Unwinnable

Expansions and MMOs go together like Twinkies and love handles. The nature of the genre lends itself to new content being released periodically, since unlike typical games, there is no predefined endpoint. So it’s common to expect a new update to your game every year or two.

These expansions usually grant the ability to advance your characters to higher levels, introduce new dungeons and zones to explore, and enable players to try out new spells or abilities. In some cases, you’re able to play as a new class or a new race.

On December 7th, Blizzard Entertainment is releasing its third expansion for World of Warcraft (WoW), entitled Cataclysm. While it includes many of the typical features you’d expect; there are a few potentially groundbreaking changes included as well.

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I like my gamer friends best when they’re far away from me.

Let me explain. This is not a comment on the personal hygiene of the gaming community. It’s just that, in the past, my best video game moments used to be crowding around a 30-inch television with my friends and taking turns launching a portly plumber into boiling hot lava in Super Mario Brothers. Other times, we’d team up in Golden Axe to see who could kick more potions out of the tiny thieving elves between stages.

Nowadays, being in the same location can actually limit our gaming options. If we’re hanging out together, can we all raid a dungeon in World of Warcraft? Well, no. Can we team up for some beta testing of Vindictus? Nope! What about leveling up our Lalafell botanists in Final Fantasy XIV? Oh wait…we wouldn’t do that if forced at gun point. (more…)