I've been playing since release and I can confidently say I've never enjoyed the game more so than now. They have added craftable PVP sets that are on par with Season 4 gear and excellent main-hand and off-hand weapons that take only a few days to earn that has evened the playing field considerably in PVP (it's actually fun now.) I play on Hyjal and I can get into at least one, sometimes two instances a night at practically any level by using the LFG system.

I think the game is very healthy when it comes to population. The worst drop I've seen is in Shattrath but that's because Dalaran provides similar benefits but in a smaller, better, and more interesting area. The benefits of having a well-established player base is that most PUGs work out decently now as well.

I ran Drak'Tharon keep and Violet Hold last night without a single wipe (two different groups) and nobody in the dungeon was purpled out (mostly blues and greens.) It's inevitable that some zones are emptier now but I've gone back to zones such as the Barrens and Ghostlands and there's still quite a few people leveling and enjoying lower level content.

However, I think that with the recent plot developments in WOW (if you've followed the Wrath Gate storyline) it wouldn't be a huge stretch to implement a "global" pvp system for the old-world zones. It's somewhat unlikely that Northrend or Outland would fall under any one faction's control but the older Azerothian zones could be retrofitted with a really interesting goal-based PVP system that would bring armies of player down to them.

A level-cap on participation in these battles (such as a new type of "flag up") would make it somewhat unlikely that a bunch of high levels in T8 gear would crash the party.

This collection of people who show up frighteningly often on Xbox live is exactly why I stopped playing. I distinctly remember the team leader in Ghost Recon being genuinely offended when he was barking orders and nobody cared/listened. He'd say things like "I need situational awareness guys, tell me when an area is clear."

I couldn't help but laugh but even more so when he got offended. Of course, the reason he got so irritated was because nobody followed his "orders" or played along with his military-speak. Started yelling and saying he could "take them on his own" and that "we would never pass in the army." After a play commented on that, they got into a heated argument mid-match about how "gay" the Navy was.

I've come to the conclusion that Xbox Live has the worst multiplayer community that has ever been established. For many reasons, one of which I discussed above. I don't mention PS3 here because, well, I don't have any experience with multiplayer on PS3.

This is easily my most anticipated game this year. The only other game that even comes close is InFamous.

I usually have a hard time getting into games that are unabashedly games. I had similar problems with Saints Row 2. It seemed to revel in its own stupidity and over-the-top nature. Not to suggest that's bad, many people enjoy it. I prefer something that at least attempts to provide some reason for what it's doing within the world it exists in. Wheelman suffers from the same thing, there's a flimsy plot that's just an excuse to throw cars around a rendering of Barcelona. Not aiming high is an excellent way to put it, it's as if the developers set out specifically to make a mediocre game; the least they could have done is put it at budget price to begin with.

I see nothing wrong with a 7, just an average game. To be honest, some of the games I kept coming back to for several months were perfectly average. The original Soldier of Fortune comes to mind (also a Raven software title.) I still remember the same enemy that pops out of a corner and flips over a soda machine in the first level, did it without fail every single time.

Not every game that comes out can be a masterpiece of modern entertainment, doesn't have to be either. If it's got a solid 12 hours behind it and some interesting gameplay/gore repetitiveness can be very easy to overlook.