You can’t just give up on the World… of Warcraft!

You can't just give up on the World... of Warcraft!

Well Cataclysm has been out for quite some time now and even though I originally said a few years ago that I would never return to WOW, as Arnold Swartzenegger would say, "I Lied". Why did I re-install? Simple really. Considering the amount of hours I invested into World of Warcraft years ago, the prospect of seeing the old world completely destroyed in a Cataclysm was just too awesome for me to pass up. I also have to give props to Blizzard for making one of the most epic game trailers of all time, anyone who has seen it would probably agree.  

I've come to the Realization that..

WOW is never going to end. It's as simple as that. Just have a look at Blizzards projected timeline for the next few years in the chart below...

The Good

With two more expansions already planned, Blizzard is running WOW right into 2013 and beyond. With the amount of money they're raking in from monthly subscriptions alone, $180,000,000 per month (rounded down), why throw away the chicken that lays golden eggs? The answer is, they won't, unless of course those eggs one day become rotten. WoW Cataclysm is a truly remarkable expansion. With the additions of new races such as the Worgen for the alliance and Goblins for the horde, the game becomes even more vast. I truly appreciated the storyline elements present during the Worgen campaign. Blizzard has really stepped up their ability to tell a story in WoW, something that was severely lacking in earlier renditions of the game. A big part of  Blizzards success with Cataclysm is due to their use of map 'phasing'; this technology made it's first debut during the DeathKnight campaign back in Wrath of the Lich King. Blizz and Co are making heavy use of it now, the world is actually alive.. For example, if something explodes, buildings will become destroyed permanently. Land may become ruins or disappear altogether. NPC's you slay will actually stay dead, no more running up to a NPC you already killed. Your actions actually have an outcome. This was never present before, it's a nice feeling to see things happen after you finish an epic quest-line that will forever change the world.

The Bad

As great as WOW is, it's flaw may be that is in-fact too much fun. With so much to see and do, you can literally lose all sense of reality and forget about what's truly important to you in life. Trust me when I say this, WOW has the power to suck all life-force out from under you and completely devastate whatever social life you thought you had. I for instance got to level 85 pretty quick on my mage, played intensely for a solid month (from 70-85) before I decided it's time to take yet another break. Don't say that I didn't warn you, World of Warcraft Cataclysm is an awesome experience and I know that sometime in the future, "I'll be back". If you do return to WOW or are a first timer, I highly recommend Zygor's leveling guide to help speed up your progress.