is ever ready to go out,” Jacobs said. “These games are so complicated, you can never get it 100 per cent right.” For a new online game to succeed, he said, players have to be “able to do everything it says on the box.”

“Warhammer” executive producer Jeff Hickman said the goal is to “keep the momentum going,” especially with the busy holiday season and a much-anticipated “WoW” expansion coming up. “We stay on top of what’s going on, and we’re going to keep expanding,” Hickman said. “We care about what the players are saying. Our first two patches were about making players happy - within reason.”

Creative director Paul Barnett said “Warhammer” is more than a computer game, it’s a hobby. “And at 50 cents a day,” he added, “it’s the most cost-effective hobby in the digital age.”

-VIRTUAL OBAMA: Most of us have got used to ads in video games, particularly in sports games, where they provide a dose of realism. It makes sense that you’d see a Ford billboard in “Need for Speed,” or a Puma poster in “NBA Live.” But wait: What’s Barack Obama doing in “Burnout Paradise”?

If your Xbox 360 is connected to the Internet, you may see ads for Obama in some 18 games, including “Madden NFL 09.” The Obama campaign is targeting gamers in 10 states that allow early voting; the ads promote a website, VoteforChange.com, that explains the process.

“It reaches an audience that is typically hard to reach - young males, roughly 18 to 34,” said Holly Rockwood, a spokeswoman for Electronic Arts, publisher of all the above. “That’s very appealing to our advertisers.” There’s no indication that Republican John McCain’s campaign will mount a similar strategy.

-FEAR OF MUSIC: The most intriguing PlayStation 3 game of the year is Sony’s “LittleBigPlanet.” Unfortunately, it got a little too intriguing when an early reviewer discovered a few quotes from the Quran embedded in a musical track.

Sony recalled all copies of the game, which was due to go on sale this week. “We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologize for any offence that this may have caused,” said corporate communications director Patrick Seybold. Revised “LittleBigPlanet” discs should go out next week.

-NEW IN STORES: Microsoft’s “Fable II,” the long-awaited epic from “Black & White” mastermind Peter Molyneux, arrives on the Xbox 360. … Ubisoft’s exotic first-person shooter series goes to Africa in “Far Cry 2″ (for the 360, PlayStation 3). Rockstar revs up two new chapters of its “Midnight Club” street racer: “Los Angeles” (360, PS3) and “L.A. Remix” (PlayStation Portable). … Nintendo invites you to create your own orchestra with “Wii Music.” … Marvel’s friendly neighbourhood web-slinger embarks on a new adventure in “Spider-Man: Web of Shadows” (Activision, most systems). … Dracula’s back in Konami’s “Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia” (DS). … Majesco takes a fresh approach to the classic dungeon crawl in “Away: Shuffle Dungeon” (DS). … Disney delivers a batch of new delights for the kids, including “Think Fast” (Wii), “Sing It” (360, PS3, PS2), “High School Musical 3: Senior Year Dance!” (360, Wii, PS3, PS2) and - for those of you who are bored with “Madden NFL 09″ - “Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell” (DS).

Related Topics:

