I have close ties with the development of WAR. I do moderation for one of the largest WAR fansites and I've been in beta since the middle of last year. I'll try to add some more historical info to the OP's post.
I have played lots of MMOs, and what really has blown me away is not the gameplay, or the graphics, or the things mentioned in the review. Rather, it's the facetime with the developers and their reaching out to us as players. The beta process has been the best I've been a part of, with constant polls, patches, and solicitations for our feedback. The developers are all very visible in the community and have done a lot of work to mingle with players and get their thoughts on the game. Looking up Paul Barnett, Josh Drescher, and Jeff Hickman on youtube will get you a ton of results for these hard-working people that are passionate about their product.
That, more than anything convinced me to pre-order, test, and of course, play the game.
This review is great, and it really shows how far the game has come. That isn't to say there aren't problems. There are issues with the combat speed right now, server stability, and there are cut classes and content. The crafting is a bit subpar and doesn't work quite as intended.
The RvR campaign is fun to play but we will need to see how far it goes, long term.
Speaking of the campaign, the review doesn't mention that there is an RvR (realm vs. realm) campaign fought across all levels, that you can start contributing to your side's victory from level 1. You can siege and claim keeps which give benefits to your side, using both offensive and defensive siege weaponry to turn the tide. The culmination of a successful campaign against your opposition is the sieging of your enemies' capital city, defeating those defending it, and gaining access to all of its benefits, including killing the city's ruler for some of the best stuff in the game, and of course, bragging rights. I've had the pleasure of testing this stuff and trust me, if it works, it will be a lot of fun, mostly because WAR's version of PvP is team-based, group-based, and requires guilds to work together towards a common goal, a far cry from the individualistic PvP systems of the past.
This also isn't a WoW killer by any means, nor is it meant to be. It plays suspiciously similar enough to WoW to ease those folks in but has mechanics, like the public quest system and quick-play scenarios, that will entice people. As Creative Director Paul Barnett says, "We're not trying to be the Beatles, or beat the Beatles. That would be crazy. We're like Led Zeppelin - fewer members, good quality." A good analogy for those needing a dose of reality about this being the "WoW-killer" or "WoW clone".
I have my criticisms about the game and its development, but overall, it's looking to be a solid product, and it has my cash for the forseeable future.
If you guys are interested in some more of the innovations the game does, check out these podcasts on these mechanics:
Capital Cities [http://mythicmktg.fileburst.com/war/us/home/flash/2008-03_pp_JeffonCities.html] - cities which "level up" as you contribute to the campaign, opening up new quests, benefits, and vendors - things which you lose, if your opponent sacks your city and claims it.
"Living" Guilds [http://mythicmktg.fileburst.com/war/us/home/flash/pp_2008-04_guilds.html] - A levelling system for Guilds, including complete guild management tools like calendaring, scheduling, voting, keep claiming, and more, with features unlocked as the guild "levels" up through everyone's collective contributions.
Battle Standards [http://mythicmktg.fileburst.com/war/us/home/flash/2008-06_standards.html] - ability for a guild to designate someone carrying a customizable battle standard into fights, which contains the guild's logo, can have a loadout of buffs and benefits based on area of effect, and can be taken by the enemy.
Capital City siege [http://mythicmktg.fileburst.com/war/us/home/flash/2008-07_podcast.html] - The campaign stuff I mentioned above.
