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Pretty good, considering even the flaws It's not perfect. I will be the first one to say this: it's Blizzard's first immersive MMORPG (I didn't consider Diablo or Diablo II to be "immersive" RPGs, although fine games in their own rights) and sometimes I think they find the mechanics of operation daunting. It's a big step from an RTS to an RPG, but reading through the source material, the creators were gamers, insufferably geeky hardcore gamers, and it shows. But the strength of the game is style. Technically speaking, it may not be the highest resolution/pixelcount/whatever on the market, but it's clear by the arrangement of visuals that someone with an extensive design, or perhaps even graphic art background has placed the pretty graphics appropriately. This follows onto the play of the game and the content. Immersive. That's the most fitting word I can use for WoW. You log on and you are immediately greeted with story concepts in your newbie quests and the like. The quests you do sometimes may be simplistic, but they offer story content that fleshes out the world. You'll be told why these hostile creatures you need to interact with are hostile to your faction, for example. Quests are extremely diverse and generally interesting. Sure, there are a few "collect X drops" and "kill X mobs", and "deliver X item to X", and I would be lying to say that WoW does not include some of these concepts. But even the way these basic quests are done is done with style and makes it more interesting, when you know why you are asked to harvest such items (like harvesting poison for an antidote, or body parts for a gruesome necromantic ritual). There are many quests which completely defy the above basic mentality, using the environment to full effect and requiring interaction with the world itself. Quests can be triggered by NPCs, interaction with in game objects, or even inventory objects. And there's so many! I've managed to complete over 150 so far on my highest character (I've only managed to get him half way up the ladder so far), and I've had some great times pursuing them, and at the end of the day, I found the experience rewarding and memorable. The "elite" named creatures in instances or just roaming around are impressive enough that killing them is often its own reward, if only to say "I killed it!" Another great aspect: you talk to NPCs and they talk as you would expect them to talk from the RTS. You do not have any glaring American accents spoiling the experience. If you talk to an orc, he sounds like an orc. The voice acting isn't overdone, but it's done very well - not every single creature will speak, but what will is excellent. The graphic arrangement again, is seamless. You'll pass from one area to another without breaks and without anything to jar the experience, and what they've used is fitting and works with itself. Even the pirate town of Booty Bay, incorporating ship pieces, that should look awkward, look stylish and you'd think that the residents are happy living there. (As much as one could be, in a pirate town) Some critics will level that WoW's graphics, particularly the characters, don't look "realistic". Ultimately, for a computer game, one should not expect realistic looking toons, and currently, there are no actual "realistic" looking toons on any MMORPG, simply because realism would consume too much bandwith and make the game unplayable. WoW may not have such pseudo-realism (IE. drab and uninspired graphics) but it at least has style. Style doesn't eat up extra bandwidth, it just takes taste. And the designers of WoW seem to have employed that to good effect.