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Jukebox Heroes: The Burning Crusade's soundtrack
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade has always been a contentious expansion, with some remembering it quite fondly and others declaring it a blight upon the game. It was certainly a risk, with the relocation to a completely new world (sort of) and the addition of flying mounts. As far as this column is concerned, its greatest contribution to the franchise was to finally add the first new music to the game since it launched. So how did the score fare? As always, that's a subjective question based on taste, but for me, I'm not that much of a fan. I've always felt it's one of the weaker World of Warcraft soundtracks -- not horrible, mind you, just weaker, with fewer standout selections and a lot more filler that I could just as well never hear again. Derek Duke returned to help compose, along with Russell Brower and Matt Uelmen. The physical CDs of these soundtracks shipped with the collector's editions, although you can easily find it on iTunes these days. Unfortunately, the released soundtrack is incomplete, as we'll soon see. So what were the best songs of The Burning Crusade? Let's find out!
Why the Burning Crusade didn't suck
Yesterday, Brian Wood explored his thoughts on why Burning Crusade sucked. He did it in-character, playing the role of Grandpappy Frostheim, laying out his thoughts in the persona of a grumpy, crusty old dwarf telling the young'uns how bad things were back in his day. You can't take a persona like that seriously -- and you're not supposed to -- but the piece made me think about why I love Burning Crusade so much. Even after all of this time, it remains my favorite expansion, though Mists of Pandaria is pretty darn good. Yeah, Burning Crusade had its faults. It wasn't as well-balanced as most remember, it had more than its fair share of annoying gameplay mechanics, and the fact that the developers hadn't yet solidified the roles of 10- and 25-man raids was a real drag at times. If Burning Crusade were released this year, it would have a terrible reception. There have been so many quality-of-life improvements made since its release that players would never want to live as we did in Burning Crusade ever again. Despite that, it still had many elements that I loved, and still love. Many of these things are nebulous and completely up to personal tastes -- what I love, you may hate, and that's fine. That's how opinions work. Stranger in a strange land To me, Outland defined the Warcraft franchise's storytelling capabilities. Though Warcraft often utilizes the same fantasy tropes you see just about everywhere in the genre, it wasn't afraid to be different -- we went to a new, completely alien planet. The playable draenei were a race of people who traverse the stars. The ethereals were merchants from another plane of existence. Outland was not just a subcontinent of Azeroth, it was a new world entirely. While it has been done in fantasy, it isn't done very often.
Blizzard: Patch 5.1 is 'going to change what it means to be a World of Warcraft patch'
In an effort to deliver more frequent updates, Blizzard has stated that it's willing to redefine the traditional mega-World of Warcraft patch to include smaller updates. "We're going to change what it means to be a WoW patch," said Production Director J. Allen Brack. "We just had to make a decision about how we're going to do these updates that are quicker." Brack spoke with Rock, Paper, Shotgun about the upcoming smaller Mists of Pandaria 5.1 patch as well as World of Warcraft's future. He said that the WoW team is "larger than it's ever been," with 165 people working on the project. Other topics raised by the interview included free-to-play and revamps to older content. Brack said that the team has thought about both, and he made the interesting admission that The Burning Crusade has aged poorly in comparison to the rest of the game. "There was a while where Burning Crusade was the best thing we'd ever done," he said. "Now it's the worst thing we've ever done, because everything else has raised the level with Cataclysm."
The Road to Mordor: Why LotRO's classes need a shakeup
In a recent post about the Riders of Rohan beta, blogger Doc Holiday wrote a criticism of LotRO's lackluster class development: "Think about it, what have our characters actually gotten since Moria? Outside of revamps (which are always needed as games age and don't really count) there's been almost no progression of our characters outside of gaining morale." For this I have two words in response: hear, hear! I've been thinking about this a lot since last week's imaginary restart scenario and even before. There's a reason that rerolling a character in Lord of the Rings Online has such appeal, even with a mountain of content behind it. It's a character that actually develops noticeably before your eyes, not slugs through content. Today I want to examine why I agree with Holiday about the stagnation of high-level classes and how the devs can shake up the status quo to make character development exciting once more.
