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World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Comments by Oli Welsh

17 November, 2008

Going North.

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Trystero
17/11/08 @ 07:16
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Good review. Looking forward to this.
ProtoformX
17/11/08 @ 07:26
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I hate reading such great stuff about WoW. I've played all of the Wracraft games and I love the storylines Blizzard create and I'd love to participate in this stuff in WoW. But to get to this stuff requires getting to level 70 (Now 80) and I just don't have the time for it. Plus I find the grind so boring. I bought The Burning Crusade on launch day and still haven't even made it into Outland yet. Maybe I should give this thing one last push to decide once and for all whether to really get into it just just delete the game.
CapnCloudchaser
17/11/08 @ 07:27
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Screw it.

I'm on a games design course. Loads of my fellow students came in showing off their shiny new expansion, and the big boxed version looked so damn hot. And then the lecturer himself, a well known WoW addict, mysteriously comes down with an illness and cancels everything on Friday.

It's all just added to my temptation to finally give in and play WoW :(
Genji
17/11/08 @ 07:31
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Sounds great.

I'm still not going to play it, though.
saku_luk
17/11/08 @ 07:35
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You gotta be a wow addict to give it 10/10!!

Looks cool, but blizzard is biased, and its still not enough to make me play wow again (played it since release till BT)....

Waiting for Aion EU Beta tho ;p
berelain
17/11/08 @ 07:35
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There still just doesn't sound like enough new or interesting stuff in here to tempt me back to WoW. LOTRO offers the same accessible gameplay, but does it in a much more mature, thought-out way, and with an exceptional storyline to boot. Since experiencing the epic questline of LOTRO, every other MMO has felt rather lifeless and pointless to me, with no real reason to do anything in the game other than to get to the next level. To me, WoW feels very outdated, and I don't see this expansion changing my mind.

Oh well. Mines of Moria it is for me, then.

But as for the WoW-additcs... I'm sure theres a lot to love here.
stoopidgreg
17/11/08 @ 07:50
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i hope my girlfriend, recovering MMO addict, doesn't read this. she was eyeing up the box in gamestation yesterday... sigh
Pirotic
17/11/08 @ 08:06
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Did EG ever get around to revising the terrible WoW 8/10 review? If not, now might be a good time ;)
SentientNr6
17/11/08 @ 08:35
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10? - lol
Edited 1 times, most recently on 17/11/08 @ 08:35
Trane
17/11/08 @ 08:46
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"10? - lol"

Get out.

This review has tempted me damn it =(

I played from release until 18 months ago, and this is genuinley the first time I've even considered it.

Great review Mr Welsh (you get bonus points for the surname).
Oldern
17/11/08 @ 08:51
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I have been tanking my way trough half of the instances (closing with the fantastic Violet Hold), i would add to fans who are skeptical after the dungeon design Burning Crusade has: Wrath of the Lich King's dungeon design has improved in every sense possible.

With six different dungeon, we got six different visual style, even Azjol Nerub and its neighbor, the Old Kingdom has drastically different atmosphere - i just cant believe this after the quite boring pinkfest of Tempest Keep or the strange "i am blue and gray" feeling of Auchnidon. Go to dungeons, they are beautiful. And quite easy for an overgeared (t5 at least) party.
dk71
17/11/08 @ 09:01
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Quote from the review...
"All of this is delivered to you via a dramatic graphical upgrade."

I saw the game for many hours this weekend...

Where is that "dramatic graphical upgrade" ???
On a brand new 2000-euro PC, with all settings Max, it Still looks like a very ooooold game.

LOL
Tzetrik
17/11/08 @ 09:02
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but it still looks like something from 1991
Katsumoto
17/11/08 @ 09:02
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I have to say, the Death Knight campaign was absolutely amazing and i'm enjoying running through Outland from the horde perspective.

