You can design your own character, but they don't have to be pretty
You've probably already heard plenty of scary tales about people obsessed by World of WarCraft (WoW) - from real-life romances consummated by in-game weddings (or vice versa) to people becoming so addicted that they sit hunched over in an Internet café for days at a time before keeling over dead from lack of sleep and food (true - and the player's online friends then held a funeral for her in the game world).
So just what is it about WoW that has 8 million people around the world paying £8 a month, every month, to play?
"What is it about World of Warcraft that has 8m people paying £8 a month to play?"
For a start, you have a fair amount of control over the character you play: you can choose between two factions - Alliance ("good", a bit worthy) or Horde ("bad", a bit swarthy), each with different combinations of races - from humans to gnomes and orcs to tauren (minotaur-type things).
You must also choose a specific class for your character, including damage-dealing warriors, powerful warlocks and shape-shifting druids.
Published 23rd January
