"unique spin on the genre"? (Score 5, Insightful)

Nice review, but I'm going to have to disagree with this statement. I've played every MMORPG since Everquest, including WoW since Alpha, and EQ2. WoW is an excellent game, and Blizzard is to be credited with waiting until they had a polished product to release (unlike EQ2). But it contains no real advances in gameplay. The mechanics are pretty much exactly the same, albeit with an attractive and well-designed interface.

I played it extensively in pre-release, but ultimately decided I am not interested in a rerun of the experiences of the past. Unfortunately, the major MMORPGs all seem to be converging on a set of features, which involve structuring the players experience to maximize the little mini-rewards such as experience and loot. This takes away from the original appeal of the virtual world, with degrees of freedom allowing the player to seek his own goals and write his own story. Some of the things I've heard about Vanguard have raised my hopes that this game on the horizon, designed by the original creators of Everquest, will both push the envelope in gameplay, and return some of the virtual adventure to the genre.