• The Xbox 360 version of a lack- luster strategy game from a few years ago, “Warhammer: Battle March” doesn’t improve on the original. Actually, it’s a bit worse, as the precision of mouse and keyboard controls has been lost in the game’s transfer to the console. A serviceable but finger-twisting control scheme has been shoehorned in to work with the Xbox 360 controller, but it doesn’t feel responsive – a common complaint in this genre. At least the “Warhammer” world is interesting, and players can spend hours tweaking and painting their perfect army for online matches. Players choose from three campaigns – one each for the Empire, the Orcs or the forces of Chaos – and take their prearranged armies into battle, mission by mission. Units that survive a fight can be replenished and strengthened with new items and such, and new squads can be hired, but what players take with them onto the battlefield is generally all they have in a fight. Microsoft Xbox 360; $59.99 Age rating: Mature Wipeout HD 3 stars “Wipeout HD” takes several tracks from the two PlayStation Portable “Wipeout” games, tweaks them and shines them up for the big screen. As such, the game plays very much like it does on the PSP – but everything’s bigger and prettier. The racing is lightning-fast and flashy; players pilot zippy anti-gravity vehicles through futuristic tracks. Going fast is easy, but turning is tougher. These racers don’t grip the road, so players have to pair their turns with air brakes to make those tight corners. There are races against other vehicles, solo time trials and speed laps, and some other modes. In multi-vehicle races, players can pick up items while going through the tracks; some are weapons, others are speed boosts or defensive shields. Sony PlayStation 3 (PlayStation Network download); $19.99 Age rating: 10-plus World of Goo 3 1/2 stars In “World of Goo,” players use googly-eyed balls of goo to create semirigid structures leading to an exit pipe – to finish a stage, a certain number of globs must make it into the pipe. It’s a captivating, physics-based puzzle game. The simple graphics adhere to a charming style, and the music ranges from moody to madcap. The trick is to not run short of goo. The globs themselves form the structure they travel along, and whether they’re permanently stuck that way depends on the level and what kinds of goo are available. There are obstacles such as water and spikes that can take goo globs away, too. PC (2boy.com download), also for Nintendo Wii (WiiWare download); $20; 1,500 Wii points ($15) Age rating: Everyone – Justin Hoeger
• The Xbox 360 version of a lack- luster strategy game from a few years ago, “Warhammer: Battle March” doesn’t improve on the original. Actually, it’s a bit worse, as the precision of mouse and keyboard controls has been lost in the game’s transfer to the console. A serviceable but finger-twisting control scheme has been shoehorned in to work with the Xbox 360 controller, but it doesn’t feel responsive – a common complaint in this genre. At least the “Warhammer” world is interesting, and players can spend hours tweaking and painting their perfect army for online matches. Players choose from three campaigns – one each for the Empire, the Orcs or the forces of Chaos – and take their prearranged armies into battle, mission by mission. Units that survive a fight can be replenished and strengthened with new items and such, and new squads can be hired, but what players take with them onto the battlefield is generally all they have in a fight. Microsoft Xbox 360; $59.99 Age rating: Mature Wipeout HD 3 stars “Wipeout HD” takes several tracks from the two PlayStation Portable “Wipeout” games, tweaks them and shines them up for the big screen. As such, the game plays very much like it does on the PSP – but everything’s bigger and prettier. The racing is lightning-fast and flashy; players pilot zippy anti-gravity vehicles through futuristic tracks. Going fast is easy, but turning is tougher. These racers don’t grip the road, so players have to pair their turns with air brakes to make those tight corners. There are races against other vehicles, solo time trials and speed laps, and some other modes. In multi-vehicle races, players can pick up items while going through the tracks; some are weapons, others are speed boosts or defensive shields. Sony PlayStation 3 (PlayStation Network download); $19.99 Age rating: 10-plus World of Goo 3 1/2 stars In “World of Goo,” players use googly-eyed balls of goo to create semirigid structures leading to an exit pipe – to finish a stage, a certain number of globs must make it into the pipe. It’s a captivating, physics-based puzzle game. The simple graphics adhere to a charming style, and the music ranges from moody to madcap. The trick is to not run short of goo. The globs themselves form the structure they travel along, and whether they’re permanently stuck that way depends on the level and what kinds of goo are available. There are obstacles such as water and spikes that can take goo globs away, too. PC (2boy.com download), also for Nintendo Wii (WiiWare download); $20; 1,500 Wii points ($15) Age rating: Everyone – Justin Hoeger
• The Xbox 360 version of a lack- luster strategy game from a few years ago, “Warhammer: Battle March” doesn’t improve on the original. Actually, it’s a bit worse, as the precision of mouse and keyboard controls has been lost in the game’s transfer to the console. A serviceable but finger-twisting control scheme has been shoehorned in to work with the Xbox 360 controller, but it doesn’t feel responsive – a common complaint in this genre. At least the “Warhammer” world is interesting, and players can spend hours tweaking and painting their perfect army for online matches. Players choose from three campaigns – one each for the Empire, the Orcs or the forces of Chaos – and take their prearranged armies into battle, mission by mission. Units that survive a fight can be replenished and strengthened with new items and such, and new squads can be hired, but what players take with them onto the battlefield is generally all they have in a fight. Microsoft Xbox 360; $59.99 Age rating: Mature Wipeout HD 3 stars “Wipeout HD” takes several tracks from the two PlayStation Portable “Wipeout” games, tweaks them and shines them up for the big screen. As such, the game plays very much like it does on the PSP – but everything’s bigger and prettier. The racing is lightning-fast and flashy; players