Haven't got so far in Northrend yet due to horrible overpopulation but from what i've seen it looks incredible, can't wait for the mad rush to die down a bit and explore it properly.
tobsen
17/11/08 @ 09:03
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Oh dear, now even more people's lifes will get sucked away by this game...
Oli [staff]
17/11/08 @ 09:06
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Pirotic - yeah, it was my very first order of business when I started the MMO channel: http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?art...
Gearskin
17/11/08 @ 09:17
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Must.Grind.Harder!

I installed Questhelper last night. All you gots to do is grab a load of quests and check the map. The add-on tells you what quests to tackle and in what order, so you scoop the XP in the fastest possible time.

Will still take 100 hours.
Inigo
17/11/08 @ 09:20
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I played this for a couple of hours and enjoyed the quests, Blizards level design has realy come along from some of the original starting areas. The problem is that its too busy and full at the moment. Theres always about 10 people waiting to do a quest.
karstux
17/11/08 @ 09:29
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"Blizzard's artists and world-builders are the best. They were the best in 2004. They're still the best now."

I'd say that this is really a matter of personal preference, and I've never found WoW's art style appealing. I'm not even talking about the low-polyness of it all, since I realize they're targeting older computers with that. But with all those oversaturated crayon colors on just about everything, and clumsy, bulky, ungainly shapes - it's hard to take seriously. The screenshots don't inspire grand fantasy, instead I'm reminded of children's books.

But, to each their own.
Tyranix
17/11/08 @ 09:42
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I'm a big fan of WoW and I personally think 10 is too high for an expansion that basically does very little new. Arguably the Burning Crusade did more new (and successful) things like flying mounts, an endgame that allowed everyone to participate etc. WOTLK just refines the formula. It's fantastic yes but this review smacks of being pulled in by novelty value. Still a nice read though.
kestral
17/11/08 @ 09:47
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Just to clarify things for future buyers: "The ability to start a Death Knight at level 55 on any server, as long as you have a character of that level or above, grants every player a shortcut to join friends and a chance to try a different class in condensed form. "

Unfortunately this is incomplete (or i'm interpreting it wrong). Wikipedia said it wrong as well, wowwiki says it right:
"Players can create one Death Knight per realm as long as they have at least one character that is level 55 on the realm they wish to create it on."

ie. You cannot create a Death Knight on a realm that you don't have a level 55 character on! I couldn't anyway.
Edited 3 times, most recently on 17/11/08 @ 09:48
viper_h
17/11/08 @ 10:05
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Read the first paragraph and gave up on this.

Fanboy alert. What a load of old toss. If it still has "Collect 10 Feathers" quests, it's the same old crap. 10/10 my ass,
Bartacus
17/11/08 @ 10:09
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I will not even try WOW for fear of falling under its drug like qualities it also seems too much like work, it's ancient looking, costs a packet by installments & seems to entrap anyone who dares to play it.

I prefer games where there is skill involved this game is more like a meeting area for strange folk who are chained to their PC's.
Edited 2 times, most recently on 17/11/08 @ 10:26
BigJonno
17/11/08 @ 10:09
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I hated the WoW re-review. I thought it was a blinkered, fanboyish mess. I've played the game almost constantly since beta and I felt dirty reading it.

So when I say that this review doesn't do Wrath justice, you should know that it's a big deal. The only downside to the whole thing is that it makes classic WoW and BC look like utter shite in comparison. Levelling a death knight through Outland is going to be tough.
groovychainsaw
17/11/08 @ 10:17
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As always, I'll wait 6 months, pick it up and wander through the areas (now quiet, due to the lack of queues of people). I prefer exploring in a frozen wasteland, rather than in a bear-killing shopping mall ;-). Does sound great though
MrED209
17/11/08 @ 10:30
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YETANOTHERTENLOL.

So more like a real-world 8 then?

Or an 'Edge 7' ;)
spudsbuckley
17/11/08 @ 10:47
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Been playing since last thursday morning whenever i get the chance.

It's fantastic. I had given up about two months ago because of the poopsocky nature of the endgame raids but the expansion has really got me back into it. The levelling no longer feels like a grind as it did in TBC as well as most other MMORPGs, something with Blizzard should be commended for.

