World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)You can all see from the product details what comes in the box, so I won't rehash it all for you, but one thing not mentioned is that in the special pack of cards for the trading card game, I got one "loot" card with a scratch-off code you can use to get stuff in the game.That was pretty sweet.Also the pictures of the mouse pad do not do it justice.My wife told me if I get the dragon pet in game, that she gets the mouse pad.It's very high quality, and looks amazing, almost like they used holographic type paint for it.

The gameplay itself is great.I've been so busy playing my new Death Knight and leveling their trade skills, my own lvl 70's fishing, and cooking... and alchemy... getting achievement points that were released in v3.0.2 prior to the launch etc. I've only hit 72.I did however take the first day to just run around and look at everything.The world design is amazing.It's all themed around cold climate except the southern parts of the two starting areas, but, it's not like you're going to run around and look at the same thing from beginning to end, there is tons of zone variety.Crystalsong Forest is my favorite so far, I plan to spend a lot of time there for sure.

UK and the Nexus are the first two instances, they are solid.UK is like a cross between a really big Shadowfang Keep and Deadmines.Nexus is like... geeze... I dunno... a blue Underbog crossed with Tempest Keep.So they definitely made it a point to distinguish this content from old world just like they did with Outland in The Burning Crusade.

They added a bunch of new enemy and neutral NPC models to the game, which is nice.I was disappointed with the rehash and redesign of several old world mobs in TBC.Most of what I've seen in Wrath so far is all new, and that's definitely a welcome change.

*EDIT* The same can also be said for the quests.It's still mostly, gathering and mob farming, but there are a lot more, "go here, use this item to do x" quests as well as some completely new quests that center around a new vehicle engine.There's an alliance quest in Howling Fjord where you get in an airplane, actually pilot the plane around an open mine picking up bags of minerals with a grappling hook, then flying them back up to the top to drop them off.There's another in the Borean Tundra where you hide in a mine cart, wait to get carted behind enemy lines, get on their boat and use a huge cannon to fire into several enemy brigades.You actually get to aim the cannon and there are a couple different actions while in the cannon.This new system has thus far proven to be a welcome addition to the typical mmo game play. *END EDIT*

All in all I am very pleased with this collector's edition, and would recommend it to anyone with a few extra bucks to spend, that enjoys extra "real world" loot so to speak.

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Product Description:
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
You've turned the tide against the demonic evils of Outland. Now the Lich King Arthas has set in motion events that will lead to the extinction of all life on Azeroth. With the undead legions of the Scourge threatening to sweep across the land, you must strike at the heart of the frozen abyss and end the Lich King's reign of terror for all time...


Rise as a Death Knight:
Master the necromantic powers of the Death Knight-World of Warcraft's first Hero Class. Create a new Death Knight character with a starting level of 55 and break the chains of the Lich King to forge your own destiny.


Battle to Level 80:
Power your way through new quests and dungeons as you seize ever greater abilities. Assault the terrifying Wrathgate, war in Lake Wintergrasp, uncover the secrets of Dalaran reborn, and much more.


Brave the Lich King's Domain:
Discover the harsh, icy continent of Northrend, the bleak heart of the Lich King's empire of undeath.


Lay Siege to your Enemies:
Command mighty siege engines to bombard your enemies and lay waste to destructible buildings in your path.


What's in the Box:
-- The Art of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, a 208-page book featuring never-before-seen images from the game.
-- An exclusive in-game pet: Frosty, the baby frost wyrm.
-- A behind-the-scenes DVD containing over an hour of developer interviews, the Wrath of the Lich King intro cinematic with director's commentary, and more.
-- The official soundtrack CD, containing 21 epic tracks from the game, along with exclusive bonus tracks.
-- A mouse pad featuring a map of the newly opened continent of Northrend.
-- Two World of Warcraft Trading Card Game March of the Legion starter decks, along with two exclusive cards available only in the Collector's Edition.



System Requirements Minimum Recommended Operating System PC: Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista (with latest Service Packs)
Mac: Mac OS X 10.4.11 or newer CPU PC: Intel Pentium 4 1.3 GHz or AMD Athlong XP 1500+
Mac: PowerPC G5 1.6 GHz or Intel Core Duo processor PC: Dual-core processor, such as Intel Pentium D or AmD Athlong 64 X2
Mac: Intel 1.8 GHz processor or better Graphics Hardware PC: 3D graphics processor with Hardware Transfor and Lighting with 32 MB VRAM, such as an ATI Radeon 7200 or NVIDIA GeForce2 class card or better
Mac: 3D graphics processor with Hardware Transform and Lighting with 64 MB VRAM, such as ATI Radeon 9600 or NVIDIA GeForce Ti 4600 class card or better PC: 3D Graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capabilities with 128 MB VRAM, such as an ATI Radeon X1600 or NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT class card or better
Mac: 3D graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capability with 128 MB VRAM, such as ATI Radeon X1600 or NVIDIA 7600 class card or better. Memory PC: 512 MB (1 GB for Vista)
Mac: 1 GB PC: 1 GB (2 GB for Vista)
Mac: 2 GB Hard Drive Space 15 GB of free space All Platform Requirements Keyboard and mouse, required for controls. Other input devices not supported. Active broadband Internet connection required to play.