Jukebox Heroes: World of Warcraft's soundtrack
Recently I cleaned out my closet and discovered, tucked away with several older storage mediums (i.e., CDs), my World of Warcraft collector's edition soundtrack. Honestly, I had completely forgotten it was there. Within minutes, I dusted it off and had it playing on my computer. Non-ironic wow, I thought. That takes me back. If you were one of the players who spent any amount of time in what's now referred to as "vanilla" World of Warcraft -- before the Burning Crusade released in 2007 -- then it's just about impossible to hear these tunes and not be transported back to those first couple of years of discovery and conquest. WoW's original soundtrack was composed by Jason Hayes, Tracy W. Bush, Glenn Stafford, and Derek Duke, each of whom brought his own take on this MMO version of Warcraft. I had a blast re-listening to all of these old tracks and wanted to share with you a few of my personal favorites.
World of Warcraft 75% off this week only
Do you have a friend interested in World of Warcraft? Would you like a second account to fill with gleeful pandaren come Mists? Now's the time to get your hands on the game. Blizzard just announced that all WoW expansions are on sale this week only. The Battle Chest is $5, Wrath of the Lich King is $5, and to top it off, Cataclysm is only $10. That's $20 for the complete set, making this an excellent time to bring your friends in for the start of Mists of Pandaria -- or for you to stash a set of games for a secondary account. Keep in mind that recruiting yourself via Recruit-A-Friend will still net you that sweet Obsidian Nightwing mount! Prepare for Pandaria with epic savings! This week only, you can get the World of Warcraft Battle Chest for $5, Wrath of the Lich King for $5, and Cataclysm for $10 when you buy directly from Blizzard. That's 75% off the regular prices, making this a great time to set yourself up for the imminent launch of Mists of Pandaria... or to invite a friend to join you in Azeroth. Hurry, this offer ends August 27, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. source
World of Warcraft series 75% off until August 27th
Blizzard, in a move that we're certain has nothing to do with an upcoming high-profile game launch, has decided to cut, slash, and otherwise mutilate the prices for World of Warcraft and its many expansions. The World of Warcraft Battle Chest, which includes the original game and the Burning Crusade expansion, is on sale for a paltry $5 US, while the Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm expansions are reduced to $5 and $10, respectively. If you have somehow managed to resist playing WoW for the past however-many years, now's the perfect time to succumb to the temptation and give the game a go, especially considering that patch 5.0 goes live in a week, and Mists of Pandaria soon after that. Surely you don't have any other plans for the 28th, right? If you wanna capitalize on the savings, though, just head on over to the Blizzard store, but do so quickly! The sale ends on August 27th.
Nab WoW and all expansions for $20 at GameStop and Best Buy
It's nowhere near Christmas, but GameStop and Best Buy are doing their best to make it feel that way. Both are running a huge sale on World of Warcraft this week. The World of Warcraft Battlechest, which includes both the original game and The Burning Crusade expansion, is only $4.99. If you want to add Wrath of the Lich King, that's $4.99 as well. And if you want to pick up Cataclysm, it's only $9.99 more -- which brings the grand total for all expansions to a cheap $20. Not only is this great for anyone looking to give the gift of WoW, it also comes in handy for those looking to get the Obsidian Nightwing through the Recruit-A-Friend program. You can either recruit your friends and get them the games, or you can grab the games and open up a second account for yourself. Either way, $20 is a steal. Check out either GameStop or Best Buy for online ordering, or check with your local store to see if they're carrying the games in stock.
The Perfect Ten: Goosebump trailers
I love trailers. Man, I love trailers. I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but sometimes I'll spend a shameful hour just flipping through all of my favorite movie and game trailers. When the editing is tight and the music spot-on, my spine becomes infused with epicness and I feel a heady buzz that comes from seeing so much awesome crammed into such a short clip. Just as in the movie industry, MMO studios are hit or miss with their trailers. There have been so many generic, forgettable videos that I pad the lining of my imaginary dog's crate with them. They're very absorbent and release the fresh scent of pine. But once in a while, there comes along a trailer that acts like the Dark Crystal, sucking my soul right into it before shaking it around and then releasing it. Trailers like that give me goosebumps, and here are 10 of them, all in a row.