pilot zippy anti-gravity vehicles through futuristic tracks. Going fast is easy, but turning is tougher. These racers don’t grip the road, so players have to pair their turns with air brakes to make those tight corners. There are races against other vehicles, solo time trials and speed laps, and some other modes. In multi-vehicle races, players can pick up items while going through the tracks; some are weapons, others are speed boosts or defensive shields. Sony PlayStation 3 (PlayStation Network download); $19.99 Age rating: 10-plus World of Goo 3 1/2 stars In “World of Goo,” players use googly-eyed balls of goo to create semirigid structures leading to an exit pipe – to finish a stage, a certain number of globs must make it into the pipe. It’s a captivating, physics-based puzzle game. The simple graphics adhere to a charming style, and the music ranges from moody to madcap. The trick is to not run short of goo. The globs themselves form the structure they travel along, and whether they’re permanently stuck that way depends on the level and what kinds of goo are available. There are obstacles such as water and spikes that can take goo globs away, too. PC (2boy.com download), also for Nintendo Wii (WiiWare download); $20; 1,500 Wii points ($15) Age rating: Everyone – Justin Hoeger
• The Xbox 360 version of a lack- luster strategy game from a few years ago, “Warhammer: Battle March” doesn’t improve on the original. Actually, it’s a bit worse, as the precision of mouse and keyboard controls has been lost in the game’s transfer to the console. A serviceable but finger-twisting control scheme has been shoehorned in to work with the Xbox 360 controller, but it doesn’t feel responsive – a common complaint in this genre. At least the “Warhammer” world is interesting, and players can spend hours tweaking and painting their perfect army for online matches. Players choose from three campaigns – one each for the Empire, the Orcs or the forces of Chaos – and take their prearranged armies into battle, mission by mission. Units that survive a fight can be replenished and strengthened with new items and such, and new squads can be hired, but what players take with them onto the battlefield is generally all they have in a fight. Microsoft Xbox 360; $59.99 Age rating: Mature Wipeout HD 3 stars “Wipeout HD” takes several tracks from the two PlayStation Portable “Wipeout” games, tweaks them and shines them up for the big screen. As such, the game plays very much like it does on the PSP – but everything’s bigger and prettier. The racing is lightning-fast and flashy; players pilot zippy anti-gravity vehicles through futuristic tracks. Going fast is easy, but turning is tougher. These racers don’t grip the road, so players have to pair their turns with air brakes to make those tight corners. There are races against other vehicles, solo time trials and speed laps, and some other modes. In multi-vehicle races, players can pick up items while going through the tracks; some are weapons, others are speed boosts or defensive shields. Sony PlayStation 3 (PlayStation Network download); $19.99 Age rating: 10-plus World of Goo 3 1/2 stars In “World of Goo,” players use googly-eyed balls of goo to create semirigid structures leading to an exit pipe – to finish a stage, a certain number of globs must make it into the pipe. It’s a captivating, physics-based puzzle game. The simple graphics adhere to a charming style, and the music ranges from moody to madcap. The trick is to not run short of goo. The globs themselves form the structure they travel along, and whether they’re permanently stuck that way depends on the level and what kinds of goo are available. There are obstacles such as water and spikes that can take goo globs away, too. PC (2boy.com download), also for Nintendo Wii (WiiWare download); $20; 1,500 Wii points ($15) Age rating: Everyone – Justin Hoeger
• The Xbox 360 version of a lack- luster strategy game from a few years ago, “Warhammer: Battle March” doesn’t improve on the original. Actually, it’s a bit worse, as the precision of mouse and keyboard controls has been lost in the game’s transfer to the console. A serviceable but finger-twisting control scheme has been shoehorned in to work with the Xbox 360 controller, but it doesn’t feel responsive – a common complaint in this genre. At least the “Warhammer” world is interesting, and players can spend hours tweaking and painting their perfect army for online matches. Players choose from three campaigns – one each for the Empire, the Orcs or the forces of Chaos – and take their prearranged armies into battle, mission by mission. Units that survive a fight can be replenished and strengthened with new items and such, and new squads can be hired, but what players take with them onto the battlefield is generally all they have in a fight. Microsoft Xbox 360; $59.99 Age rating: Mature Wipeout HD 3 stars “Wipeout HD” takes several tracks from the two PlayStation Portable “Wipeout” games, tweaks them and shines them up for the big screen. As such, the game plays very much like it does on the PSP – but everything’s bigger and prettier. The racing is lightning-fast and flashy; players pilot zippy anti-gravity vehicles through futuristic tracks. Going fast is easy, but turning is tougher. These racers don’t grip the road, so players have to pair their turns with air brakes to make those tight corners. There are races against other vehicles, solo time trials and speed laps, and some other modes. In multi-vehicle races, players can pick up items while going through the tracks; some are weapons, others are speed boosts or defensive shields. Sony PlayStation 3 (PlayStation Network download); $19.99 Age rating: 10-plus World of Goo 3 1/2 stars In “World of Goo,” players use googly-eyed balls of goo to create semirigid structures leading to an exit pipe – to finish a stage, a certain number of globs must make it into the pipe. It’s a captivating, physics-based puzzle game. The simple graphics adhere to a charming style, and the music ranges from moody to madcap. The trick is to not run short of goo. The globs themselves form the structure they travel along, and whether they’re permanently stuck that way depends on the level and what kinds of goo are available. There are obstacles such as water and spikes that can take goo globs away, too. PC (2boy.com download), also for Nintendo Wii (WiiWare download); $20; 1,500 Wii points ($15) Age rating: Everyone – Justin Hoeger

