World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

Main articles: World of Warcraft, Gameplay of World of Warcraft, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade is the first expansion pack for the American MMORPG World of Warcraft. It was released on January 16, 2007 at midnight in Europe and North America, and sold nearly 2.4 million copies that day, making it the fastest-selling PC game in those regions.^[1] It was released on January 17, 2007 in Australia and New Zealand;^[1] in total, approximately 3.53 million copies were sold across these territories in the first month of release, including 1.9 million in North America over 100,000 copies in Australasia, and nearly 1.6 million in Europe.^[4] It was also released in Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia on January 16 2007.^[1] It was later released in South Korea on February 1, 2007; in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on April 30, 2007.^[5][6] The game was released in China on September 6, 2007.

Gameplay

Main article: Gameplay of World of Warcraft

Two new races are now a part of World of Warcraft. There are the Draenei, opting for the Alliance faction, and the Blood Elves opting for the Horde. The Draenei have been granted the ability to become shaman, a previously Horde-only class, whilst Blood Elves have been given the ability to become paladins, formerly an Alliance-only class.

There were several new instances added in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, including Karazhan, the Caverns of Time, and the Black Temple, where many of the World of Warcraft's most evil foes can be killed. Other instances include Auchindoun, Coilfang Reservoir, Gruul's Lair, Hellfire Citadel, Sunwell Plateau, Tempest Keep, and Zul'Aman.

Player vs. Player

A new battleground, Eye of the Storm, is included with two brackets: Levels 61-69, and level 70. However even though this battleground is made for 70's the usage of flying mounts is not permitted.^[7] The Eye of the storm battleground is only available to those with the expansion.

In addition a new PvP Arena System was introduced, a way for players to fight in 2 vs 2, 3 vs 3, or 5 vs 5 battles. While the arena system allows people without The Burning Crusade to skirmish matches, people without the expansion are not able to participate in rated matches which yield rewards, as ladder matches are only accessible by players who have reached level 70. There are three arenas available, the original two being Blades Edge Arena, and Nagrand Arena, the newest, Ruins of Lordaeron.^[8] Arena matches have taken a more prominent role in the game’s PvP scene as it grows into an electronic sport. One example is its appearance in the World Series of Video Games ’07, where 3v3 teams can earn cash prizes.^[9] Blizzard also holds its own seasonal tournament, the World of Warcraft Arena Tournament, which pitches teams from servers all around the world against each other.^[10] This tournament concludes with a 5v5 world final event, the first of which took place at Blizzcon ’07 and so ended season 1.^[11]

Finally, there are several other "outdoor" PvP contests which are different for the zone you are in, but most of which involve "capturing" key points to reward same-faction players in the area such rewards as a damage boost of 5% or even XP/Faction increases of 5%. This effect lasts as long as the key points are held. For example, Terokkar Forest's PvP contest involves Alliance or Horde standing near towers in order to capture them while fending off other players of the opposite faction. Once all of the towers are captured, the winning faction will get a buff in the Auchindoun instances as well as the outside areas, which allow the bosses they kill to drop Spirit Shards, which can be used to buy rewards. The most complex outdoor PvP activity is a town called Halaa, located in Nagrand of Outlands, which can be conquered by either faction. The players who control the town get an additional quest, items, and other services. Another example is reputation PvP. A town in Hellfire Peninsula uses the capture of towers as a daily quest, which rewards with marks that increase your reputation with your respective faction and yields rewards, such as gems and weapons.^[12]

Development

Distribution errors

Blizzard committed a number of errors during the distribution of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade in Europe. One such error is the failure to register the Collector's Edition for in-game rewards. As such, players who purchased the Collector's Edition of the game would have to send numerous proofs of purchase to Blizzard by postal mail in order to redeem their in-game awards.^[13]

Only 1600 copies were delivered to Romania, which has more than ten thousand World of Warcraft subscribers.^[14]

Reception

Reception
Review scores Publication Score 1UP.com A+[15] ActionTrip 9.2 out of 10[16] Eurogamer 8 out of 10 (1st review)[17] 10 out of 10 (2nd review)[18] GameSpot 9.2 out of 10[19] GameSpy [20] IGN 8.8 out of 10[21]
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score Game Rankings 91% (based on 46 reviews)[23] Metacritic 91 out of 100 (based on 47 reviews)[22]

Burning Crusade received almost universal praise from critics upon release.^[22]

The specially designed new starter areas met a mixed reception from critics. On the one hand, they were felt to give a strong new perspective to existing players or a solid introduction to the game to new players.^[21] The arrangement of quests and content in these areas was felt to be more finely tuned than for existing races,^[20] with players unlikely to face grinding in order to progress and an interesting back story being gradually revealed.^[21] It was felt that Blizzard had learned from the release of the original game, with the new content being varied without becoming overwhelming to new players, and new concepts being gradually introduced.^[17] On the other hand, reviewers felt that the new starter areas were poorly integrated with the existing world, leaving them feeling "tacked on".^[21] They were also disappointed that the new areas had a definite finish, beyond which a player would have to switch back to older content in order to progress their character.^[20] This progression didn't feel as smooth to reviewers when compared to the movement between zones for new characters from the older starting areas.^[17] The experience was also felt to be short-lived, with players being able to progress through these new areas with a couple of days' play without any new introductory dungeons to explore.^[20]. It was also felt that these changes didn't address existing problems, such as the travel time between quest locations.^[17]

Like in the original, the scenery of Burning Crusade was highly praised, being described as "occasionally breathtaking",^[19] The introductory video to the expansion was described as "hugely impressive".^[17] It was generally felt that the new Outland areas were some of the best in the game,^[19] with the size of the new areas introduced being similar to the total size of other existing games in the genre.^[15] The new starting areas were also liked, with reviewers appreciating the attention to detail in these zones.^[17] Building architecture, scenery and creatures were all singled out for mention,^[15] despite some disappointment that buildings and creatures from the original game had been "rubber stamped" into these new locations.^[15] The uniqueness of each zone, from scorched plateaus to lush forests were praised, each area being described as having its own unique feel.^[21] The various small features, such as mechanical settlements or abandoned temples were also well liked.^[21] Players were advised that they would spend a large amount of time "just staring at the scenery" in these new locations.^[20] That said, it was felt that the game was starting to show it's age, with careful use of texture and lighting techniques disguising a basic underlying geometry.^[19] This was thought to follow on from the strategy in the original game, where strong art direction and careful choice of colour helped to compensate for a simpler game engine,^[15] describing it as a "testament of art over technology".^[16]

The orchestral music was well received, being described as providing a "constantly changing backdrop".^[19] The new score was felt to mesh well with the original, while still providing occasional "fresh twists".^[16] The soundtracks to each of the two new starting areas were particularly praised.^[17] Although the Draenei's accents required some getting used to, reviewers were generally positive about the voice acting in the game.^[19]

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade was the best-selling PC game of 2007 in North America and Europe, and it is also the fastest-selling PC game of all time, selling nearly 2.4 million copies in its first 24 hours and approximately 3.5 million in its first month.^[24]

A second expansion, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, is currently in development.^[25]

References

External links

• The Official Burning Crusade site
• The Official Burning Crusade site

• World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade at WoWWiki, a Warcraft wiki
• World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade on ToTheGame