The MMORPG market is a crowded one and World of Warcraft is undoubtedly the king of the crop if going on sheer numbers and pop culture recognition. It's also not a great time to be releasing a new MMORPG, considering Age of Conan was just released not long ago, World of Warcraft will have its second expansion releasing shortly, and even Lord of the Rings Online is set to release their first expansion before the year is done. Despite the crowded market and stiff competition to come, Warhammer Online releases with a bang, and shoves its way through the throng of gamers in order to stand tall as one of the premier games worthy of your time.

Unlike some other MMORPGs, I had quite a time choosing the career for my main character. The reason for this difficult decision is strictly a good thing, as Warhammer Online features no less than twenty career paths to choose from, with every one of them appealing to one gamer or another. I'm usually able to easily pick what I want to play as in a MMORPG, but mainly that's because there is only one interesting option to me while the others are just very ho-hum. When it came to Warhammer Online, however, I had around ten different careers that were vying for my attention.

Witch Hunter

When it comes to specialties, the careers of Warhammer Online generally fall in the same categories that other games use, including tanks, healers, buffers, DPS, ranged DPS, rogues, etc. The careers are tied specifically to each race in the game, so don't login expecting your Greenskin to hunt with a lion. As far as the race names and the number of career options they have, it breaks down into Dwarves (3), Empire (3), High Elves (4), Greenskins (3), Chaos (4), and Dark Elves (3). In regards to the specific career types, there are Engineers, Ironbreakers, Runepriests, Bright Wizards, Witch Hunters, Warrior Priests, Swordmasters, Archmages, Shadow Warriors, White Lions, Black Orcs, Squig Herders, Shamans, Chosen, Marauders, Zealots, Magus, Witch Elves, Sorceresses, and Disciples of Khaine.

After you've chosen your race and career, the game then sits you down with the character creation editor, which lets you tweak your newly minted character by giving them different heads, hair styles, eye color, and identifying features such as scars. The character creation and ability to make your character look unique is sadly the worst part of the game. The game features little in the way of choices, so even when starting out you'll run across a lot of characters just like you, though maybe with different colored hair. The armor and weapons don't help distinguish you much early on either, as new armor might simply change color in appearance instead of style, and weapons (at least my White Lion's axes) rarely appeared to change at all. As you move through the ranks you certainly start to look cooler, but it still doesn't feel like you're ever changing appearances all that much.

With your character finally created it's time to take your first steps in this war torn world. For review purposes I'll stick to my experiences with my main character – a High Elf White Lion.

For each race option there is an opposing faction for the other side, making the game a constant balance between the forces of good (Order) and evil (Destruction). The Dwarves are fighting with the Greenskins. The Empire is at war with the Chaos. The High Elves are battling it out with the Dark Elves. At first your race choice will only determine the starting area and first enemies you face, but within a matter of levels you'll be seeing the full spectrum of good and evil.

As a High Elf my goal was simple – turn back the tides of the Dark Elves who are trying to encroach on my sacred land. Running through the world I was often put in direct conflict with the enemy, doing such tasks as have to procure a parchment with their plans on it, freeing captives they had taken, and other such endeavors meant to staunch their flow. Besides the Dark Elves, I also had to contend with every manner of creature, ranging from harpies and wolves to hydras and other assorted monsters.

Squig Attack

The map of the High Elves' starting area is distinctly split into two, where you'll be coloring in the plot points and land markings on the right side while the left side remains hidden and shrouded. The reason for this is because I'm sharing this world with the Dark Elves, so as they're playing through their starting zones, they'll be filling in the left side without having a clue about the right. Meanwhile there is the middle, which is where the RvR and Scenarios come into play. Basically, players will play in their specially designed areas, and only directly battling the other side of players when engaging in the PvP.

The quests are handled like other MMORPGs, though throughout all my travels I've yet to run into a quest limit. Characters with open quests appear with a green thought bubble over their head, which when clicked on will give you a little story, what you need to do, and then the rewards you'll get for completing the quests. NPC characters will also have yellow thought bubbles over their head to show that they are the location you need to turn certain quests in at, while an orange thought bubble over their head means that you've completed one of their quests and can now turn it in.

Though many MMORPGs do a good job at telling you where to head in order to complete a quest, it can still be difficult knowing exactly where to go, or even sometimes remembering where a specific place is located. Warhammer Online handles this problem perfectly, as the game will put a glowing red area on your map whenever you pick a quest up, indicating what area you need to go to in order to finish your task. The red highlighted areas will also tell you the exact quest name whenever you mouse over the area and the criteria, so it isn't like you're ever wandering into an area and still have no idea what to do. Some players might think that simplifies the game, but I find it a welcomed addition, as the game still won't hold your hand and simply give you the quest, as you'll still have to battle enemies and search the land properly.

Shaman

Quests are also abundant in the game, easily leading you further and further down the map, constantly driving you forward and keeping you on track. As I reached level thirteen, for example, I couldn't recall a single moment where I didn't have a quest on my list waiting for me to tackle it, which means that level grinding is a thing of the past when it comes to the early levels. In order to reach level thirteen I never once had to farm an area and grind for experience, as the experience gained from the completion of quests and battling the enemies within the quests zones was all I needed to level up.