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World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This review is for the contents of the collectors edition package, not the game itself.

The 175 page art book is fantastic. It's hardback and has a nice protective sleeve covering it. The sleeve depicts Deathwing as seen on the Cataclysm website. The concepts and literature inside are great to read/view and it's really cool to see the artistic visuals of all the new NPCs, clothing items, zones and even stills from the cinematic trailer. Many pieces of art depict several different stages of concept certain characters passed through over the period the expansion was developed. Some pieces give a visual representation of events that have transpired and affected the current storyline (there is a piece showcasing the Garrosh/Cairne duel which ultimately ended in.. well i won't spoil that one for you ;) ) The artwork is just really cool. Blizzard certainly has some very talented artists working for them. Various letters written by characters in game are peppered throughout the pages which give insight to the events which have happened and served to shape the new world since the shattering. While not essential for casual fans, they are still a great read for those who love the lore behind World of Warcraft and the book is a wonderful addition of graphic art to any person's collection.

The soundtrack features 17 absolutely phenomenal orchestral tracks from in game. I'm a huge fan of the music of World of Warcraft and the new tracks are very beautifully done and really invoke a real sense of "epicness". The title track is the best its been since the vanilla days (it even incorporates the original Legends of Azeroth theme), and the addition of revamped tracks from old world zones like Elywnn forest and Durotar are a nice, nostalgic touch. I enjoyed the score from Wrath of the Lich King but i think i enjoy this one much more.

Also included:

- In game Lil' Deathy companion pet. He has a welp model, but looks like a midgit-fied Deathwing. every character you'll ever start again will receive him along with a feat of strength. Standard and digital versions of Cataclysm will not receive this pet.

- Mouse pad depicting Deathwing looking upon the ravaged continents of Azeroth. I use an optical mouse so i really have no use for a mouse pad, but it may very well serve as a nice showpiece for any player looking to add a little flavor to their desktop.

- Wrathgate starter deck with a Landro's Gift loot card. Not really useful to me since i don't play the trading card game, but the loot card can provide a very lucrative reward if you're lucky. For instance, one of the possible obtainable items when you receive your gift box is a swift spectral tiger, which bar none is the rarest mount in game and very expensive if purchased from anywhere else. I wasn't lucky, and only got Papa Hummel's pet biscuits.

- Behind the scenes DVD featuring insight into the development of Cataclysm, which is about an hour long. I haven't watched it yet, but i would say it's a fair guess that the DVD is top notch. No hardcore fan of the game would pass up the chance to see how the creative process at Blizzard works, since we rarely if ever have a chance to outside of blue posts.

** After writing this review i was able to watch the DVD in it's entirety. Let me tell you, i didn't expect much going in but by the end my expectations were well exceeded. There is a lot of information packed into this disc and Blizzard went into great detail about all of the changes that were made and explained a lot of the secrets behind their programming magic. There are thorough explanations behind why old world flying was never included in the last 2 expansions, the reasoning and logic behind many of the zone changes, and the developer's went into great detail on the process of creating new zones for this expansion, the challenges they faced in creating content that would rival or exceed what we saw With wrath and their desires to create an experience that was rewarding not just for new fans but for old veterans of the game as well. Also discussed on the disc was the process behind creating the cinematic movie for the expansion ( a project that proved to be far more challenging than i ever thought it was), Warcraft History and a plethora of interviews by developers and artists associated with the World of Warcraft.

- And the expansion itself, which comes on 1 DVD disc. The beauty of this expansion is that the bulk of the material was already patched in before release, so all players really needed to do was provide their activation codes and wait until the servers went live. since all the content can be digitally downloaded once your account has been upgraded, the DVD is more or less a means to reinstall the game without an internet connection.

The package is very sturdy and well put together. All the items that come with it rest in little cutouts on a tray which are lined with felt to prevent scraping or scuffing of your items, and everything fits in smoothly without sliding/bouncing around inside. the tray slides into the outer sleeve kind of like a really big DVD set. You can stand the box vertically and it will remain still, or you can put it on a shelf like a book. Either way is up to you. I would personally rather display it out in the open since it looks so cool, but that's me.

A worthy purchase at 80 dollars, and a great addition for any fan of the game out there.

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Product Description:
An ancient evil lies dormant within Deepholm, the domain of earth in the Elemental Plane. Hidden away in a secluded sanctuary, the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing has waited, recovering from the wounds of his last battle against Azeroth and biding his time until he can reforge the world in molten fire. Soon, Deathwing the Destroyer will return to Azeroth, and his eruption from Deepholm will sunder the world, leaving a festering wound across the continents. As the Horde and Alliance race to the epicenter of the cataclysm, the kingdoms of Azeroth will witness seismic shifts in power, the kindling of a war of the elements, and the emergence of unlikely heroes who will rise up to protect their scarred and broken world from utter devastation.

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