[Swad]

I'd say I mostly agree with what you said there and may have a few pieces to add myself (this from open beta and not release, though). PvP is where the game is definitely centered, but PvE is not kicked to the curb. You can level up and have fun with just PvE content and not be bothered with any PvP if you're on a Core server (seriously, Open servers seem lame by description). On the opposite side of the coin, you can level all the way up in PvP if you so choose as you get experience and have quests for PvP content. There's even loot from killing players. But fear not, nothing is taken form you in PvP when you die except maybe your dignity.

To talk a bit more on PvP, Warhammer has various tiers. Tier one is level one through 11, tier two is level 12 through 21 and so on. When you do scenarios (think something similar to battle grounds) or Realm vs Realm (RvR) content (areas in a zone where you're flagged as PvP), your level is bolstered up to a level that makes you viable for that tier so that you can participate in PvP, though you won't be top end of that tier. As an example, in tier one you will be put up to effective level eight when entering a scenario if you're not eight yet so that you can somewhat still compete with the ones up to level 11, though you still will only have your base level skills and equipment bonuses. It really makes PvP something fun to do from the very beginning.

Moving on to some performance matters, you will really need a beefy machine to handle the big battles. I found that my AMD 3800+ x2, 2GB RAM and GeForce 7800GT just wasn't playable in large RvR battles to take over a keep. This was about 25 vs 25 people and my machine came to a crawl. That said, some guys I played beta with said their machines with GeForce 8800s held out pretty well in these big fights. I think you do need a pretty hefty graphics card for this one if you want to do the large battles. Thank goodness I have a GeForce 260 on the way. I'll see if that brings it up to snuff and in fact shows that having a top end graphics card can carry you over.

All in all, ST did a pretty good write-up. This seems like a very solid game--both PvP and PvE. It's not without its bugs, but I'd says this is going to be a good launch as launches go for MMO games and all of their early buggy glory. I don't see it dethroning WoW, but it will hold it's own. I do think it trumps WoW PvP in a huge way thus far. I've never been a big fan of WoW PvP, however.

For any slant on my review, I have no Warhammer background whatsoever--tabletop or any PC games. This is my very first foray into this IP. I think WoW is a fantastic game but leaves a lot to be desired in the PvP realm, but that's because the PvP in WoW is just not what I'm looking for (read: for those looking for a timesink gear grindfest in BGs and Arenas). For those looking for something that will have epic PvP of faction vs faction and territorial control and some well done PvE as well--this looks like it should fit the bill very nicely.