A few weeks ago, I found myself back in Morrisville getting ready to tackle my first classes of the new semester in a fresh major.

Over the break I had broken myself of the habit, or perhaps it tore itself from me. But peer pressure and the media had led me to believe it is the cool thing to do. Yes, you probably know it: World of Warcraft.

And even if you haven't heard of the game, don't feel bad. Only ten million people are subscribed worldwide.

It has the largest player base of any massive multiplayer online game in history, as well as being the best-selling game for the past two years. Its first expansion pack, The Burning Crusade, became the fastest selling game of all time with 2.4 million copies sold within the first 24 hours. But we could talk numbers all day, when what people really want to know about is game play.

It's a simple formula, used hundreds of times before. Pick your faction, your race and your class. Make the character look the way you want with a few hairstyle and facial options. Congratulations, you just made the avatar that you're going to spend your new life with.

You'll be clicking enemies, casting spells and performing great acts of heroism in a nearly seamless virtual world. When you get bored of slaying giant insects and vicious dragons, take the fight to other players in the battlegrounds. Don't want to do that? Then start crafting items for other players to use and join the complex economy that Blizzard has cleverly set forth.

There are so many things to do in this game, but it never feels overwhelming. The in-game tutorials and, for the most part, friendly player-base help guide people of any experience learn to love their new home.

But that is hardly the extent. This game has developed a massive community. There are hundreds of thousands of fan-made modifications for the user interface. Even more movies have been created by devotees ranging from music videos to comedies to dramas.

Hundreds of stories about each individual character have begun to file in as players find that they want to develop their persona even when they're not playing. A shame, however, that this is also the main source of opposition against this form of media.

Friends, parents and even spouses have all complained about how their loved ones who play the World of Warcraft cannot seem to get their heads out of the universe Blizzard Entertainment has made. I actually know two people that have failed out of Morrisville due in part to too much World of Warcraft and not enough school work.

Similar to the early days of the Pokémon craze, ministers are now blaming World of Warcraft for the corruption of today's youth.

Ironically, WoW (the now well-known acronym for World of Warcraft) has also garnered a significant Christian following among that same group. In fact, when I searched Google for a little more information on the subject, I found that about seventy-percent of the websites returned related to Christian guilds within the game.

While I'm certainly not going to say that the game is a smart excuse for work or class, it isn't the terrible monster that certain politicians make it out to be. It is simply another good game that can gather an audience and keep them entertained for years.

And if everything goes according to plan, Blizzard will keep the masses entertained for even longer. A new expansion pack is on the horizon: Wrath of the Lich King. Opening up a new continent, a new adversary, ten new levels and the death knight class, it promises to finish what the events of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne set forth.