I feel like a lot of people who think MMOs are dull grindfests don't really see the RPG part. For example, their description of WoW's undead newbie experience as "killing random wildlife" totally leaves out the story that unfolds through the quests, which really does a good job of giving you a feel for what being undead is all about. In that starting area, you scavenge for supplies in an abandoned village, drive back a horde of mindless zombies that threatens the town, fight off religious zealots that want to kill you just because you're undead, etc, etc. It also sounds like they didn't like the art style, which I guess is just a matter of personal taste.

That said, they have a point that games are to the point where they don't need to leave that much to little boxes of text anymore. RPGs in general these days often try to use their story to distract from poor gameplay, and it's true that WoW's gameplay, when viewed purely from a gamer's perspective is pretty awful. What WoW succeeds in doing more than any other MMO I've played though, is creating a believable, interesting world that I can interact with.