World of Warcraft: The Wrath of the Lich King review (PC)

Just over four years ago Blizzard released World of Warcraft on the 10th anniversary of the Warcraft Franchise. The game quickly established itself as the benchmark to which all other MMORPGs are compared, and with the release of The Burning Crusade expansion in 2007, their position as top MMO dog seemed unassailable. 18 months later and Blizzard has unleashed its second expansion with no indication that its massively multiplayer juggernaut is slowing down. The Wrath of the Lich King brings players the new continent of Northrend, 10 more levels of experience and a new character class.

Blizzard has ensured there is a lot more content right out of the gate of this latest expansion. The biggest change is including two starting areas that allow entry into Northrend. Rather than funnelling everyone through a single zone, you are free to pick and choose which area takes your fancy. It's easy enough to skip across to the alternate zone and start over if you desire a change of scenery. This gives a lot of freedom early on as not only will you have a choice of locations to begin levelling, but the overcrowding that can accompany such starting zones has been diluted. Admittedly, the questing format of “kill x amount of y and return here” is still present, but there has been some attempt to liven up the roster of tasks with vehicle piloting and bombing run quests.

Northrend

All aspects of the new continent seem to have been improved. The terrain has a more rugged, untamed feel and although it lacks the sci-fi aesthetics which made Outland so arresting, it presents the sweeping hills and volcanic caves of the frozen north in a classic high fantasy feel. Haunting uilleann pipe music sets the mood in Howling Fjord and is a perfect accompaniment to the Norse longhouses and warships that define the area. Borean tundra comes across as a little bland initially, but the quality of the soundtrack really gives the area a sense of character that has been lacking in WoW up to this point.

The presentation improvements do not end with the terrain. Weapons and armour that are obtained in Northrend are so highly detailed that when viewing new item models side by side with older Outland and Azeroth items, the difference is startling. Improved shading and texture resolution almost makes it look like they are from a different game. It may not be a total graphical overhaul, but the difference makes equipping new items a lot more satisfying. This is really hammered home by the Death Knight's attire. The visual style of this equipment is tailor made for the new class and looks so menacing that you'll be loath to give it up when you start reaching higher levels and obtaining upgrades.

Death Knights

Death Knights are a hero class only available to players who have already attained level 55 with one of the original nine classes. As such, the Death Knight starts the game at level 55 with a full set of armour and a runeblade weapon. Playing a fully formed character like this right off the bat will be a breath of fresh air to veteran players who are already well acquainted with the initial level grind. Abilities and talents are still drip-fed to you as you complete quests, but at a much faster rate than usual, meaning that experimentation is essential for getting to grips with the runic power system that fuels the Death Knight's abilities.

The Death Knight starting area also presents some unique concepts. Each individual quest forms part of a single plot line which is genuinely engaging. Everything feels much more cinematic right up to the final battle in which your character is made nigh-on invulnerable and leads a charge into the Eastern Plaguelands. It is the closest an MMO has come to presenting a true single player experience. Indeed, after the starting area was done with and my character strode into Outland, it was a little disappointing to be reminded that the rest of the game is not tailored to my character in the same way. It gives some insight into what Blizzard is capable of doing with WoW, despite the limitations of the MMO genre.

Hardcore Only?

All of the new additions that Lich King provides are expertly executed and will provide hours of new content to seasoned players. The one down side to this expansion is its lack of options for lower level characters. The Burning Crusade gave you two new races with new starting zones that players of any level could jump into and experience straight away. Lich King offers nothing like this, and even promised additions like the Inscription profession and the barber shops were added in a recent patch and are available to all players regardless of whether they have the expansion or not. While this is a cool freebie, it doesn't leave any real reason for less experienced players to buy into the expansion pack straight away. The hardcore, of course, will already be flying their bone gryphon over Crystalsong Forest as they read this.