A Fantasy Universe Raises Its Broadsword Against World of Warcraft.
DateTime:7/8/2009 5:21:12 PM

Designing a successful massively multiplayer online game may be one of the supreme challenges in all entertainment.

Such a game is not merely consumed, or even played. It is inhabited. In most of them someone who is online for 15 hours a week is considered casual. Subscribers who log 30 hours weekly are fairly common, and for people who play any online game at an elite level, it becomes a significant part of their lives, not only in the sheer amount of time spent but also in the bonds formed with other players.

Of course the average American spends more than 30 hours a week watching television, but he doesn’t spend all 30 hours watching the same show (one hopes). Making a top-grade online game means creating an entire universe that an intelligent, motivated player can expect to enjoy spending years exploring (and paying $15 a month for) without getting bored.

That is a high bar, and very few games meet it. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning does. I spent more than 70 hours with the game recently, and it is clear that Warhammer is the best new massively multiplayer game since World of Warcraft, which was released in 2004. Warhammer provides a more engaging and diverse experience than either Lord of the Rings Online (unless you’re a serious Tolkien fan) or Age of Conan (unless you really need topless barbarians in your life), the other major online fantasy releases in recent years.