In the age of transparency on the Internet, where our identity is scattered over various console accounts and social networking websites but can all be linked to one person, games like World of Warcraft, Rift and The Old Republic are some of the few places where people can still interact with complete anonymity and in this way they share similarities with the chatrooms we all used to visit back when we first got hold of the Internet. At the same time, youre also reviewing what is essentially a social tool for a lot of people.

In this and other ways, they often manage to dodge traditional criticism theyre expected to be buggy on release, the combat is never going to be as fun as a shooter, the narrative is unlikely to be as arresting as a traditional RPG and theyre likely to change dramatically several years down the line. Not only does the sheer magnitude of such games make them tough to assess in a traditional way, but often the whole system of gameplay favours long term rewards over the immediacy of fast-paced thrills.

Rating:3.5 An MMO review is a strange beast.

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