Part of the problem has to do with the technical presentation. Even on best quality, the graphics all look pretty haphazard. Every element is distinct from every other, almost as though the terrain were being generated on the fly. Where WoW's landscapes look cohesive and planned, WAR's looks patchy and poorly thought-out. Additionally, there is a definite sense of being guided, with little room to wander. There is nothing to interest the explorer, no reason to believe that there is something fantastic waiting the player around the next corner.

The character customization options are scant indeed. None of the face, hair, or color choices are inspiring, or even interesting. There isn't so much art direction as there is art wandering around lost. I can't pick out a definite style, which may have less to do with WAR's artists as it does with the fact that there's only so much you can do with the fantasy milieu anymore.

There was one thing that stood out as different. At an early stage of my character's career, I was told to shoot down some harpies with a bolt-thrower, sort of like an emplaced ballista. When manning the device, the viewpoint switched from third person to first person, and I was aiming a reticle around, targeting each harpy. Unfortunately, the novelty passed all too quickly, the actual combat was over far too soon, and the experience wasn't repeated.

The only other blip was being able to join a "scenario", which is a fancy way to say "PvP". By entering a scenario, the player joins other faction members in fighting over a contested point. The scenario I joined had us battling the forces of Chaos for control of two landmarks. Once both points were held for a span of time by either faction, the other faction is wiped out by an all-encompassing blast that resets the battle. This went on for about ten minutes, after which time I was deposited back to the regular game.

Miscellaneous points: the "ding" announcing a new level is not as thrilling as WoW's; hovering over an enemy reveals its toughness compared with yours ("easy", "equal", etc.); items can be dyed different colors. It's just not as fun as WoW is, all told. And given that WAR has had years to study WoW to determine how to improve upon it, that has to be the biggest criticism against it.

In general, I'm all for games being released simultaneously on both PC and Mac, and the fact that WAR has joined the likes of WoW, City of Heroes, and EVE Online as a dual-platform title should be cause to rejoice. But the sad fact is that it's a game that fails at nearly every single point in comparison with WoW, to the extent that I can't recommend it to anyone. If you've never played World of Warcraft, you might find something to enjoy in Warhammer Online, but you'd still be better served skipping it and going straight to WoW instead.