No man is perfect. You cannot be a Mac daddy, liked by people all over the world. So it is with war power leveling. Although it can provide express fun experience of high level, not all the MMORPG players use Warhammer power leveling.
Since warhammer online gongce, more and more MMORPG players joined this game. At the same time, a few of them chose Warhammer online power leveling so that they can find happiness of high level while do not have to level their characters hour after hour. They may buy 12 hours warhammer leveling, 24 hours Warhammer leveling, or 1-10/10-20/20-30 warhammer leveling packages as they like.
As is mentioned, they pay for War leveling because they wanna find happiness. But someone did become angry because of the war power leveling. They may be unsatisfied with the skills learned or the delay of delivery which is the most common reason. If they became angry for the skills reason, why not express your order clearly before you allowed them to start the power leveling? While If you are angry for the delay, and mostly because of the updating of the game system, are you finding a reason to become angry? You are really finding trouble yourselves. It is unavoidable. If you do wanna be angry, you forgot the reason why you chose Warhammer leveling. You wanna find happiness not trouble.
So before you buy War power leveling and pay for it, kindly make sure what do you want. Wanna find trouble or happiness?

Related Topics:

• Picks and Pans: Warhammer: Battle March, Wipeout HD, more
• Picks and Pans: Warhammer: Battle March, Wipeout HD, more
• Picks and Pans: Warhammer: Battle March, Wipeout HD, more
• Picks and Pans: Warhammer: Battle March, Wipeout HD, more
• Picks and Pans: Warhammer: Battle March, Wipeout HD, more

The Xbox 360 version of a lack- luster strategy game from a few years ago, “Warhammer: Battle March” doesn’t improve on the original. Actually, it’s a bit worse, as the precision of mouse and keyboard controls has been lost in the game’s transfer to the console. A serviceable but finger-twisting control scheme has been shoehorned in to work with the Xbox 360 controller, but it doesn’t feel responsive – a common complaint in this genre. At least the “Warhammer” world is interesting, and players can spend hours tweaking and painting their perfect army for online matches.

Players choose from three campaigns – one each for the Empire, the Orcs or the forces of Chaos – and take their prearranged armies into battle, mission by mission. Units that survive a fight can be replenished and strengthened with new items and such, and new squads can be hired, but what players take with them onto the battlefield is generally all they have in a fight.

