World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a class-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Blizzard Entertainment . It is the 4th Blizzard game, not including expansion packs, set in the Warcraft Universe , a fantasy setting introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994 . World of Warcraft picks up the Warcraft storyline four years after the conclusion reached in Blizzard's previous release, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne .
The game was simultaneously released on November 23 , 2004 in North America , Australia , and New Zealand on both PC and Macintosh systems selling more than 240,000 copies in the first 24 hours, more than any other PC game in history. Korea , Europe , and other Asian countries release are expected to follow shortly. At the E3 in 2003 the game won high praise, including Gamer's Pulse 's Best of Show award.
When creating a character in World of Warcraft , the player can choose from eight different races and nine different character classes . The races are split into two equal-sized factions: the Alliance and the Horde:
- The Alliance consists of Humans , Night Elves , Dwarves , and Gnomes .
- The Horde consists of Orcs , Tauren , Forsaken , and Trolls .
- Additionally, there are many NPC races.
The nine availiable classes are druid , hunter , mage , paladin , priest , rogue , shaman , warlock and warrior . Two of the classes are faction-specific: paladins for the Alliance and shamans for the Horde. With the exception of the warriors, classes are also limited by race.
In addition to the character classes, a player may choose two primary professions and as many secondary professions as they wish. The primary profesions are Mining , Skinning , Herbalism , Alchemy , Blacksmithing , Engineering , Leatherworking , Tailoring and Enchanting . The secondary professions are Fishing , Cooking and First Aid . The professions consist of three types: gathering, item creation, and service. Typically a player would pair two related professions, such as Mining and Blacksmithing or Tailoring and Enchanting.
With World of Warcraft Blizzard has made some changes to the typical MMORPG, in response to the common complaints received about other games in this genre. In particular the game play has been changed to make it more even and fair for both hardcore and casual players. Changes include many players getting more experience overall from completing a quest, than killing monsters.
The current world is built around two main continents: The Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor . The new World Tree of Teldrassil is off the northwestern coast of Kalimdor. While not all of the history between the end of The Frozen Throne and the four years between the start of World of Warcraft has been revealed, it assumed the conflict between the Horde 's forces and the marines of the Theramore Isles at the end of the Orc mini-campaign were at least the kindling for the blaze of the current conflict.
Some of the notable landmarks and locations in the game that were featured in the previous Warcraft games are:
- The Undercity , which resides under the Ruins of Lordaeron, is the main city of the Forsaken , ruled by Sylvanas Windrunner and Varimathras . Here they are engineering a new plague to wipe out the Alliance ;
- The Eastern and Western Plaguelands , including places such as Andorhal , the place of origin of the Scourge and the Plague of Undeath, and Stratholme the site of Arthas ' initial fall into insanity;
- The Blasted Lands , home of the orginal Dark Portal from which the Orcs first came into Azeroth ; and
- Kalimdor is home to the Tauren, Orcs, Trolls, and Night Elves. Areas to the north include Ashenvale Forest , Felwood , Winterspring , Azshara and the Moonglade . These regions surround Mt. Hyjal where the final battle against Archimonde was held and the fall of the Burning Legion's Second Invasion.