With 4 million copies sold in only a month, Blizzard breaks yet another record for PC game sales. So you weren't one of the millions that purchased this expansion? Not sure if it's worth your $40 bucks? Well I can tell you that this is one of the best Expansion Packs to date for World of Warcraft, if not any expansion pack to any other MMORPG. Blizzard went all out for this expansion: more innovative quests, better storyline integration, more accessible raid content, and some additions to make PvP more fun. This is a must-have expansion to a must-have MMORPG.

Presentation 9.0

With this new expansion, Blizzard definitely wanted players to experience the storyline by intertwining it into quests. The Wrathgate cinematic is proof of this, as after you finish the very long questline you are treated to an in-game movie. Blizzard also added more voice-acting to enhance the experience. The minute you set foot in Northrend, you know there is a war going on.

As far as the UI(User Interface), Blizzard added a calendar to track when your raids reset and when your guild is doing an event. Other than that, many players still use third-party addons to enhance their interface. Hopefully in patch 3.1 more will be added by Blizz.

As I mentioned before, you know there is a war going on the minute you dock in Northrend, and it never stops. Battles are going on throughout the world, with even the Lich King himself making numerous cameos during quests and instances. Blizzard did a great job this time around with immersing the player into the story, much better than The Burning Crusade.


Graphics 8.0
Although the engine is starting to show its age, Blizzard pushed it to the extreme limit on the graphics side. There is now an option to have real-time shadows which add to the visuals, which I will admit is not perfect but shows potential. The zones look fantastic, with Howling Fjord, Crystalsong Forest, and Icecrown standing out. But like I said, the game is showing it's age in the DirectX 10 era of gaming.


Sound 9.0
The music is oscar-worthy in WotLK. Many times I find myself just standing around just to listen. I've never been a fan of the sound effects in the game, but they did do a good job with voice acting this time around. Although many complain about the Lich King's voice, it still shows how much Blizz wanted players to actually feel how evil he is and to also remind players that he is more of a monster than a human.

Gameplay 9.0
As I mentioned earlier, the quests are far more innovative than before. Many quests have you mount on epic flyers, airplanes, elephants, siege engines, even giants to complete a task. There is also a quest that has you team up with your faction's key leaders to avenge the death of a fallen comrade.

Instances have also had their playability boosted with boss battles being more than just "tank & spank". The end boss in Drak'tharon Keep morphs players into zombies during the fight, while the end boss in ------ has you fight your teammates!


Lake Wintergrasp, a PvP-only zone, allows players to experience a "castle-crashing" like experience where one side defends a keep while the other attacks. Whoever wins gets to run a 10 or 25 man raid zone to get epic sets. After 2.5 hours, the keep is up for grabs again. The most fun part about this zone is the siege weapons. Players can control catapults, demolishers, and siege engines to destroy the keep by smashing down its walls. Defenders can mount on turrets to shoot the attackers. It's a blast to play, and by far one of the best additions to the expansion.

Lasting Appeal 10.0
Blizzard had replayability in mind this time around with WotLK. Many players complained in The Burning Crusade expansion that once you hit level cap there wasn't much to do. Not this time. With Lake Wintergrasp, every raid being 10-man accessible, more incentive to run dungeons over and over(easier rep gains through factions, emblems of heroism) and some fun and unique dailies, you will have hundreds of hours of content to experience.


OVERALL 9.2
(out of 10 / not an average)

Purchase Wrath of the Lich King Here!