It has been more than five years since Arthas became the new Lich King. Now, inside Icecrown, he prepares to give the ultimate assault on Azeroth, in the expansion that will see millions of players involved once again in incredible adventures.
The Death Knight arrives
Two years after the release of The Burning Crusade (with which the Blizzard has recorded a frightening 11 million World of Warcraft subscriptions), the second expansion of the world's most played MMORPG is finally here. Not without several innovations: a new continent to explore, the Death Knight , the first true heroic class, renewed graphics and thousands of new items to collect.
It has been years of waiting, and after a long absence, thanks to his betrayal, Arthas is finally back. And we are very happy that it is so.
As you all know Wrath Of the Lich King will take us to a new continent, where we will have new weapons and armor, new talents and on this occasion a new class: the Death Knight; this is the biggest innovation introduced in the playability factor. The Death Knight thus becomes the first heroic class of World of Warcraft. This does not mean that it is better than the others but it basically has different mechanics: its main function is to do damage and tank (take damage from enemies to protect playmates), using heavy armor and weapons both two-handed and one-handed. Only players with a character at level 55 will be able to create the aforementioned class, and its game system can be considered quite different from other classes: it uses neither mana nor energy nor fury but a new source of runic power that combines a classic power measurement bar using six small runes, divided into three distinct skills that determine which skills we can use at different times.
This turns out to be a complex methodology at the beginning, but at the same time it leads to potential once you become familiar with this type of game. In addition, other peculiarities that differentiate the Death Knight compared to the other classes are respectively: the starting level which will be set at 55, a ground mount with epic speed (therefore at 100%) and a blue type equipment (rare) therefore of excellent workmanship with which we will be able to overcome the levels successes of the Outland without worrying about changing your weapon and armor right away. As we have said, it is a class that is difficult to master but that at high levels can give a lot of satisfaction; in addition, his skills are a breath of fresh air from the point of playability as they often offer game mechanics unknown in the old world of World of Warcraft.
New world, new stories
However, what worried many players who love the old saga created by Blizzard was whether the developers had intended to resume the history of Warcraft where it was interrupted in the third chapter, especially as regards the adventures of Arthas who, after finding the sword Frostmourne, became the new Lich King. To all of them we can only say to rest assured because the wait was worth it: Wrath of the lich king emphasizes gameplay history to limitations rarely seen before in an MMORPG. In addition to making use of some videos in certain Quests, there has also been a notable increase in the use of writings and speeches recited by NPCs (non-player characters) to tell sequences with many notions of the saga so that the reader, as it happens in games like the Lord of the Rings or Age of Conan, you get an experience similar to what you might have with an offline game.
In fact, the Blizzard has created a system in which the plot progresses with the player and is therefore not linked to the progress of the server itself; therefore, if we have completed an important mission certain characters and certain environments will change only for us unlike the other players who obviously will not see what we are seeing. Wrath of the lich king It will also offer some truly impressive quests in both quality and quantity: the initial quest line of the Death Knight for example it is formidable and the whole plot that extends beyond level 74 in which for example we will participate in the battle of Undercity can be considered one of the most memorable moments that have ever been seen in an online game.
Graphics and Sound
Leaving aside the plot that develops throughout the expansion, there is another novelty that catches the eye as soon as you enter the new areas: the graphics. World of Warcraft he experimented with Wrath of the lich king a graphic evolution, mind you not a revolution, which has increased the visual quality in many elements: new polygonal models, new armors that abandon generic graphics, now presenting a much more captivating design and in line with the Nordic atmosphere of the new continent, improved vegetation, new terrain details and an accentuated use of shaders for buildings and objects as well as new climate effects. Added to this of course are the new lighting effects and shadows calculated in real time introduced in patch 3.0 that give that extra touch of class.
Even maintaining the classic cartoon style, esteemed by some and criticized by others, the Nordic landscapes of Northrend are always fascinating to our eyes and more importantly, they manage to give an unrivaled atmosphere in the medieval fantasy genre: valleys, rivers, lakes, snow-capped mountains, coniferous forests, foggy coastal areas, World of Warcraft has always been characterized to offer players a credible and wide world, therefore lovers of exploration will have bread for their teeth.
In any case, it is only the graphic deficiencies of Word of Warcraft have been corrected with these improvements: we are in fact still light years away from realistic graphics like the one shown by Age of Conan at least on a technical level, but in these moments you can clearly appreciate the contrast between the graphic quality of the original continents and that of Northrend . The minimum requirements necessary to play this expansion, however, have been increased compared to those expected in the past and therefore adventurers who come to Northrend with a medium-low-end PC, will have some problems playing with all the details to the maximum.
