Hello XBOX Team Rochester,
I write to you from sunny downtown Phoenix, AZ. As many of you have been spending quality time with your XBOX 360 in a little title called Grand Theft Auto IV I have found myself sucked into the world of Azeroth playing World of Warcraft. I know many of you who know me are puzzling over why I would leave my beloved 360 for a PC game? Well the simple truth is that Blizzard has created something really fantastic and it is so much fun to play. First of all it shares something with XBOX Live and that is a robust community.
I play on a server called Daggerspine and from my first day of play up until the present I have met so many great players. These are people who want to share in a fun experience in a shared game space. The server I play on is a PvP (Player vs Player) but all that means is that when you venture into areas of the world that are not owned by one of the two factions you risk attack. You can also venture into the opposing faction's area but you risk certain attack on yourself. Most of the time however when playing in territory controlled by the faction to which you are a member, you are safe to quest and dungeon crawl.
Also like XBOX Live, there is a fee to play this game. Unlike XBOX Live, the fee is not a nominal $50/yr. but rather it runs about $16.00/mos. Many gamers cannot stomach the monthly fee but once you spend some time in the world of Azeroth you quickly see the quality and depth of the game and the fact that developers work feverishly to continuously improve and add content. The membership fee is easy to justify once you start playing. This is a great game!
Another aspect of the game that is often criticized is its art style. The style is bright, colorful and somewhat cartoony. Compared to many games in the XBOX world, WoW looks a bit more like Viva Piñata than a gritty RPG. The style of graphics is steeped in the long heritage of Warcraft. This game is part of a long series of games that have shared this art style. Not only does WoW share in the art style but it also shares a rich story history in the game that dates back to the original Warcraft. Developers are so very attentive to detail and it is obvious as the story unveils before your eyes through the various quests and adventures in the game.
XBOX games might last 10 or more hours to play and that is good for some people but after a while they either end or get boring. WoW is not this way. Besides the fact that it takes months to get to the highest level, once a player achieves the heroic stages Blizzard adds more content in the form of patches and special events.
Well anyway, I am not writing this to disparage the XBOX 360; I am writing this to point out that I think there is a dry spell going on with regard to XBOX 360 software. I am not a fan of the GTA series so even though that game is on par to break sales records I must say that all else doesn't impress me. As we make the long roll into summer and towards fall there are a number of titles on the horizon that I am excited about. Halo Wars, Gears of War II, and Age of Conan for the 360 are a few. Until that time my wife will continue her quest to get the all-time best score in Viva Piñata (she made a Dragon a few days ago) and I will continue as Jaredoln the Orc of the Horde in the land of Azeroth.
If you are interested in playing with me and my Guild (Khaos) please let me know via a comment and I will share info with you directly.
DaddyBurrito
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