Epicenter of Fail : World of Warcraft

It takes a truly astonishing event to make you forget horror, yet that is exactly what World of Warcraft : Wrath of the Lich King did. As the big event rolled by, fans all across the globe gathered in small tribes, awaiting the release of the only thing that could make their experience bar return from its hiatus. Over 2.8 million copies were sold that fateful night, marking it as the fastest-selling PC game to date. Yet despite this heart warming bowl of madness, World of Warcraft has changed the MMORPG genre…and not for the better.

It’s so difficult to say negative things about anything to do with Warcraft. The series has such a grandiose storyline, introducing a wide cast of characters such as Illidan and Malfurion Stormrage, Tyrande, Arthas Menethil, and so many more. Yet while WoW draws from such a rich background, the game fails at transferring the atmosphere and keeping the player immersed. Before the release of Wrath, players were killing bosses of gargantuan proportions and retrieving powerful weapons and armor. After the release….I’m collecting Mammoth skins. What. The. Hell. After saving the ENTIRE world of Azeroth, you’re playing errand boy…again. Wait, make that for the third freaking time! Most of the quests are identical to the ones you already did in both the original WoW game and then again in The Burning Crusade. Look up the quest Scouting the Sinkholes. You first go to several coordinates, after that you go item collecting! What’s next on this exciting odyssey of boredom? More item collecting! Yay!

After this spectacular show of copy & paste from Blizzard, I recalled that they had already pulled these stunts with a few exceptions, like the bombing runs in The Burning Crusade. The only truly exciting quests are the finale of the Deathknight beginner quests. However these moments only seem to highlight the stale sadness that is the rest of the game. But hey, it’s worth it for a shot at Ner’zhul, Arthas Menethil, The Lich King! This is what many players have been eagerly awaiting since the end of Warcraft III : The Fronze Throne. I was a wolf among lambs as I tore through the horribly boring content to prepare for the epic conclusion.

Then I found out he’s not here! Nope! There is a Do not disturb sign on the final instance while Arthas tries to figure out what to wear to the big party. In other words, if you want to fight the Lich King you have to wait until a future patch, much like was done with the Black Temple. The few quests that give him a brief cameo only seemed to increase my fury. While the game does have a very fun looking encounter in the Chamber of the Aspects and a revamped Naxxramas, there isn’t really any excitement to be had.

Between the lack of variety with quests, the player base that fills me with apathy for my fellow man, and making people wait for the epic showdown I can hardly find the will to load up my account anymore. I had originally quit the game over almost identical problems found here. Yet I had a strange ephemeral hope for the expansion. As soon as I logged on the new hero class, the Deathknight, and gazed upon the Out Of Character chat I knew the truth. Nothing had changed. I’ve been given recycled content with icicles. The entire success of WoW rides with people becoming obsessed with virtual progression to the point children are passing out with seizures at their computers. As this charade continues the game continues to stagnate. Thus World of Warcraft : The Wrath of the Lich King is at the epicenter of Fail.

Sources: www.wowhead.com and www.gamepro.com