WoW Moviewatch: The Hunt [NSFW]
Having exhausted all the newer machinima that I cared to post, I decided to go digging deep into the WoW Insider archives for something really ancient that hadn't seen the light of day in a while. Serendipitously, the first thing I found ended up leading me to something we've never actually posted on the site before. Convenient, huh? It would seem that back in 2008, we posted a trailer for a feature-length machinima called The Hunt, but when the final version was released in August 2011, it was off our radar and never got published. Three and a half years will do that, I suppose! Before we get started, please note that the video has some cursing, graphic violence, and a very short sex scene (less than 2 seconds) that you may not want your small children or boss to see or hear. That said, the whole thing runs 60 minutes long, so you'll probably want to sit down to this like a movie when you're at home anyway. So overall, I have to say I was really pleasantly surprised by The Hunt. It's very different from the other narrative story machinima I've seen, using modern storytelling techniques, music, and even modern dialogue. The result is a simultaneously epic and ridiculous movie that's a whole lot of fun to watch, provided you're able to let yourself go with it. I say that last bit because I do expect some of you to hate this machinima. Some of you will hate it for its unpolished voice acting, while others will hate it for the liberties it takes with the Warcraft lore. Now, I can't really help you if you're a lore buff, but concerning the voice acting, I've got a thing or two to say. First, yes, I'll admit that it's not the best -- but personally, I do think it works. The whole movie is a sort of genre parody, mixing serious fantasy story elements with comedy (think The Princess Bride), and within that world, goofy, over-the-top voices aren't out of place. The real complaint to be had with the voice acting is simply that there are only three voice actors for all the characters, and at times, some of the characters just sound too similar.
The Daily Grind: Should new expansions include old expansions?
When Cataclysm launched, a friend of mine who hadn't played since the days of Vanilla World of Warcraft wanted to join in the fun, but when he saw the cost of catching up -- nearly full box prices for The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King, on top of Cataclysm itself -- he balked and decided to stick with cheaper games. Blizzard's policy on charging for full expansions long after they were new always did seem weird to me, since I grew up on Ultima Online and EverQuest, whose earlier expansions usually came bundled for free along with the newest one. Why keep barriers to entry (or re-entry) unnecessarily high? So I'm happy to see recent sales on WoW's earlier expansions and a free Cataclysm for returning players via the new scroll of resurrection deal, but I can't help but wonder whether it's too late. How many of you have skipped over a game because of the cost of "catching up"? Do you think new expansions should always include the previous ones gratis? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
World of Warcraft's holiday sale includes $10 sparkleponies
The holidays are here, and you know what that means: holiday sales! Blizzard is joining the fun with a number of (rather good) deals. The World of Warcraft Battle Chest, which includes vanilla WoW and The Burning Crusade, is on sale for a measly $5 US. Wrath of the Lich King is on sale for $10, and Cataclysm's price has been reduced to $20. And as if that's not enough, Blizzard is also providing discounts for two of its cash shop items. Players can get their hands on a sparklepony for $10 or a Pandaren Monk non-combat pet for $5. The sale lasts until December 19th, so act now. For the full details, check out the news on WoW's official site.
A look back at a cataclysmic year for World of Warcraft
It's been a big year for World of Warcraft, especially considering that the MMO behemoth is currently hitting its seventh year of operation. Considering its nigh-ubiquitous nature in the MMO sphere, it's hard to imagine that there was a time without it. And this past year of the game almost perfectly synchronizes with the latest expansion, Cataclysm, an expansion that was bound and determined to head back to the old and re-work everything up to new standards. So how did that work out? What's been happening with the game over the past year? Let's pick up in December because that's when the story really begins, a story that involves a dragon smashing huge chunks of both continents to pieces. The result was a complete revamp of the game's lower-level areas, the addition of several new high-level areas, and a redesign of the way the game handled progression. It kicked off a war against primal forces and Old Gods for players, and that's without even getting in to the mechanical shifts.
GameStop offering Black Friday deal on WoW Battle Chest and expansions
Retail gaming store GameStop is offering a huge deal on Black Friday for those who want to pick up World of Warcraft. The WoW Battle Chest, which includes both WoW and The Burning Crusade expansion, can be snapped up for $9.99, and both Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm will be available for $19.99 each. This means that players looking to get started with WoW can pick up the whole collection for $50 total, which is a great deal no matter how you look at it. Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and falls on Friday, Nov. 25 this year. So if you're looking to pick up the game for a friend (can we say Recruit-A-Friend, anyone?) or to open a second account for yourself, this would be an ideal time to do it for an ideal price.
5 reasons you should love The Burning Crusade
The Burning Crusade marked WoW's first foray into expansions, and it took a while to arrive -- a little over two years, actually, but Blizzard made sure the expansion was well worth waiting for. Offering two new races, more talent choices, and an entirely new world to explore, The Burning Crusade gave players plenty of reasons to eagerly anticipate its release. But it wasn't just the world that was different. The Burning Crusade took the game we'd been playing for a little over two years and tweaked it with small improvements that affect the way we play the game even today. It pioneered the definition of what an expansion was, in the WoW universe, and paved the way for the expansions to follow. The Burning Crusade still ranks high on many players' favorite expansion lists, including my own. Finding five reasons to love it? That's a complete walk in the park. Picking just five to show you ... that's a little harder!
