BlizzCon Roundup: Day 2

Alright, I know what you're thinking. That's it? No announcements? No big bombshell revelation at BlizzCon? The biggest thing to come out from those two days was the announcement that StarCraft would come out as three separate games. Yep, that's not even World of Warcraft-related. What gives? Well, let's put it this way: we've got one huge game coming up this November, another -- or three -- coming out when "it's ready®", and the long-awaited Diablo III in development. Do we really need more games? Blizzard might actually be doing us a favor by giving us enough breaks to do some real world stuff. Like eat or shower. If you missed Day 2, here's the quick lowdown:

• All of us over here at WoW Insider have always enjoyed the independently-produced web series The Guild. So when we heard they were going to be at BlizzCon, we jumped at the chance to interview them. Check out Mike's little tete-a-tete with the cast of the show.

• First up for the day was my favorite panel, the PvP discussion, which Mike liveblogged for us. The developers talked about the new Arena maps, Battlegrounds, and what lay ahead for World of Warcraft PvP.

• Adam walked away a little grumpy from liveblogging the Dungeons & Raids panel because one of Blizzard's promises was to never field another dungeon as retardedly difficult as Sunwell Plateau. And you guys know Adam, he always likes his raiding hardcore!

• It's hard to be grumpy after watching the BlizzCon '08 Dance Contest, though. From the opening clip of a guy shamelessly mimicking an ogre to the girl doing the female draenei dance in 5-inch stilettos, it really brings an embarrassing smile to your face.

• The Q&A panel was one of the best things about the day, if only because it's too cool to see Metzen's biker slouch beside everyone else's black-collared stiff-by-comparison formality. Daniel was on hand to liveblog the event for us, so check out the tiny gems scattered throughout the discussion.

• If you thought there wasn't enough Wrath of the Lich King love to go around already, Blizzard released more in-game footage of Northrend. If you like being surprised and exploring the zones on your own, this revealing and detailed video isn't for you.

• Yeah, I know a bunch of you despise Arenas, so you can skip to the next bullet-point. It needs to be said that Nihilum Plasma from Europe took home $75,000 just for being good at Arenas, though. That's a lot of money for a weekend's work, specially in this economy. Props to the boys from Britain (and Germany).

• Sure, we had a class panel on the first day already, but with ten classes to talk about, another one wouldn't hurt. Our lead Elizabeth was on hand to liveblog this one for us, with my favorite snappy one-liner being that Retribution Paladins are "working as intended."

• I am always blown away by Blizzard's art, so when Mike put up the Art Gallery yesterday, I got knocked back some 20 yards. The art books are probably the main reason why I buy a Collector's Edition version of Blizzard's games every time. Check out the awesome art on display at the convention floor.

• Mike really wanted to slack off yesterday when he discovered the über-cool Retro Arcade which featured playable versions of Blizzard's old games. Too bad Mike's a lead and has to work harder than any of us, preventing him from camping out in front of the Blackthorne StarCraft booth.

• Lastly, Daniel did an awesome job covering the surprisingly good DVD panel (who'd have thunk it?) for our sister site Big Download.

So there. That wasn't much, was it? I really think Blizzard's just spoiled us by blowing our minds every time they had a big event. After a slew of game announcements, the only way to have topped it at BlizzCon was to have Tigole do the ogre dance in purple underoos. Ok, maybe not. Still, we've got some really great games to look forward to, and while I'm looking forward to finding out what that next-gen MMO property is, I know Blizzard will announce it when it's good and ready.