Okay, this might seem like a bit of a ‘cheat’ article. Once upon a time, WoW was my favorite video game. I played it for hours every single day, was involved in organized PvP and progression raiding, the works. But that was a long time ago.

Now I have a less-favorable opinion of the game, for a variety of reasons, but this doesn’t mean I don’t have nice things to say about it. So, here are…

Five Things I love about “World of Warcraft”

1. It will play on a calculator! Yes, WoW is going on 18 years old, so one might expect that it will play on damn near any computer out there. But there are many older games that either run like trash, or don’t run at all on modern systems. Blizzard has done a good job of keeping the game updated, so that it will play anything from potatoes to super-computers.
2. The graphics are awesome! No, seriously, they are! Look, I know some people have a real problem with the “cartoony” style of WoW’s graphics, but I don’t count myself among those folk. WoW has a very distinctive look, that both catches the eye, and fits the setting very well. If it isn’t for you, I get that, but I find the graphics very easy on the eyes, and make the game way more accessible.
3. WoW is a game for everyone! If you love to do hardcore Raiding, “World of Warcraft” is a great choice to play. If you prefer Player vs Player action, again, WoW is a great choice for you. But if you are just into questing, exploring, or otherwise interested in solo/casual play, then WoW is a great game for you, too! While I have had some reservations about this in the past, feeling the game was too focused on endgame Raiding, WoW is still a lot of fun, regardless of your playstyle.
4. Blizzard is full of passionate, talented developers! Say what you will about the management of Activision/Blizzard, but the folks directly working on “World of Warcraft” have always been very involved, and care deeply about the work they do. Is their work always perfect? Of course not, but that routinely has more to do with management deadlines and demands, than it does with the work developers and quality assurance are doing. Also, while I don’t always agree with the development choices made with WoW, I can see where they are coming from, and why those choices were made. Just because a change to the game doesn’t make you happy, doesn’t mean it wasn’t necessary overall (Shaman Nerf in Update 1.04, I’m looking at you).
5. The Community is amazing! Okay, some might think I’ve lost my mind here, but hear me out. Yes, it is true that there are a lot of Trolls in the WoW community, and this tends to give the overall playerbase a bad name. But there are also a lot of good people playing WoW, in fact I’d go so far as to say most of the players are really great to be around. You can find fun, friendly, and engaging people on every WoW server, playing at any time of the day or night. Drop into General Chat, and see for yourself!

With all that in mind, don’t give Activision/Blizzard your money, for WoW or any other game! Just saying.