World of Warcraft Beta Diaries

Boomtown has published the first two installments of a new World of Warcraft beta diary, which you can find here and here. A snippet from the second one:

Graphically this game is a beauty no doubt about it. The style is perhaps a bit too colourful and cartoon like for my personal taste, but that does not change the fact that it has been followed through in every aspect of the game, and the variety of animation ensures that combat stays exciting.

The system of combat is as mentioned – very simple, but still provides tactical options, especially when attacking in groups. Kleeze has by now learned Thunder Clap, which reduces the speed of attack of up to three enemies by ten percent something which can be felt when surrounded by three ferocious wolves. And prior to an attack he uses his Battle Shout, bolstering the attacking power of the group as a whole. In this way the simple system provides fairly advanced strategic opportunities. The fights are quite varied and the proper timing in using spells and abilities can be critical, especially when fighting monsters a few levels above your own.