World of Warcraft Review
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Reviews are buyer's guides. To MMOGs a review's categorical nature - this mark is what this game deserves, forever - is pretty much an anathema. The mark you stick on something stays there forever, sitting on Metacritic and glowering at the world. But look at how much - say - Ultima Online changed over its existence. Is the mark reviewers gave then still valid? How about a year down the line? How about in one week when some inevitable technical problem reduced everyone's pleasure to zilch?
In a reviewer's seat, you can't let these thoughts intrude upon your consciousness too much, because - basically - you'll go mad if you do. I'm reviewing it as it would be if you went down the shops and bought a copy this second. In a couple of months, it'll have improved considerably, if only due to the mass dynamics of players altering across the maps and servers a little better.
This is the greatest fantasy MMO in existence, the absolute state of the art in orc-bashing. But the nagging feeling I can't shake is that, for me, that's not quite enough anymore.