Leveling up comes in two forms: Career leveling and Mastery leveling. Career leveling is handled as it is in other games, where new attacks and abilities are opened up with each new level gain, and available for a small price. Once you buy the ability you've learned it and can assign it to any slot you want. Mastery options don't start until you're past the single digit levels, and serve the purpose of further tweaking your character to your personal preference. As a White Lion, I had the option to focus my attention on Path of the Hunter (battling side by side with my lion), Path of the Axeman (lion attacks front while I come from behind), or Path of the Guardian (lets you get most of the battle attention). Players will also get enough points to not only fully complete a career mastery path, but also place some points in the other two paths as well.

Combat is built around the idea of action points, which are your all-purpose source for what attacks you can perform. Each attack or ability costs so many action points and then a cool-down period before they can be used again. As long as you have the points and waited enough time, any ability is available to you at any time. If you run out of action points, however, you'll need to wait, let it gradually build back up (happens fairly quickly), and then start slashing or throwing spells once again.

I'm usually drawn to pet based classes in MMORPGs, and through my experiences rarely do these animals work perfectly. The ability of my lion to follow a path was pretty good, and I found it easy to choose an enemy, have him attack that person, and watch as my pet blissfully ran away to attack and kill. I've had problems arise, however, specifically during the times when I've attacked with my throwing axe and had my lion screw up enemy distance. For instance, when battling with my lion in such a case, it will often appear as if they are fighting directly in front of me, but none of my short-range attacks will do any damage since they are too far away. I have to resort to long-distance throws until the enemy is dead, and only then will my lion pop to the distance they were really standing at while fighting. Luckily, the problem only seems to happen during PvE.

Magus

Warhammer Online also brings a new twist to the usual assortment of PvE quests, which they've labeled as Public Quests. Public Quests are basically large PvE quests that require multiple people to complete, but aren't tied to a single quest or instance, which would require normal grouping in other games. It's entirely possible, for example, to complete the first part of a quest with no help, but later stages will require a greater number of participants. Public Quests generally follow the same patter: 1) kill a lot of weak creatures on the list, 2) kill a handful of harder creatures or keep something maintained or alive during a specific time, and then 3) kill a boss.

Public Quests are a fun way to play with others while not forcing characters to necessarily form a group. The Public Quests also serve two purposes: 1) detail the story of the game, and 2) give you some killer loot. In regards to story, completing quests open up narrative that you can read in your Tome of Knowledge whenever you like, which are actually quite interesting to read. The real draw, however, is the loot. By partaking in Public Quests, you earn the right to roll for exclusive bags of loot, which can be as little as one bag to as many as five or more. Rolling for Public Quest loot is handled much like the rolling for ordinary loot – no matter if the game is Warhammer Online or not – though there are a few tweaks to change things up. For starters, if you really contributed and did a lot, the game will reward you extra bonus points to go towards your final roll total, hopefully helping you jump towards the top of the leaderboard. The game will also reward the faithful who stick with a challenge more than once, so if you don't get loot the first time around, by staying in the area and going through the quest again, you're more likely to earn stuff the second or third time around. Loot bags often drop better weapons and armor, but you can also choose to take money from the bag or some crafting items, depending on what you'd prefer to win.

Partaking in Public Quests also earn you influence points, which will net you some great loot depending on the tier number and how far you progress your influence meter for that chapter. Getting enough influence to pass the first tier will usually give you a choice between potions, while the second and third tiers generally offer the best gear you'll be able to get at that time. It's not necessarily quick going, but the payoffs are definitely worth it in the long run. Whenever I discovered a new chapter and my influence bar was reset, I always stayed in that area and kept farming for influence points until I could turn in each tier and walk away with the loot.

Flying Dwarf

Crafting is relatively simple in Warhammer Online. Coming from Lord of the Rings Online's complicated but ultimately rewarding system, Warhammer Online seems very limited in scope. Players can choose one of two crafting vocations – apothecary or talisman making. Apothecary focuses on the player making potions while talisman making focuses on creating talismans to augment the abilities of armor and weapons. There aren't any recipes other than the ones in your head and the ones you write down, as you won't know what you might create until after you've actually done it. In order to help with your crafting, there are a total of four gathering skills, and you can have only one at a time to compliment your crafting skill. You can choose butchering, scavenging, cultivation, or salvaging.

Throughout your adventures you're ultimately experiencing your own personal narrative, and what better way to experience this than Warhammer Online's Tome of Knowledge, a virtual book you fill as you complete tasks and make discoveries. The book is an ingenious tool and one that will certainly be ripped off for a long time to come. The book first keeps a record of all your quests, but it will also allow you to read the narrative of the Personal Quest chapters, detail new creatures you meet for the first time, tell you about specific Warhammer lore you discover through searching, and even keep detailed stats of PvE and PvP kills, how many of each thing you've killed, and a list of achievements and titles you've unlocked. You'll unlock achievements and titles by completing certain tasks, such as looting so many bodies, destroying so many items, getting killed by specific enemies, etc. It's a very clever and rewarding way to recall your experiences while playing the game.

