Like most fantasy RPGs, you start off by creating your character's look, class and so on. Unlike most RPGs the only species you can be is human. This is a fairly direct statement of the kind of experience the player is in for. There are no dwarves, elves or pixies. This isn't Tolkien, this is bawdy, violent dark fantasy – you can choose your gender and race only. This may sound limiting, especially to World of Warcraft fans, but the range and detail you can impose on your character is impressively vast. We stuck with a fairly standard-looking barbarian. Mighty pecs, firm gluts, thick sideburns and a hefty Hyborian mullet. Now that we'd created our barbarian it was time to move onto the game proper.