Anyway, given that it is the MMO market that we typically discuss in this column, don't expect anything remotely resembling grand, sweeping changes. Instead, we're going to use this space this week to look at the big-name expansions on the horizons, and allow yours truly to spout off about them. "Big names" are the key phrase, here -- we're not gonna be talking about no small-fry products. Personally, this past holiday season has given me a newfound sense of awe and reverence for the monolithic brands that define our existence as citizens of the industrialized nations of the world. As such, we're gonna harp on the bounties of massively-multiplayer gaming's answers to the Golden Arches, the Michelin Man. Those smaller, more "interesting," and (dare I say), subversive games? Well, we'll leave those to the next installment. In fact, if you have a particular one you'd like to see here, please let me know.
So without further ado...
World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade
World of Warcraft. The big daddy, the one whose majesty rises over all. I don't mind that Blizzard employees can't be bothered to answer my coverage-related e-mails. I wouldn't either, if I were that busy erecting golden statues of myself. I am a paying subscriber to World of Warcraft, and will continue to be so long as they keep that tasty-looking carrot dangling in front of my face. To me, Burning Crusade is like Christmas two years in the future for a rich kid that's 14 years old. You know that daddy's going to get you a Lexus, but the big payoff seems so very far off.
A raise in the level cap, a whole bunch of new dungeons, two new races, and, presumably, a new "loot philosophy" that will stir up the "only-raiders-get-epics" dynamic that's currently in the game. I'm a bit bored with level 60 characters personally, but those prospects are enough to keep plugging away. Granted, Blizzard usually takes its sweet time releasing software, but hopefully, the fact that the MMO market moves pretty fast in regards to expansion will make its WoW extensions quicker in coming. It would do the company no good to get outpaced, especially when you look at how aggressive its competition is being...
EverQuest II: Kingdom of Sky
OK, SOE, we get it. You're on the ball with the EQII content. You've released approximately seventy metric tons of EQII software since the game's launch, and clearly, you show no sings of abating.
And that's cool.
Personally, EQII has a ways to go before it can compete with WoW as welcoming, cohesive experience. But it's taking one step in the right direction, as far as I'm concerned: real-deal PvP. Around the time that Kingdom of Sky is released, servers with PvP rulesets will be introduced to the game. This single action will bring the game an element that's been sorely lacking: a genuine sense of "otherness" and animosity to players of opposing factions. Before, it was fairly common to see ogres dancing with high elves in the forest. Now, they'll probably be brutalizing each other, which much /spitting on corpses. There's nothing quite like adolescent angst (actual or regressive) to breathe life into an MMO.