When I first heard that Blizzard was developing an MMO, I was rather disappointed. At the time, I had crappy dial-up and was whole-heartedly against the subscription-based model, yet still had a love of Blizzard's knack for making phenomenally fun games. I'm still against the subscription model, and would be much happier if they at least discounted the initial purchase, or even made it free. I realize, however, the unlikelihood of that ever coming to pass (and that said, I gladly paid the 80 bucks for the Collector's Edition). As the years wore on, not much news about World of Warcraft leaked out, other than it being basically a massive RPG in the Warcraft universe. But then some sites began having previews, or personal accounts of their experiences in the closed beta portions of its development. I have to credit Gamers With Jobs and their World of Warcraft Quest Log for really giving me my first look at its inner workings. When it was revealed that there was to be an open stress-test beta, I really started to pay attention. I spent a good five hours of a work day refreshing that damn Fileplanet page when the beta slots finally opened, and was eventually successful in securing my space. A quick (lengthy) download of the client later, and I was all set. Playing the beta really cemented the fact that this was a game I must own and play like a fiend.