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An unparalleled gaming phenomenon - with 12 million players worldwide -WoW (as the initiated call it) is now the daddy of the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game genre. And there's no end in sight: last year's second expansion, Wrath Of The Lich King, peddled 'Warcrack' to a fresh audience of eager addicts, drawing them into its minutely-crafted universe, often at the expense of fresh air, social interaction and basic hygiene. The genius behind Blizzard's magnum opus is its perfect balance of effort and reward in the push to level 80, combined with an assortment of end-game content that keeps people coming back for more. All that and you don't need a gaming supercomputer to run it. The graphics are eminently beatable, but the style, character-design, production value, interface and gameplay are - appropriately - fantastic.

Memorable for...
The sheer joy of levelling up. That boom-whoosh sound, the blast of heavenly light and then the obligatory announcement to your team/guild mates ("ding!"), followed by a welter of chat-channel backslaps ("'grats!"). Now, what to spend that talent point on�?

Have Your Say ›
Whether you agree or disagree with our list, or just want to take part in some nostalgic game-related discussion, head on over to the Empire Forum.