General Discussion

Now that we have had a month to play it, let's sit down and talk about The Burning Crusade. First off, I must come out and say it was good to have a renewed interest in World of Warcraft. I have continued to play the game. After all, I am a gamer and always have to play something. It's just that things can get stale and the game play of the old Warcraft world wasn't something to get fanatical about. As a gamer, that's what I want in my games. I want it to have that lasting impression on me which turns me into a fanatic. Don't take it out of context, and think lunatic, but just a fanatic. I want to be at work wondering about new ways to smite my foes and then get home and be happy that I am playing something worthwhile, not just be playing to feed the need for gaming.

So Burning Crusade came out, just in case you all didn't know. To me, it is a chance for Blizzard to start the whole game over again and take it in a new direction. With a level cap raised to 70, new instances, and a host of new items, there is plenty of room and opportunity to re-balance the game and take it to a new level. The question is; has Blizzard delivered on the two year wait that WoW players have had on an expansion?

Reads like a fair and honest review to me. Fun is a major part, its why you essentially to continue to play a game longterm. Decent review -  One thing I would say is about the customer service: how well do they handle the gold seller spams / mails and did the reviewer experience any of this?  -bring on Vanguard review! Dying to know what you guys think!

First off, there is no new graphic engine, no revisions to textures to help with loading or lag.

I agree with the above post about the graphics. I have played a lot of MMOs, and having played WoW for a year (not currently playing) and then going to games like LotR or Vanguard. I actually like WoW graphics. I don't really think the "realistic" graphics of many other games look all that great. Could WoW improve the graphics a notch? Sure. Are they more then adequate for the game? I think they get the job done.

And as for Lag/Performance, again I agree with the above. Having played so many other MMOs, none of them could handle so many toons in one spot, and then added in Mobs (like 40man raids) and remain playable. Heck a lot of other MMOs are laggy even when not in large populated areas.

I was hoping for something more from BC Xpack. I left WoW at the end of last year and was hoping for something that just made me have to play. Granted the Xpack seems to have addressed the desire for more 5man, and lowering the endgame raid sizes (from 40 to 25). I will more then likely give it a try, but I was hoping their 10 day free trial would allow you to sample the new content. Tossing in a warning that you would have to buy the xpack too, if you made one of the new races or w/e they needed on their end.

In my search for a new game, I keep comparing games to WoW, and in the end, I might just head back there.

Most of the Review seems pretty fair, I am a harsh reviewer as well.  There are really only three areas where I disagree with you.

1.  I don't believe that it is an expansions purpose to take a game in a new direction.  The purpose of an expansion is to give you more of the same.  If you want to go a different direction, you probably need to go to a new game.

2.  Role-play.  I don't feel you should deduct from the Role-play because Blizzard doesn't force you to PVP constantly.  World of Warcraft does not force PVP on anyone (IMHO one of the secrets to its sucess).  As a matter of fact, in many ways Outland is a cooperative effort between the Horde and the Alliance.

3.  Graphics.  Before I played WoW, I played EQ, DoAC, and EQ2.  I had a really hard time getting use to the cartoony graphics.  Even now they can get a little cloying if I play too much.  However, you can still find beauty in the graphics if you look.  You shouldn't really take off for Blizzard not re-doing the graphics, it is really not needed (unless you count off on all other expansions for the same).  The cartoony graphics don't age like the more realistic graphics.  One thing I was very disappointed with in Burning Crusades were the physical animation of the Blood Elves and the Dreanei (?).  Animations have always been one of Blizzards strong points, but they missed the mark with the new races.

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Originally posted by AmazingAvery
One thing I would say is about the customer service: how well do they handle the gold seller spams / mails and did the reviewer experience any of this? -bring on Vanguard review! Dying to know what you guys think!

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As a matter of fact, before releasing of TBC, I never met with a GM at all (which doesn't mean that I had no problems at all, ofc...); since TBC comes out, and a horde of goldsellers has flooded servers (especially new ones), I got answers for all my tickets, and as far as I can check it, GMs are doing their work - to cut it short, I've got good experiences with the support recently.