Wednesday, November 3, 2010

EXP Podcast #102: Return to Azeroth

I have been free of World of Warcraft for almost two years now, but already its tendrils are pulling me in - and I'm not the only ex-WoW player being called by the sirens of Cataclysm, Blizzard's next expansion to the iconic MMO. Sean "Elysium" Sands inspires this week's podcast discussion with his article "Is Cataclysm Enough to Bring You Back?" I know my mind has been changed at least once. As always, you can find the original article in the show notes and we encourage you to share your thoughts in the comments section below. Also, check out the following cinematic for the Cataclysm, it's amazing:



To listen to the podcast:

- Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes here. Additionally, here is the stand-alone feed.
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Show notes:

- Run time: 30 min 02 sec
- “Is Cataclysm Enough to Bring You Back?," by Sean Sands via Gamers with Jobs
- Music provided by Brad Sucks

6 comments:

  1. While not as complex of a topic than what is normally covered, I found this podcast to be particularly appropriate. I gave up WoW two years ago and, despite some minor pulls of temptation, managed to stay away largely in part to the birth of my first child. My freetime is in short supply but I too have felt the siren's call of WoW since seeing the launch trailer for Cataclysm. I've spent the last couple of days reading up on my class's new talents and could really see myself enjoying the revamped content (the Dead Mines dungeon tuned to level 85 is right up there with flying around the old continents). I was really hoping that Jorge would have gotten around to "unconvincing" himself during the podcast so I could do the same.

    Excellent work, as always.

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  2. Oh my God, I think you just pulled me into wow again! And I've been clean for two years now.

    Great podcast guys.

    Best regards
    Mads

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  3. Oh no! I may have just ruined at least two people's lives. To make amends, here are a couple of reasons not to return to Azeroth:
    1. Expensive pricing model
    2. Unbalanced PVP system
    3. The inevitable grind
    4. Hostile guildies
    5. Deathwing may periodically torch you while you level.

    If that doesn't convince you, then you can join me on Wyrmrest Accord server.

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  4. I cannot to this day understand the lure of this game.
    It's bland, unimaginative at best, boring to play and costs a real shitload of money to keep going.

    But that's apparently just me. Blizzard never manages making anything I find in any way appealing beyond a certain "I do appreciate the craftsmanship" status.
    Diablo? Boring click fest. Thanks but no thanks.
    Star Craft II? Graphical update to a 10 year old concept, ignoring the innovations of the last decade. Next!
    And the story side? Really? WarCraft is a joke. A thin copy of Games Workshop's Warhammer concepts made family friendly.
    But I think I've ranted about this before.
    StarCraft is not much better in that regard, though it seems the world has more to it than using slightly altered concept art from WH40K.

    Nah. Blizzard really isn't for me.

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  5. I'm going to fire up a month's time that I got in a promotion a while back just to look around. If nothing else, this is the first change of this scope to an online world, and I want to see how they pull it off.

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  6. I played WoW for about 3 years, and I enjoyed it a lot. But I stopped playing just before the second expansion came out because I wasn't happy with the way Blizzard was expanding the game. It just became about spending a lot of time getting some armour you would have to get rid of in the next expansion anyway. Instead I wanted them to change the end game, add bigger more innovative features to enjoy the work we as players have already done. And one of the major things I love about MMOs is the social aspects of playing with other people. It is tempting to return, but not tempting enough.

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