Let me count the ways...

I was thinking of doing a "it's like WoW, but..." section, but rather than get too involved, I'll just list a couple of things I like about WoW:
- talent system
- detailed lore
- balanced leveling system
- tongue-in-cheek approach
- limited professions

probably much more....
I think these could translate to the Noir universe quite easily.

* I should be clear: I don't have any technical programming knowledge, so when I say something stupid like "this could be done easily", I only mean conceptually. I can't even fathom the immense amount of work Blizzard coded...just so we're on the same page.

Limiting aspects of WoW:
- very limited customization
- no residence ownership
- Very little creative input from players (recipes are static and cannot be altered). For example, even if you have the recipe for "Blue Linen Shirt" which calls for linen cloth, course thread and blue dye, you cannot make a "Red Linen Shirt" by simply buying red dye. You have to have the recipe for "Red Linen Shirt". A little more experimentation would instill greater ownership.

btw, low level stealth for the rogue class sucks.