A New Addiction

I quit smoking on January 1, 2005.

I bought World of Warcraft on April 3, 2005.

This is, hands down, the absolute coolest game I've ever seen. Granted, it's my first foray into the world of MMORPGs, but simply in terms of technological achievement, this game blows me away. I've spent probably 10 hours in the world by now, and if this universe were a person, I'd have covered about a fingernail's worth of ground in it.

I'm playing on an RP server (Shadow Council, for those of you who have the game) as a night elf.. playing an old favorite D&D character seemed a natural thing to do. Even though this game isn't D&D, it might as well be. It has all of the standard fantasy elements you'd expect: elves, dwarves, gnomes, orcs, undead, etc... all with a slick interface that doesn't just facilitate things like combat and travel, but social interaction as well (there are over 100 different animated emotes possible).

MMORPGs aren't for everybody. For one thing, the monthly fee ($15/month for World of Warcraft) turns a lot of people off. It put ME off for a long time until I saw a friend playing this game and had to give it a try. You get a lot for that $15, though: a huge, dynamic world (a ton of new content was added a week ago) that is a fantasy lover's computer game universe come true.

But as for me, I love it so far and it looks like I might be subscribed and playing for a LONG time.. plus, $15/month for a video game is a small price to pay for my addiction when I used to spend $4/day on smokes.