Looks like i'll never play WAR or LOTRO again :D
JahB
17/11/08 @ 10:56
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10? this must be some kind of joke, a mmorpg expansion getting this grade. could we please get reviews that are written by objective journalists instead of fanboys?
mull
17/11/08 @ 11:03
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Poopsocks!
Katsumoto
17/11/08 @ 11:04
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"a mmorpg expansion getting this grade" - should it be reserved to first person shooters, then?
spudsbuckley
17/11/08 @ 11:08
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Let's not bother reviewing any direct sequel then. Can't be good if you haven't played the original.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 17/11/08 @ 11:17
Benno
17/11/08 @ 11:09
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It's a great expansion, I am enjoying it more than BC
kapowaz
17/11/08 @ 11:13
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Forget objective journalists; how about some objective commenters? Did everybody here drop in to say UR RONG WOW IS FOR LUZERS LOL ? Because sure, it's real objective when people who have bigoted views come in to express said view.

The fact is, if you are predisposed to hate MMOs, you will probably still hate WoW. But a lot of the reasons that people hate MMOs in general or WoW in particular have been addressed in this recent expansion. Less boring grind quests? Check. A greater sense of the world actually changing around you as you quest? Check. 5-man dungeons that you can finish in under an hour? Check. No need to be a member of a hardcore guild in order to see all the endgame content? Check.

It's a shame that so many of these comments are so childish and bigoted. There are reasons to be critical of Blizzard (in fact, the review touches on some of them; PvP balance is now such a difficult thing to get right that there are problems — I'm particularly upset with the way they've changed retribution paladins, for example). Perhaps the fact that the expansion has been so popular that literally tens of thousands of former players have returned, swamping the servers and forcing queues to get into the game. These are issues though, that they'll eventually fix, because they always do.
Gl3n
17/11/08 @ 11:16
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"it has done so in a way that works for almost everybody, in almost every situation."
- Well this is false for a start. I'm not of level to reach northrend, there are no new level 1 classes as with BC so i'll not see northrend for a long time. I'm a casual player and can't stand the solo-play that is forced upon you in WoW. It's made ascension into the upper levels tough and lonesome. Consequently i have a fist full of alts all languishing in the lower half of the levels, where the grind is fairly kind and play isn't repetatively time consuming in order to get anywhere.

The expansion doesn't solve the problem that all these add ons do is to add content for the high end, and no-one else. The high level players will chew up the content in weeks and be left with the usual gear grind for another couple of years.
I'd love to be able to play this new content, i just wish it was accessible.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 17/11/08 @ 11:17
kapowaz
17/11/08 @ 11:17
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@kestral: with regards to creating a Death Knight — the ability to create death knights on a realm you don't have another level 55+ character on yet has temporarily been disabled, to prevent people swamping new servers (they've always introduced fresh servers with each expansion, and with this feature enabled death knights would be able to get a massive head start on those servers). The feature will be re-enabled later.
Red Moose
17/11/08 @ 11:20
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Hmm so to get the benefit of this sequel/expansion I need to have spent how many hundreds of hours, days or weeks of my life invested in it? And even then you admit that Blizzard comes up wit far less new additions than another MMORPG? But of course the WOW one gets the 10 because you've actually invested weeks of your life in something so if Blizzard released something stuid like haircuts, it would be a bonus.

Oh christ, that's exactly what they did. For the future sake of humanity, stop this. I could go and buy this now and it will be useless to me. Does it still get a ten? Is it like Spore?
merkdot
17/11/08 @ 11:20
#37
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GOTY

Best seller of the year

PC :bow :bow :bow
Gl3n
17/11/08 @ 11:24
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I have to agree that the review was perhaps a bit gushy. I'm sure it's a great play for the wow-addict. But this does seem a bit disjointed with the more balanced appraisals read elsewhere.
RedSparrows
17/11/08 @ 11:29
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If you're moaning about the end levels not being accessible, it's because Blizz want their 11 million players (probably all 70 at the time of release, or there abouts) to buy the game. That alone = kerching. The hype can then pull in anyone else.

