World of Warcraft
By: Patrick X. Best |
Tuesday August 07, 2007 |
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Wrath of the Lich King Unveiled! |
| Wrath of the Lich King Unveiled! Ladies and Gentlemen, The world of Azeroth will soon change forever. Arthas Menethil, King of the undead, along with his Scourge army attempt to rid the world of all who defy him. That’s right everyone, Blizzcon 07 is done with and the biggest thing to happen in gaming this summer has been announced. Here is the official press release from Blizzard Entertainment: ANAHEIM, Calif. -- August 3, 2007 -- Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced plans for the second expansion to World of Warcraft®, its award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Unveiled at the company's BlizzCon™ gaming festival before an audience of more than 8,000 gamers, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King™ will open the forbidding wasteland of Northrend to exploration by the hardiest adventurers. New levels of power, challenging new dungeons and encounters, an exciting new character profession, and the game's first hero class are just some of the new features awaiting players in Wrath of the Lich King. "This expansion will add some of the most infamous characters and settings from the Warcraft® universe to World of Warcraft," said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment®. "In addition to new story content, Wrath of the Lich King will introduce a number of features specifically requested by players over the past couple of years. We're looking forward to sharing further details with everyone as development progresses." Players last visited Northrend in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne™, when Arthas Menethil fused with the spirit of Ner'zhul to become the Lich King, one of the most powerful beings in the Warcraft universe. He now broods atop the Frozen Throne deep in Icecrown Citadel, clutching the rune blade Frostmourne and marshaling the undead armies of the Scourge. In Wrath of the Lich King, the forces of the Alliance and the Horde will venture into battle against the Scourge amid Northrend's howling winds and fields of jagged ice. Building on the foundation established in World of Warcraft and The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King will add a rich variety of content to an already massive game. New features coming with the game's second expansion include: Death Knight Hero Class: Create a high-level Death Knight character -- the game's first hero class -- once certain challenges have been met. Increased Level Cap: Advance to level 80 and gain potent new talents and abilities along the way. Northrend: Explore the harsh new continent of Northrend, packed with new zones, quests, dungeons, monsters, and items -- and do battle with the undead armies of the Lich King. "Inscription" Profession: Learn this exciting new profession and gain unique ways to permanently enhance spells and abilities in the game. Siege Weapons and Destructible Buildings: Take the battle to another level with new player-vs.-player game mechanics and new battlefields to wage war on. New Character Customization: Change how characters look and express themselves, with different hairstyles and dance animations. Since launching in November 2004, World of Warcraft has become the world's most popular MMORPG, with a subscriber base of more than 9 million players. The game's first expansion, The Burning Crusade, broke PC-game sales records in North America and Europe by selling nearly 2.4 million copies in its first 24 hours of availability and approximately 3.5 million copies in its first month. World of Warcraft is available in seven different languages and, in addition to North America and Europe, is played in mainland China, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Geeks around the world went out and purchased new pants after reading this and viewing the trailer. I, as many of you may or may not know, am an avid player of the game. I love the fact that I can spend time not only with my friends but also with people around the entire United States every night from the comfort of my bed. Yet, why is it that I am feeling a bit hesitant about this recent announcement? Maybe it’s because I’ve spent the last few months hitting 70 and grinding rep just to get to the top of the ranks into Karazahn, Gruul’s Lair, and never even getting close to the Black Temple. Now if any of you read Static’s report on the launch of Burning Crusade you know how most of us felt. We had worked so hard to reach 60 get good items and lost days of our lives to acquire what we had. Then, in the blink of an eye, USELESS! Armor was replaced in mere minutes and the gold we thought we had that made us “rich” was nothing compared to what could now be made in one night. My main worry is that Wrath of the Lich King will bring much of the same. Level 80 will be amazing, but what happens with they just go to level 90 in a year. And the Death Knight class? Anyone remember a little game called Everquest? Not many people played it, it really wasn’t that popular. Anyway, there was a class called Shadow Knight. Hmmm nah couldn’t be the same thing. Oh wait! Yes it is. And really, if “New Dances” is a selling point for a video game, it might be time to find a new writing staff. But don’t get me wrong, Gamers! I will dish out the assumed $50.00 for the new expansion on launch day, and I’ll sit and play away another one hundred days out of my life as long as the game is popular and my friends play. I’m just hoping that maybe it won’t be such a drastic change to the entire game. My final word…Please dear God NO MORE REP GRINDING! Xistan 70 Gnome Mage |
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