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Here is my next video review. In this video, I give you a quick overview of World of Warcraft, go over the rating and content, and let you know if I think it is good for your gamer.
You can find the parental controls I mentioned in the video here:https://us.battle.net/account/parental-controls/index.html
Also, you can find the starter version of World of Warcraft here:https://us.battle.net/…/a…/world-of-warcraft-starter-edition
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Transcript:
Hello, my name is Eric Rogers from parentinggamers.com and this is Parenting Gamers Review of World of Warcraft. In this video, I am going to give you a quick overview of the game, go over the rating and content, and let you know if I think it is good for your gamer.
So the first question is, what is World of Warcraft?
World of Warcraft is an MMORPG. Let’s break that down.
MMO stands for “Massively Multiplayer Online”. This means a few things.
First, an MMO is a game that is played exclusively online. There is no single player component you can play without an Internet connection.
Secondly, it is played with a lot of other people. A single server in World of Warcraft can accommodate hundreds of players at the same time. This clip shows several characters controlled by humans instead of the computer.
RPG stands for “Role-Playing Game”. The player is able to choose and customize the type of character she wants to play. The character she chooses will determine how she experiences the game. Different characters are designed to fill different roles. For example, a warrior is designed to take damage, a priest to heal damage, and a mage to deal damage.
This brings us to the gameplay. The world in World of Warcraft is huge with a ton of stuff to do. However, there are three main gameplay components you should understand. Those are “Leveling”, “Dungeons” and “Loot”.
The character a player creates first enters the world at level 1. The player can then earn experience through killing monsters and completing quests. That experience is used to level the character up and become stronger. This is the goal until the character hits the level cap, which is currently 100. As you can image, it can take quite a bit of time to reach that cap.
The second major gameplay component is dungeons. Throughout the world, the player can enter a dungeon, which is called an “Instance”. While there are a ton of players in the general world, an instance is an area that is specific to the player’s group. These areas have stronger monsters, which give more experience and drop better loot but require a group to defeat. The group required ranges from 5 to 25 people.
The last major gameplay component is the loot. The way a player increases the strength of her max level character is through better gear. There are a variety of ways to get better gear but the best loot is left behind when the player kills the strongest monsters. So, if the player wants the strongest character, she has to join up with others and enter hardest dungeons.
Now the next question is, what about the content?
World of Warcraft is rated T, which is the equivalent of a PG-13 movie rating. The rating includes these 6 descriptors:
“Violence” and “Blood and Gore”
“Crude Humor” There are several quests that have the player looking through animal feces to find different items.
“Mild Language”
“Suggestive Themes”
and “Use of Alcohol”
There are three other things you should understand about this game.
First, as I mentioned this is a multiplayer game. While it is possible to enjoy World of Warcraft completely on your own, it was designed for people to play together. Your gamer could potentially come across some unsavory people. You will need to take the same precautions with it as you would with any other social media.
Secondly, World of Warcraft is a HUGE game that can suck up a ton of time. It is very easy to get sucked in and lose sight of everything else.
Luckily, Blizzard has provide some great parental controls to help you deal with the time issue. These controls allow you to set specific limits on when and how much your gamer can play.
For example, if you want to allow your gamer to play from 7-9 every Tuesday and Thursday, you can set the schedule to be just that. Then, he will not be able to login before then and will be automatically logged out when his time is up.
I have included a link to the parental controls in the description of this video.
The last thing to understand is, World of Warcraft can be expensive. The game itself will run you $70. After that, there is a monthly subscription fee of $13 to $15 depending on the length of your subscription. There is a starter edition you can get for free but it only allows characters up to level 20 and has other limitations.
So what’s the verdict? Is World of Warcraft a game you should allow your gamer to play?
As a gamer, I love World of Warcraft. Some of the best video game memories I have over the last several years have been doing dungeons with my friends. It is a great feeling to bring down a monster that has been giving us trouble.
This is why, as a parent, I can definitely recommend World of Warcraft for middle school or older gamers. Doing dungeons with several friends is a great experience that has real life implications. Defeating the harder ones in the game requires teamwork, knowing your role and executing it, and analyzing failures and learning from them. These are all skills your gamer will need when she heads out into the world on her own.
Not only that, but World of Warcraft is a game you can play with your gamer. Blizzard has done a great job of easing the learning curve to help new players get into the game. You and your gamer could have a couple characters you play together while she has another character she plays with her friends. That way you do not have to be as intimidated. If you play with her, you will be allowing her the time she wants, getting some quality time with her, and monitoring what she is doing in game all at the same time. It is definitely a win-win.
If you enjoyed this video, please visit me at parentinggamers.com and sign-up for my email list. Signing up with get you notifications when I release new videos and give you a free copy of my e-book, Connecting with Your Teenager Through Video Games. Thanks for watching.