Honestly, levelling 1-70 is probably not as much fun atm as 70-80, but the WoW world is still glorious. I explored it for the achievement (well, the few patches I had missed), it's fantastic still. Especially given that levelling sub 70 has been substantially 'buffed' in speed.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 17/11/08 @ 11:29
login_name
17/11/08 @ 11:31
#40
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Although the review is basically a love letter from an obsessed fanboy, WotLK is still a great addition to WoW. I've never really enjoyed WoW, it just happens to be the best option when my wife and I want to play an mmo together, but I'm really enjoying Wrath so far.

Outland sucked, it was dull and for all the so called variety most of the quests were too long and boring. The "world" felt so fake, more like a Disneyland tour than a fantasy world trek. It had its moments, flying being the main one, but overall I didn't like playing through it. Northrend, however, is actually enjoyable. I don't know why but it just is, even with broken/bugged quests, long waiting times and arrogant kill/pick up stealers. It feels more adventurous, the world more believable. Quests aren't quite as long or dull (yet) and there is a much needed variety. You also feel a little more involved in the story with the Lich King himself popping up during some quests.

As for Death Knights, well, I did say I hated playing through Outland...not anymore. The novelty of this class is keeping us entertained, for now. So much so we're finding it hard to choose between new content and death grip :)
absolutezero
17/11/08 @ 11:32
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I vant you to keel 6 Snow Moose.
anomagnus
17/11/08 @ 11:39
#42
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i have to say, i bought this on a whim, even though i play WAR.

My first impression is, that WAR will remain my primary.

But god damn, WOTLK is magnificent. Every single aspect of this game has stunned me so far. The lands are stunning beautiful, though my problems remain with the main toons. A few more polygons wouldn't go wrong...

The music will blow you away

Its a great ride, and far, far better than TBC.

But i know WoW, and i know this ride will end.

But still, god damn, this shits all over TBC.
Smugglarn
17/11/08 @ 11:41
#43
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Increased draw distance for all parts of wow or just the new stuff?

The water still looks like shit (ie something akin to quake2)?
Edited 1 times, most recently on 17/11/08 @ 11:42
DaemonB
17/11/08 @ 11:53
#44
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I have this upstairs and can i be bothered to play it?

No sir.
Toby
17/11/08 @ 11:55
#45
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"The ability to start a Death Knight at level 55 on any server, as long as you have a character of that level or above"

To clarify, you actually need the level 55 character to be on the same server as you wish to create the DK. I know because I had to pay £15 to transfer one over (make sure to get yourself something nice with that, Blizzard).
jamespo
17/11/08 @ 12:04
#46
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Boring compared to left 4 dead
Gaol
17/11/08 @ 12:30
#47
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Have to agree with the review, WoW is now tweaked to perfection. The new continent, and the amount of content, is mind boggling. I've played for hours on my Lock and not even hit 71. If you approach it as a 'grind' expect to be irked at the length of time it'll take to Ding. For those of us who are just along for the ride it's outstanding value.

I levelled through the Deathknight starting area and it was terrific fun; I really liked the addition of cut scenes within the world at large and it's well worth playing as a prequel to the main event. In fact, the 4-5 hours I spent on the Death Knight content was almost worth the £20 cost alone.

If I try really hard to find a criticism, then I'd say the musical score isn't up to the standard of Outland; not that it's bad in any way; just not quite as memorable. More than made up for by the small graphical improvements.
Vistrix
17/11/08 @ 12:36
#48
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Can someone just confirm this...

There is absolutely nothing new for people under level 30? This expansion is pointless for anyone lower than 30?
Henrik_se
17/11/08 @ 12:37
#49
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Sorry, all the wow fanboys are busy playing the game, so all you wow haters won't get any response to your trolling until a few weeks from now. I hope you can wait, we just got to see the next zone... ooohh.. shiny!
Gaol
17/11/08 @ 12:38
#50
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Yes Vistrix, the new additions that would apply at lower levels (graphical upgrades, inscription etc.) are free to all users. No point buying till you are 55 at the least for Deathknight, or closer to 70 otherwise.

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