Several years have passed since World of Warcraft (a.k.a. WoW) spellbound the MMO world. Since then dozens of games have tried topple its enormous size, and most have failed to do anything more than dent its armor. It’s about to celebrate its 10th anniversary and it’s still the most popular MMO on the market. Now that’s saying something.
WildStar came out a month ago, and has just about everything going for it. Its development team is comprised of several vanilla World of Warcraft team members, and its goal is to appeal to the MMO player who misses the golden days of MMOs… you know, when they were actually difficult. It has tricks of its own, though, including an action-oriented combat system that’s much more modern in comparison. But how far does it go in competing with the MMO that just about everyone and their grandma has played?
In this showdown we’ll compare the brand new WildStar to the much older World of Warcraft. It might seem like an unfair battle, but World of Warcraft has a few things going against it, particularly its aging engine and, well, the fact that many people have played it to complete burnout. WildStar has the benefit of not only learning from the mistakes that dozens of other MMOs have made in the past decade, but also runs on a newer platform.
It’s important to note that this showdown is based on my viewpoint and my viewpoint alone. I’ve played World of Warcraft on and off since launch, participating in vanilla and every single expansion pack with over 10,000 hours played. I’ve similarly spent a great deal of time in WildStar—although not quite as much for obvious reasons—, participating in beta for more than six months and playing at level cap.
Let’s get to it.
Setting: The Alternate Universe
An MMO’s setting is perhaps its most important quality. After all, these are supposed to be alternate universes that you want to spend time in.
World of Warcraft has the advantage of existing in a world that was crafted many years before its existence. That world is Warcraft, a high-fantasy place where Orcs, Humans, and more existed well before Blizzard entered the MMO scene.
Frankly, Warcraft is an incredible IP. When World of Warcraft released, it was able to sell itself simply on allowing millions of fans of the universe to enjoy what was previously RTS only in a 3D RPG space. Its characters, from Illidan The Betrayer to the lovely Jaina Proudmoore, are iconic. Being able to play alongside or against these men, women, and beings is something that has only encouraged World of Warcraft‘s monumental success.
WildStar is a completely new IP with no relevance to previously published work. It has the charm of a Ratchet & Clank game with a healthy dose of humor and lively characters. However, it simply doesn’t have the luxury of a rich history of lore and narrative development.
WildStar is set in a sci-fi world, which may be preferable to some, but it struggles to build itself a cast of characters that the majority of players can recognize and enjoy being in the presence of. For this reason, World of Warcraft’s setting is a safer bet for most gamers.
Winner: World of Warcraft
Presentation: Eye See…
Truth be told, both World of Warcraft and WildStar have been hit with criticism for their graphical styles. Both opt for a colorful, ‘cartoonish’ look and feel. Although they differ in setting, both are quite similar in execution.
That said, both have an incredible attention to detail. Their massive worlds are peppered with the noticeable and subtle additions that make them feel genuine. You simply don’t see big, empty areas in these games like you do with others in the genre.
WildStar suffers from poor optimization, which has led to headaches for a large sum of players. Meanwhile, World of Warcraft simply hasn’t had to deal with this, or at least not to the same extent.
Also, WildStar‘s UI is a bit messy, making simple interactions more difficult than World of Warcraft has shown us they can be. The UI in and of itself has a learning curve for even the most veteraned MMO players.
World of Warcraft is simply presentational brilliance, and wins in this area.
Winner: World of Warcraft
World Design: Will it Blend?
Although World of Warcraft‘s world has been fragmented by its multitude of expansion packs, Azeroth and each of its long list of varied areas are designed in a way that they feel like real habitats. Being able to fly over these gorgeous landscapes is the best way to really see how much work Blizzard has put into making World of Warcraft a place that you want to spend time in.
Unfortunately, WildStar‘s world design suffers in that it feels artificial. During the leveling process you regularly take spaceships to jump between completely disconnected areas of Nexus, and the world never quite feels like it flows. If you want to visit a friend, the journey to arrive at your destination is never as seamless as it would be in World of Warcraft. It’s just not well put together.
As a result having better world design, it’s a lot easier to become immersed in World of Warcraft.
Winner: World of Warcraft
<< On the next page we compare combat, content, and more! >>
