Things I Like about Northrend

orld of Warcraft's second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, was released just last week. For many people it meant vacation days, missed classes, or being hit with a plague that was so debilitating that they only managed enough strength to sit on the computer for 12 hours a day. Though I may not have seen as much of Northrend as some, there are still plenty of things I've experienced that have totally revitalized the game for me.

It's Big and it's Beautiful

Really. You deserve a cruise.There's no arguing that Northrend is a feast for the eyes. Though the system requirements have been pushed up a tad with this expansion, the game still remains accessible to virtually anyone. While a higher-end computer will certainly offer a very different experience than someone playing on a Macbook (to my old Macbook: R.I.P.), regardless of your set-up, the scenery truly is breathtaking.

Questing 2.0

To me the old world quests were good, but quests in Burning Crusade were better in variety and simply more fun. In Northrend, I've found the quests so far to be the best yet. There are some quests lined deep within lore and others just silly and unique. Though the server loads make questing difficult at times, with many players competing for the same kills or gathering the same resource, I've still had more fun than I could have imagined.

I'm A Professional

Northrend is feast for the eyes.The boost to profession skills in Wrath of the Lich King was certainly a welcome one. In my own experience, I've had a lot of fun gathering materials to level my skills again, and though I've only dabbled with new Inscription profession introduced in the last patch, it seems to offer its own uniqueness.

Instancing

I've only tried a few of the dungeons found in Northrend, and I can't wait to try more. The layouts I've seen have been well designed, and the encounters on par with those towards the higher end of the Burning Crusade in terms of difficulty. They, much like the greater environment they're surrounded in, are also visually impressive. One in particular that takes place in a tunnel system littered with spider web is currently on my short list for all-time favorites — man, that place is creepy.

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Like most people, I've only gotten my feet wet in the expansion, and so far, I've liked what I've seen. For me, the work Blizzard has put into creating the Northrend environment has been best part. It immerses you more deeply into the experience, and as a result, makes most aspects of the game far more enjoyable. While there are still things I haven't tried (Death Knights, anyone?), if things stay on course, I shouldn't be disappointed.

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