Microsoft Xbox 360; $59.99

Age rating: Mature

Wipeout HD
3 stars

“Wipeout HD” takes several tracks from the two PlayStation Portable “Wipeout” games, tweaks them and shines them up for the big screen. As such, the game plays very much like it does on the PSP – but everything’s bigger and prettier.

The racing is lightning-fast and flashy; players pilot zippy anti-gravity vehicles through futuristic tracks. Going fast is easy, but turning is tougher. These racers don’t grip the road, so players have to pair their turns with air brakes to make those tight corners.

There are races against other vehicles, solo time trials and speed laps, and some other modes. In multi-vehicle races, players can pick up items while going through the tracks; some are weapons, others are speed boosts or defensive shields.

Sony PlayStation 3 (PlayStation Network download); $19.99

Age rating: 10-plus

World of Goo
3 1/2 stars

In “World of Goo,” players use googly-eyed balls of goo to create semirigid structures leading to an exit pipe – to finish a stage, a certain number of globs must make it into the pipe. It’s a captivating, physics-based puzzle game. The simple graphics adhere to a charming style, and the music ranges from moody to madcap.

The trick is to not run short of goo. The globs themselves form the structure they travel along, and whether they’re permanently stuck that way depends on the level and what kinds of goo are available. There are obstacles such as water and spikes that can take goo globs away, too.

PC (2boy.com download), also for Nintendo Wii (WiiWare download); $20; 1,500 Wii points ($15)

Age rating: Everyone

– Justin Hoeger

Related Topics:

• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm v1.1.0 French Patch
• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm v1.1.0 French Patch
• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm v1.1.0 French Patch
• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm v1.1.0 French Patch
• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm v1.1.0 French Patch

Description: - Fixed Sisters of Battle Holy Icon resource bug.
- Fixed Dark Eldar Observer Soul Powers bug.
- Fixed Eldar Harlequin’s Dance of Death ability that reset the player’s resources.
- The Illusory Monolith will no longer become real if there are Flayed Ones inside.
- Addressed an issue with trainers working in multiplayer games.
- The automatch matching range has been changed. Players will now only match up if they are within 200 points of each other.
- Observers can no longer use Dark Eldar soul powers.
- Harlequin dance of death no longer drains the player’s resources.
- The Deceiver’s illusionary monolith will now always despawn correctly when the ability duration is complete.

Related Topics:

• Star Wars, Warhammer MMOs May Come to Consoles
• Star Wars, Warhammer MMOs May Come to Consoles
• Star Wars, Warhammer MMOs May Come to Consoles
• Star Wars, Warhammer MMOs May Come to Consoles
• Star Wars, Warhammer MMOs May Come to Consoles

If you, like many console owners, were wondering where the heck a PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 version of Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO were hiding, you’re not alone.

The good news is LucasArts and BioWare are “considering” bringing the MMO experience to consoles, which indirectly means the recently unveiled Star Wars title.

The bad news is the “confirmation” of console MMOs was just a blanket statement from Electronic Arts exec Frank Gibeau about future console MMO considerations (Note: EA owns BioWare).

“We’re definitely looking at the opportunity to bring the MMO experience to console, without question,” he said in an interview with Eurogamer. “We’ve got this product, and we’ve got Warhammer at play. So we’re trying to look at the primary research required to understand how would you deploy it, what the client size looks like, how big is the back-end, what the play experience looks like… Once we’ve got some of those questions answered, we’ll be able to decide which is the right play to go after.”

When Gibeau was pressed further about Star Wars and Warhammer making an appearance on consoles, he said both titles were “under consideration.” He offered no further details or confirmation beyond that, however.

As reported by GamePro, no release date was given for Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Related Topics:

• Why WoW players should switch to WAR
• Why WoW players should switch to WAR
• Why WoW players should switch to WAR
• Why WoW players should switch to WAR
• Why WoW players should switch to WAR

It’s time to leave the sunny plains of Azeroth for the bloody fields in Warhammer Online
Playing an MMO isn’t a hobby. It isn’t a pastime. It’s an obsession that grabs you by the nuts and doesn’t let go until you become a sleep-deprived zombie with an insatiable lust for more loot. MMOs aren’t just games. They’re an all consuming way of life that replaces your family with guildmates, sacrifices sleep for more raiding, and leaves you hung over with blurry visions of gear upgrades. If you’ve experienced any of these problems, you know you’ve been playing a damn good MMO.

