By: Nigel Hamblin |Staff Writer|
Blizzard has announced a new World of Warcraft (WoW) expansion a couple months before the release of the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Old Republic.
The expansion will be titled “Mists of Pandaria”, and has conveniently been revealed shortly before the debut of EA and Bioware’s Star Wars: The Old Republic (TOR), which has been getting considerable attention and hype in the massively multiplayer online world.
So how does this expansion factor into TOR? It looks like Blizzard is using this as a defense against its biggest competitor, whom millions of players will undoubtedly be playing this December. Some have even gone as far as to say that TOR will be the end of WoW, which has been the king of MMO’s for a very long time.
“Mists of Pandaria” will feature a new class, a new continent, new challenge mode dungeons, a new talent system and best of all a new race of pandas.
Yes, I said it. Pandas.
The official name is “Pandaren”, but it doesn’t hide the fact it still has the word “panda” in it. Although they’re comically stereotypical of asian culture, many old-school Warcraft fans will welcome their return from Warcraft 3, where the Pandaren made their first appearance.
Unfortunately, “Mists of Pandaria” doesn’t look as promising as its predecessors. “Wrath of the Lich King” and WoW’s current expansion “Cataclysm” seem far better in terms of scale and appeal. I can see this expansion as a way of keeping current players playing WoW when TOR comes out, but I don’t see it drawing in new players.
It’s no secret that WoW’s subscription base has been steadily declining. Will this be enough to keep WoW in the game? Or will TOR finally end its reign? It’s up to the players to decide.
I think “The Old Republic” will be a welcome addition to the throne, though it may not achieve the long-lasting success as WoW did.
It can’t be denied that it WILL develop a cult following… and it’s clear that Bioware can now take any franchise they want and restore its former glory while crafting masterpiece after masterpiece like the Mass Effect series and “Knights of the Old Republic”.
Looks like I’m getting my hands on it.