The Burning Crusade Review

The Burning Crusade Review

While most MMO developers release expansion packs on a fairly regular basis, fans of Blizzard's staggeringly popular World of Warcraft have had to wait for years to finally get a full-featured retail add on. When it was finally released a few weeks ago, it created a tremendous sensation within the WOW community. And it's no wonder why; the expansion adds two new races complete with distinct starting areas, a new trade profession, loads of high-level content and plenty of new dungeons, arenas and other PVP options. Our initial impressions of the expansion were very favorable and, after playing through for another week, we've come away even more impressed with what Blizzard has done.

The new draenei and blood elf races give old players a chance to start over from a fresh perspective and give new players a fantastic introduction to the game. The blood elves are clearly the more popular of the two races, at least on the servers we've played on. The fact that they offer Horde players the first chance to play a physically attractive character certainly has something to do with their popularity, but you can't discount that they're also the only Horde types that can play as paladins.

This new class offering for the Horde is balanced on the other side by letting draenei play as shamans. While the uproar over opening up all the classes to each faction isn't entirely without merit, we've yet to see exactly how the change will affect the overall balance of power on most servers or the effectiveness of raid groups.
Unfortunately, there's very little sense of connection between the new areas and the rest of the world. The draenei and blood elf starting lands are simply tacked onto the world with little attempt made to integrate them with their neighbors. We'd rather have seen each area a little less isolated with some meaningful connections to the existing lands of Azeroth. On the plus side, there are a few draenei and blood elf NPCs and quest givers scattered throughout Azeroth, so new players won't feel totally alienated. Still, finding trainers for the newly opened classes in each faction is going to require a little extra work.

Reflecting the lessons Blizzard has learned over the years, the new player experience for the draenei and blood elves is much more polished than for any other race in the game. You can run through the first twenty levels without ever hitting a grind or facing lengthy travel times. Each group of quests in these early areas tells a complete and interesting story that reveals the background and current state of the world. Comparing these concentrated new player zones to those of the existing game reveals a much higher level of polish and presentation

If The Burning Crusade falls short in any one area, it's that it doesn't offer much content for players between levels 20 and 60. Presumably, players in this range are already happy with the overall experience and already have tons of content to explore. For them, the forty-dollar price tag might be a little steep and they can safely put off the expansion until they start banging their helms against the level cap.
The new jewelcrafting profession lets players create a wide variety of jewelry. Combined with mining, it makes a pretty lucrative and profitable profession. Once players start to discover some of the buff recipes, they're going to be in even greater demand. Taking a cue from Diablo II, jewelcrafting also allows you to cut specific stones to fit into socketed weapons. The new socketed items are only available in Outlands however, so low-level jewelers will have to wait a good long while before they can really make the most of their skills.

Players who have found themselves spinning their wheels at level 60 can now venture to the Dark Portal in the Blasted Lands and pass through to the new Outland regions. These seven new zones offer a wide variety of new monsters, quests, dungeons, capture-areas and PVP-oriented gameplay. In fact, there's more than enough here to occupy you on your climb from 60 to 70.

Several quests revolve around capturing specific locations for your faction. While the PVP rewards for fighting for control of these locations are enough to motivate most players, there are some more compelling reasons to participate in the territory battles. In Hellfire, for instance, owning all three citadels at the same time gives all faction members within the zone (and related instances) a damage bonus. Obviously, players have to run the PVP risk to participate. What's particularly interesting about the new system is that it doesn't let stealthed players contribute to the control of a territory, so you'll actually be able to target rival druids and rogues who are trying to take over an installation.

As dangerous as it is, traveling through Outland isn't really as daunting a prospect as you might think. A wide range of flight paths and a number of portals in the city of Shattrath let you get around without having to brave the wilds. Outland also offers up the chance for players to buy flying mounts. Available only to level 70 players (and those who can afford the pricey training costs), these gryphons and wyverns let players venture all through Outland and access special areas that are off-limits to grounded players. As an added bonus, Druids are now able to assume a flying form at level 68. To preserve balance, none of the flying options are available outside of Outland.
The zones of the Outland are as stunning as they are unique. The scorched terrain of the Hellfire Peninsula gives way to the fantastic mushroom forests of Zangarmarsh. As you journey through the Outland, you'll have the opportunity to see the massive spires of Blade's Edge, the golden-lit scrubland of Nagrand and the bizarrely twisted Netherstorm. Each of these areas is rendered with all the detail and personality that we've come to expect from World of Warcraft and there are stunning vistas around every single corner. The small points of interest are also worth checking out, from the mechanical wonder of Toshley's station to the dread ruins of Auchindoun.

On the technical side, The Burning Crusade has performed very well. There are still some lingering issues with lag and population density depending on when you play but, overall, this has been a very stable expansion right from the start. We've seen a few hiccups here and there and a few queues during login, but nothing to worry too much about.

Closing Comments
Few World of Warcraft players would consider their experience complete without the additions that The Burning Crusade brings. The ridiculous first-day sales numbers support this. If you didn't care for the gameplay of the original game, there's nothing here that's going to change your mind. Still, players who are new to MMOs won't find a better introduction than the two new races found here.

For players who already love the game and have been anxious to break through the level cap, The Burning Crusade is a done deal. They bought it on day one and are now happily butting up against the new level cap.

Still, the forty-dollar price tag is a bit steep, particularly for players who aren't inclined to try the new races or aren't powerful enough yet to venture into Outland. Considering the quality of the content in the original game, there's certainly no big rush for mid-level types to jump right into The Burning Crusade.