One Shots: Come up, enjoy the view!
We've got another World of Warcraft screenshot on today's One Shots, thanks to Massively reader Tim: Back in the days of The Burning Crusade, when I still played, I caught myself looking at an amazing scene while flying around to turn in some reputation quests. Aldor Rise looked like a scene from a painting, and my screenshot button agreed. We've got a little surprise for you -- this is One Shots' final week. Friday will be the last edition of this feature, but don't fret. One Shots is stepping aside to make room for something new here at Massively, and we think you're going to love it. Watch the site beginning Monday, October 3rd to see what's new! For now, if you want to make one final contribution to One Shots, you've still got a few days left. Grab your favorite screenshot, add your name and a little bit about the image, send it in to oneshots@massively.com, and we'll feature it in this week's One Shots! %Gallery-112285%
Know Your Lore: NPC evolution from classic WoW to The Burning Crusade
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. We always hear about the big-name characters in Warcraft lore. Whether it's the heroic exploits of Varian Wrynn or the continuing saga of Thrall, big-name NPCs have been a constant in Warcraft novels and stories and in the game itself. But what about those lesser-known NPCs, the ones who aren't great heroes -- the bread vendors or the ones who send us to the ends of the earth for zhevra hooves? Do they just sit around all day, waiting for our inevitable return? Yes and no. World of Warcraft isn't simply a game; it's a micro-world of characters who have their own day-to-day lives. The game itself has made considerable strides in incorporating lore and storylines through quests and in game cutscenes. But what few realize is how many strides those lesser characters have taken right along with everything else. Today we're going to take a look at some of this NPC evolution -- the steps taken to give World of Warcraft the feel of a living, breathing world.
The Perfect Ten: How to deal with burnout
I remember the first time I got hit hard by the powerhouse slugger known as "burnout." It was during my second stint in World of Warcraft, oddly enough, which by then had extended to a year and a half of solid play. I was clocking in three to five hours of game time on a daily basis (this was my pre-children era, obviously) and enjoying the cruise up through The Burning Crusade's content. Then one day, out of the blue, I realized I was sick of it. A cold trickle flowed down my spine as I couldn't conjure up any feelings of excitement, pleasure, or interest in this game. All of the accomplishments and achievements I had worked so hard to get became absolutely meaningless to me in the space of a couple minutes. I logged out, canceled my account, and then fell into a several-day funk when I was thrashing about as I tried to figure out how to fill this now-gaping void in my free time. Slightly pathetic, yes, but no less real for it. In retrospect, I see how I stacked the deck for such an enormous crash, and many years after it, I now have a much better handle on how to deal with burnout than I did back then. In today's Perfect Ten, I want to pass along my meager wisdom and experience about how to deal with this event... because it happens to most of us, sooner or later.
Rumor: World of Warcraft's next expansion has been named
First there was The Burning Crusade, then Wrath of the Lich King, and, most recently, Cataclysm. World of Warcraft's expansions have been the lifeblood of literally millions of gamers' playtime, which is why many fans are anxiously awaiting word of the fourth expansion pack to the hit MMO. Today we may know the name of the expansion: Mists of Pandaria. According to MMO Champion, Blizzard filed a trademark with this title on July 28th, which is exactly in line with how the company has procured titles for the previous expansions. The trademark specifies that this is for "computer game software." The Pandarens are one of the more light-hearted races in the Warcraft franchise, with kung fu panda bears from a secret empire somewhere in Azeroth. Despite being fan favorites, the Pandarens have been rarely seen in WoW, while Blizzard has used them in a couple different April Fool's jokes in the past. We'll be keeping our eyes on Blizzard for any official confirmation.
Anti-Aliased: Modding your way out of a paper bag
If there's been a theme to this week, it's been interfaces and modding. Both EverQuest II and Lord of the Rings Online have had announcements related to their interfaces, be it re-skinning or new Lua functionality being installed. However, it was these two articles that set off the Rube Goldberg device in my head. They reminded me just what I thought about mods. My relationship with mods has always been iffy. While I certainly appreciate what they do for us in our many MMOs, they also irk me to no end. While I understand (and totally support) some mods, there are others that I'd rather offer to Zuul. Now don't get me wrong, I don't hate the mods because they're not useful. It's quite the opposite, in fact. Sometimes, I think mods are too useful. When you start skipping social interactions in favor of an e-peen number, that's the point where mods are going over the line.
