A month ago, you could not have told me that I would have any interest in going back to World of Warcraft.  While the years I spent playing Blizzard’s Opus MMORPG were for the most part great, come Burning Crusade I was pretty much done with the game.  You see, a month ago I activated my WoW account to see if I felt I’d be back for Wrath of the Lich King, the 2nd expansion in the games 4 year history (too long and far between Blizz!).  I spent a few hours rehashing gameplay and quests which I felt I had done too many times before and I felt I could finally leave this game behind.  Visually the game was looking it’s age, especially compared to Age of Conan, and even WAR (which isn’t saying much).  So the jury was in and I felt comfortable closing the book on the number one MMORPG in the world.

Little did I know that Blizzard was to publish the best content to date in it’s four year old behemoth, and totally re-energize World of Warcraft for many jaded players.  In a moment of weakness (which I imagine most MMORPG players have) I pre-ordered the WotLK CE.  I’ve always been a fan of Collector’s Editions, especially Blizzards offerings (having bought the original and rare WoW CE).  Word out of beta from mouths of people who’s opinions I respected was that the Death Knight introductory quests were something special.  I figured in the least I’d get my money’s worth if I even put in 30 days, with another CE trophy on my bookshelf.

What I did not expect was that Blizzard’s Wrath of the Lich King would be Epic.  Epic in it’s presentation.  Epic in it’s accessibility.  Epic in it’s visuals.  Most importantly, epic in it’s storytelling.  I had stopped reading quest text long ago, but not anymore.  More than any other factor, Wrath’s storytelling drew me in.  With a plot rivaling the best tragedies, every quest unraveling more parts of a bigger picture.  And in the end, you realize the game world has changed, Azeroth has changed, the game has changed for the better.  Epic.

(to be continued)