Another impressive factor of Wrath of the Lich King is definitely the sound: the soundtrack, as is customary in all Blizzard games, could be used for any medieval film produced in Hollywood. Symphonies orchestrated with an unmistakable Nordic style, bagpipes, harps, violins, epic songs, some even vocals and cutting-edge sound effects accompany excellent dubbing (Arthas's voice will give you the chills). It is from details like this that it can be seen as the Blizzard is always attentive to every single detail in every product.
gameplay
But let's get to the heart of the matter: what awaits us in Northrend? Over 10 levels of pure World of Warcraft. This phrase will please many and discourage others but it is the best definition for Wrath of the lich king. Northrend is a very large continent, with hundreds of quests to complete plus a dozen dungeons, (called Instances and which can be tackled both in normal and heroic mode) full of objects and treasures obviously protected by numerous Bosses that will always require new and original tactics and strategies . In short, at first glance it might seem that there are not many innovations in the gameplay factor; the fact is that it is not news but improvements: the Blizzard in fact it has never been a company known for the risks and for the revolutionary innovations, and that is why, as we said before, the pillars of this MMORPG will remain intact.
The most important innovations will be found in the quests: in Wrath of the lich king there are in fact a great variety of missions that move further and further away from the classic profile of killing X enemies or collecting X objects. The use of scripts of various kinds has allowed to greatly expand the requests in the missions by creating some truly original and fun ones (if something never changes that is the characteristic sense of humor of the Blizzard). A good amount of alternative actions have been introduced that we should perform such as flying dragons to bomb certain areas, pilot aircraft or command siege tanks, procedures that will have nothing to do with the abilities of our main character. Leveling up in this new expansion is still a fun, surprising and ideal experience for both those who can afford to play a few hours a week and those who have a lot of free time and are ready to delve into every single feature this game has to offer. .
Furthermore, with the aim of giving those players who left WoW to try Age of Conan or Warhammer Online, in Northrend we will not only have a brand new Battleground (Strand of the Ancients) but even an entire region to do PvP (player versus Player) and that is Wintergrasp, in which we will be able to use siege weapons that are easy and intuitive to use, to assault a fortification that can be controlled by both the Horde and the Alliance. If we add to this the new arenas with the respective season (the fifth) already started, we clearly see how the Blizzard was not idle during the development of Warhammer Online, once again the winner. To all this we obviously have to add all the other small improvements he has made to the system: many improvements to the game interface, a hairdressing system to change hair and small details to our characters, a new profession, Inscription, which allows us to create fleeces and scrolls to improve our skills, the inclusion of the Achievements (a system similar to the Xbox 360 unlockable achievements) which is encouraging players around the world to complete the old content of the previous expansion and the original game that were falling into oblivion; let's also add new scenarios for the arenas and in general a myriad of small improvements that have really polished World of Warcraft Like never before.
Final judgement
However, what we are about to say is a criticism only for those who can devote many hours to the game: once you reach level 80, there is not much content on the PVE (Player Vs Environment) factor: Wrath of the lich king in fact it has landed in stores with fewer dungeons available than The Burning Crusade presenting only a new adaptation of Naxxramas (now for both 10 and 25 players) that was already available in the original game and we will have to hope that in the future also the continent of Northrend present new 25-player Raids. This, on the other hand, could also have been a feature desired by the Blizzard to enjoy this expansion more calmly; however to date with the upcoming patch 3.1 the new 25's dungeon is already in sight Uldum, so we are sure that you want to exploit the PVE factor for as long as possible, in order to avoid that the most savvy players, once they reach level 80, and have finished all the dungeons, find themselves with their hands in their hands.
Wrath of the Lich King is a good expansion, there is no doubt about that. Blizzard has done a great job and this new world proves to be as good as the old continents, with more fun quests, lots of surprises and lots of dungeons to complete towards level 80. In addition, all classes have had new abilities and new features. to fully enjoy these new contents. Graphically enhanced, with a sublime soundtrack and truly enjoyable gameplay, this new expansion will once again engage millions of people around the world whether they are young, adult, casual or pro-gamer. Wanting to be critical, however, we know that the American software house had all the means and possibilities to create something even more complete and innovative.
La Blizzard in fact, she had the opportunity to improve her game even more in view of Age of Conan and Warhammer Online, but she limited herself to following a too conservative policy in deciding what to include or not in this second expansion.
The Burning Crusade brought arenas, heroic instances, accessibility and ease for those who wanted to Raid without dedicating many hours to the game, rewards for those who could only play sporadically (just think of Karazan) and ultimately many other innovations that solved most of the problems that players had encountered in the World of Warcraft original. However Wrath of the lich king he just gave us a new and, we repeat, a good deal of things that had worked so far, keeping The Burning Crusade's strengths but correcting a few of its flaws.
