I’ve seen the new Warcraft movie now and… I actually liked it. :) I didn’t expect to, movies based on games rarely work, so it was a happy surprise. Of course, you have to take it for what it is: an action movie with lots of glittering magic and unrealistic armour and a rather basic plot, but it was enjoyable.
The graphics are gorgeous and very visual, both the characters and the landscapes are stunning. I also think they did a good job of showing the story from both sides and how the orcs are not just evil invaders.
What didn’t work for me was Travis Fimmel as Anduin Lothar, but it wasn’t really his fault. I’ve just watched so much Vikings that it’s difficult to see him as anyone other than Ragnar Lothbrok. Especially since he talked the same way.
In Vikings, Travis/Ragnar has a special way of talking that I always assumed was the actor trying to imitate a Scandinavian accent – but he sounds almost the same in Warcraft too! Not quite as pronounced, but it’s definitely there. Either way, all I saw was Ragnar with more hair and a fancy sword.
I also wish I knew more about Azeroth and World of Warcraft lore in general. The movie probably would have been even more interesting if I had recognized the places and people they were talking about.
I have played World of Warcraft, but not very much. I bought a 1 month subscription once, several years ago, and I’ve also played occasionally whenever Blizzard has had a promotion campaign and granted me a few days for free.
My highest level character is a Troll Warrior that I managed to get to 25 some time last autumn. Haven’t played at all since then (I logged in today purely to take the screenshot above).
The game has a huge world with a metric shit-tonne of content, lots of cool races (they have werewolves! WEREWOLVES!!) and classes to play, mounts and pets and other collectable stuff. It has all the ingredients, but I just never clicked with it. Which is strange as I love MMO’s and by all accounts should be a huge fan of the biggest and oldest of them all.
One gripe is the combat system feeling like wading through syrup. Am I really just supposed to stand still in one spot and press the skill keys? Or perhaps the combat gets more fun and dynamic when you reach higher levels?
Another issue I’ve found is that nothing seems to be shared between players. Mobs and mining nodes seem to belong to whoever hits it first so you have to compete with everyone else for them. I actually get kinda scared whenever I run into another player because I feel like we’re in each other’s way and should get away from each other.
If the game was free to play, or if I just had to pay for it once like Guild Wars 2 (my current MMO of choice), I would probably give it more chances. It probably hasn’t stayed alive this long for no reason, so it must have qualities I just haven’t seen yet with my limited playtime. Unfortunately, for me it’s just not worth the monthly subscription.
Still, the movie was good. I hope they make a sequel. :)
Does any of you play WoW and if so, what do you think of it?
The game has changed since you’ve last played it seems. Mobs can now be shared depending on the area, much like Guild Wars. It has brought in a lot of elements from other MMOs that have helped bring new players. I’ve played WoW since Burning Crusade, so I’m a bit partial to the game, but I think it’s worth giving it another shot :)
I used to play it, but never online. And it was the first version, so I’m sure it’s insanely different now, although I think I played a few versions as they were coming out. But definitely not in like ten years or so. I was quite obsessed with it for awhile though… oh nostalgia.
I’m not familiar with WoW either and I also loved the movie! Duncan Jones said he wanted to make a film that would be accessible for players and non-players alike, and I think he succeeded. Another thing I liked as well was the hype that Robert Kazinsky (he played Orgrim Doomhammer in the movie) put into it–he’s the biggest WoW fan and has said he used to play it 18 hours a days! That sort of love made me want to watch it as well because it was so clear that this meant a lot to him.
At the end of it I was a huge fan of Khadgar! There was nothing he did that I hated. I loved everything about him.
I have never played the game, probably because I am more of a casual gamer and it came out at a time when I only had very slow internet.
It’s good the movie wasn’t too bad. Sometimes you have to view them as a seperate entity to the thing they are based on. xD
I saw the movie and I thought the CG was exceptionally good. ^_^ I have never played any of the Warcraft games, so I don’t know how accurate (or not) to the story it was.