As part of its traditional holiday season price slashing, Blizzard Entertainment has cut the cost off one of the most successful Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games of the past two decades, all but lifting the barrier to entry into the world of Azeroth for anyone with a $20 in his or her pocket, an internet connection, and a computer that meets or exceeds the minimum requirements.
Up first is what is being billed as just World of Warcraft. This bundle includes the classic game and its first four expansions, up to and including Mists of Pandaria. With this purchase, players can create any character of the available race and class combinations and take those characters up to level 90. Normally retailing for $19.99, World of Warcraft can be picked up today for $4.99.
Should you want to take your questing even further, you can grab a copy of the game’s fifth and current expansion, Warlords of Draenor. Players can level their characters through a new content to the current level cap, set at level 100. Usually retailing for $49.99, players can add Warlords of Draenor to their account for $12.49. (Please note that Warlords of Draenor requires World of Warcraft base game to play.)
No, World of Warcraft is not the gaming juggernaut it once was, but it is still one of the easiest games in this genre to pick up and quickly learn to play. The requirements to run the game are fairly low and can be played on both a Mac and PC. While the “cartoony” look and feel of the game is not for everyone, World of Warcraft still has some of the smoothest animations in its genre. I know that many people have burned out on the game, but if you have a group of like-minded people to share your play time with, there is still a lot of fun to be had.
These make World of Warcraft a great gateway to online gaming for families looking to take that step. My family still makes it a point to sit down together and play. We have four accounts right now, with players ranging in age from 6 years old to 37 years old, playing on devices ranging from custom-built gaming PCs to out of the box cheap Lenovo laptops. My kids don’t remember a time without World of Warcraft being a presence in our home, and while they have no point of reference for the game’s good ol’ days –or maybe because they lack that history and all the baggage associated with such– they are having a blast playing with dad now.
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