For the past few years, World of Warcraft has been our favorite flavor of this online crack. Since its release, we’ve sampled lots of MMOs that claimed to be the next big thing. But every time we rolled a character in a different game, WoW eventually tightened the reins and tugged us back to Azeroth with its steady stream of excellent improvements and updates.

All this changed when warhammer gold: Age of Reckoning finally launched. Now there’s a different title that’s demanding ownership over every free moment we have. This new lover isn’t whispering sweet nothings in our ear like “dabu” or “zug zug.” It’s grabbing us by the throat and screaming at the top of its lungs, “Get over ‘ere you git! Da Warboss wants more humie headz! WaaAAaagh!”

We’re not saying that WoW isn’t great. We’re saying that we’re scared. We’re scared because WAR took everything we loved about WoW and improved it tenfold. Yes, WAR is that good. And we fully expect that it’ll be ruining our personal lives for the next few years at least. Whether you’re solo questing or prefer massive PvP raids, WAR feels better than every MMO we’ve played this year. Is it time to switch? We don’t know about you, but it is for us.

In WAR, Orcs don’t dance like MC Hammer outside the auction house. Why would they? They’re too busy beating down Dwarves, stealing their delicious beer, and swearing in cockney English accents. WAR doesn’t have time to waste time on silly animated emotes. There’s a war going on and everything you do helps your faction’s efforts in the epic battle between the forces of Order and Chaos.

You’ll still receive lots of the expected kill-a-bunch-of-enemies quests. After all, it’s a staple for all MMOs. But even when it comes to these ho-hum tasks, WAR manages to inject its own unique attitude into what would otherwise be another generic and forgettable quest. In one early quest we played, we were ordered to investigate some mysterious Dwarven barrels located at the frontlines of the battle outside your camp. It looked like an everyday collection quest, and we were told that “Stunties only put two fings in barrels: boom and beer.” So we were expecting to find boxes of ammunition or some tasty ale to lug back to the quest giver for a miserly reward.

Instead, an ornery Dwarf - dressed in nothing but his boxers - burst from the barrel and started punching us in the face. This is high fantasy questing at its finest, and WAR is filled with memorable moments like these.

In most MMOs, you don’t really start seriously grouping with other players until you’ve been playing for quite some time. It takes a while to build up your friends list, find the right guild, and learn the ropes before you start taking on more challenging quests with a group.

But WAR streamlines the grouping process so that joining parties, finding a large war band of players for PvP, and joining a guild isn’t reserved for those who are close to reaching their level cap. Whenever you enter a new zone, you can pull up a list of Open Groups and join other players working with the click of a button. The window lets you see how many minutes it’ll take you to reach the group by foot, whether they’re working on a Public Quest, regular PvE, or hunting enemy players for PvP kills.

Since all groups are Open Groups by default, this means that you’ll almost always find some friendly group to grind or PvP with. This simple system gives you all the fun stuff that comes with grouping from the very start and cuts out all the hassles associated with it.

We’re used to seeing towns littered with useless NPCs. They’re not there to give you quests, sell items, or repair your equipment. In a lot of cases, they don’t even have a line of canned dialogue to spout. Instead, they’re just standing around to help create the illusion that there are more than five people living there.

In WAR this is the exception, not the rule. When you enter a new town or hub, you’ll be sure to find a few NPCs staring blankly into the distance. But you’ll also notice large forces of friendly NPCs just outside the town, holding off hordes of enemies. Expect to see other players in the thick of battle, helping to hold the line against incoming forces. These are Public Quests. Think of them as bite-sized mini-raids that you’re free to join or leave at any time.

Public Quests don’t just add a sense of urgency to WAR’s brutal atmosphere. They fix it so that players naturally gravitate towards each other. Most Public Quests are placed near hubs, which ensures that there’ll be lots of passersby to join the fray and help out.