Beyond all the PvE, however, there exists a second world within Warhammer Online, which frankly I've never experienced before and enjoyed as much as I do in this game – Player versus Player. Since the game is built around the idea of two opposing forces always at war with each other, it would've been silly had Warhammer Online not shipped with a PvP component. Whether it's the Freeps versus Creeps in Lord of the Rings Online or the one on one battles in Age of Conan, PvP has never been something that captivates me and entices me for more than a few minutes to simply try it out. Warhammer Online, however, features a thrilling multiplayer system that has me constantly checking it out again and again, and sometimes the only reason I touch the PvE is because I'm waiting on a scenario queue to start up.

PvP comes in several different forms, depending on the server type and several other factors. If you roll a character on an open server, the forces of good can battle evil whenever they come across each other, though the game helps you out by making it so that you won't be getting ganked at low levels by jerks way higher than you. The other PvP (or Realm versus Realm as Warhammer Online prefers) multiplayer battles are more contained, but ultimately more rewarding. Players will first be introduced to scenarios, which are instanced multiplayer battles that have teams of opposing factions doing such tasks as trying to control two points of interests or playing a game of capture the flag. Players can choose to go in solo or with a team, but the game does the rest by placing you in a group and then letting you go at it.

Elf Fight

In order to join a scenario you simply click an icon near the map on the top right of your screen and then wait. While you're waiting, however, you can be running quests and killing, and then the game will inform you when you can join, port you in, and then back out to where you were once the 15 minute game is done. I absolutely love the scenarios, as I find myself queuing one up as soon as I login and then starting another queue as soon as that one is done. It's very rewarding to defend a capture point against other real players, and being able to test your might against them. The scenario system does have two flaws though, namely that it can take a while to jump into one if you're playing on a large server, and you have no control over what other careers will join you. For example, joining a game with a well-balanced group of careers is great, but overload it one way or another and certain defeat is inevitable. The forces of Order were destroyed in one particular scenario battle that I can recall, because we had five archmages at once, leaving us horribly unbalanced and unable to heal or really attack very well. The problem doesn't happen often, but it does occasionally.

Besides the scenarios, the game also features specific RvR areas to experience combat, where players concern themselves with fighting other players while trying to capture various buildings and defending their own at the same time. The areas are fun if you can get enough people, but I've had to run quests that go through these areas before, and I was lucky if I saw more than two other people. The game also features keep and city sieges, which have even greater repercussions and rewards, making them even more grand and satisfying. In these battles forces fight for strategic locations owned by the opposing side, where capturing an enemy's city, for instance, can lead to your side owning the operation of that city for a few hours, letting you ransack and pillage to your heart's content. You can even go on to battle for the king of the city, letting you bring them back to your own as a prisoner of war. Don't go in expecting to enjoy these modes right away, however, as they are further along the tier front, and require higher levels in order for you to participate in them.

Another great thing about the RvR is that you can actually use various weapons – when they're available – to help fend off attackers instead of merely having to rely on the abilities of your character. You'll get to manually control things such as mechanical arrow shooters that let you go into a first-person mode and manually aim your shots at the enemy, or an arrow volley that you control by swinging your mouse around and using the scroll wheel to determine the flight path, which is even affected by wind on the battlefield.

Bright Wizard

Graphically the game is nice, but far from the best-looking MMORPG on the market. When running at their highest settings, Lord of the Rings Online and Age of Conan are still the best looking games in my book, but you can't fault Warhammer Online for going for a simpler and less graphically intensive game, as it worked for World of Warcraft and that is the biggest competition Warhammer Online faces if it wants to be the granddaddy of them all. Much like World of Warcraft, simpler doesn't necessarily have to mean ugly, as Warhammer Online isn't a slouch either. The game features a colorful, somewhat World of Warcraft like palette, though less cartoonish and darker. If you wanted to compare World of Warcraft's Horde versus Warhammer Online's Destruction, the Horde would give you a nice chuckle while Destruction would have you peeing your pants in fear. Environments range from dark scorched forest shards to illuminated caverns and grand shining battlefields. Player models and creatures are also nicely detailed and fit well into the vibe of the game. On the audio front, the sound of the creatures and battles are good, but it's the orchestrated music of the game that really stands out, as it almost seems to change – not only by what region you're in – but the severity of your situation. I found myself going up against an elite level mob, for instance, and noticed that the music got more serious and dire as my hopes of survival got ever so lower.

It's been a long time coming, but in the end Mythic has delivered and brought one hell of a MMORPG to the market. It's got an interesting lore, plenty of careers to fit your play style, lots of quests, and a PvP system that has no equal in my eyes. Warhammer Online is a truly captivating game and an amazing achievement. The game isn't 100% perfection just yet, but with a little tweaking through patches it could certainly reach it. I started this review out by saying how much competition Warhammer Online will be facing, but it's easy to see Mythic won't go down without swinging a few punches as they strive to be the best.

The war is on. I'm enlisting on the side of Warhammer Online. I'd advise you do the same.

Score