Also, because the objectives for Public Quests are fairly simple and often require that you kill large numbers of progressively stronger foes, everyone knows what they’re doing and in-depth strategizing isn’t really necessary (WAR seems to save most of that stuff for its Group Quests). This means more killing, faster rewards, and none of the hassle of waiting for replies to your looking-for-group requests in public chat.

Each zone in WAR contains a Keep that’s up for grabs in special zones reserved for PvP combat. Members from the Order and Chaos factions are constantly fighting over control of these keeps. Killing other players and capturing keeps yields all kinds of benefits to your side from extra cash when selling items to merchants to special vendors with powerful items.

Because of the Open Group system, joining a large group of players for non-instanced PvP raids isn’t exclusively for organized guilds. Like Public Quests, the PvP combat in WAR is easy to get into and will turn the most stalwart PvE care bears into bloodthirsty PvP fanatics.

But the best part about these zones so far are the siege weapons. Are you trying to defend your keep from the enemy? Climb up to the ramparts and poor some molten iron over their heads. Is your group having trouble breaking past the enemies’ defensive line? Man a cannon and clear a path so your war band can advance.

Most WoW players have thottbot.com open in a browser while they’re playing. Online databases like thottbott.com and allakhazam.com are great because you can quickly find key locations and details on quests if you’re ever stuck in the game. The only problem is that every second you spend alt-tabbing to your browser is a waste of precious time that could’ve spent playing the actual game and killing stuff.

WAR’s Tome of Knowledge eliminates much of the need for sites like these. It holds detailed information about all the quests you’re working on so you’ll never have to turn to an online database if you forgot where you should be heading to complete it.

But the Tome is so much more than an improved quest log. Just about everything you do unlocks a new page in the book. Kill an enemy for the first time and it’ll add an entry to the Tome’s Bestiary with an illustration and a description of the mob. Complete enough quests and you’ll unlock new entries in your Achievements section with fresh titles to add below your name for all to see. Talking to important NPCs will open up entries in the Noteworthy Persons section with additional background lore. Filled with pictures, maps, details on items, and all sorts of other goodies, the Tome of Knowledge is like a personal scribe that takes note of every accomplishment you’ve achieved while playing. It even gains XP and levels up as you add additional pages!

Your Tome of Knowledge isn’t the only unusual thing that levels up in WAR. Your guild levels up too! As your members grow more powerful so does your guild. Some of the rewards are superficial. For example, the highest ranking guilds will get to see groups of NPC guards bearing their guild’s banner at your capital city.

You’ll also unlock useful features as your rank swells like a calendar to plan group events and access to special merchants with powerful gear for sale.

Grinding. Grinding. Grinding. Everyone complains about how killing enemies ad nauseam in MMOs sucks. WAR has its fair share of grinding, but it never feels like a grind. Part of it has to do with the way the game cuts out all the unnecessary time sinks.

You’ll never find yourself sitting in a field of corpses, waiting for more enemies so you can try to get that fifth hunk of wolf meat to drop. Instead, WAR keeps things fast-paced with a quick respawn rate so you can get your killing done and move on without any unnecessary thumb twiddling.

Death penalties are minor and can be cured by NPC healers in hubs for a low cost. Your health and mana also regenerate quickly after battle, so there’s no need for a cooking profession to alleviate downtime between battles.

But the main reason why grinding never feels like a grind in WAR is because everything you do (and we do mean everything), level ups some aspect of your character or contributes to your faction’s war efforts. Even when you’re just questing on your own, you’re still playing an important part in your server’s group effort to conquer the other side’s capital city. Once that city has been looted, pillaged, and burned to the ground, the server will reset and the epic war will rage on again.

Make no mistake. WoW is awesome it’s not going anywhere. Lord of the Rings: Online is great. And there are elements of Age of Conan that are excellent. But WAR is the best MMO out there right now, and as servers continue to swell with more players it keeps getting better. That’s why we’ve switched to WAR. Anyone who likes fantasy, leveling up, and PvP should consider doing the same. Even if you don’t normally like PvP, you will after playing WAR. We simply can’t recommend it enough.

Related Topics:

• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning