E3 2007: Blizzard bundles some good along with some “meh”

Alright you princes of Azeroth. You kings of Aiur. Naturally Blizzard Entertainment did show its face at E3, with press kits bubbling afresh with fancy screenshots and sparkling glimpses of what’s to come in both World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade and the much anticipated Starcraft II. Sadly what they had to say about Starcraft II wasn’t nearly enough to get your pylons in a twist, but to see what Blizzard had to offer for both Starcrafters and Warcrafters alike, hit the jump.

Despite many a beguiling look towards my pre-assigned Starcraft II speaker, I was unable to trick him into revealing any special details about the game that Koreans , other Asian denominations, and White folk who wish to be those Asian denominations have been salivating about for the past few years. Details that were emphasized to me were a lot of facts that have already been covered. This includes the full online support on battle.net, the brand spankin’ new 3D-engine, and the high-unit counts in battle for fast-paced and chaotic fighting. That aside, no further details were revealed about the campaign mode, and Starcraft fans will have to wait a bit longer before more information is revealed.  

World of Warcraft fanatics however can expect a pretty decent patch update for World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade to come later on in 2007. First of all, the patch will include a built-in voice-chat feature that is gracefully integrated into the game. This feature will allow vocal communication without third-party software and even having the smarts to lower the game volume when it detects someone is speaking. Players will also have the ability to use and manage guild banks as a central means of storage, with custom level of access for differentiating members.  

Additionally, WOW-ers will be able to explore the home of the forest trolls, Zul’Aman, in a brand new 10-person dungeon that takes place in a lush outdoors environment. With a total of six bosses to defeat, players will take on trolls led by Zul’jin who have discovered the ability to infuse themselves with animal souls. This dungeon appears to be fond towards our furry friends as players will encounter troll-folk who resemble bears, dragon-hawks, eagles, and lynxes, and for the first time be able to use a bear as a mount. Finally, unlike previous dungeons, players will have a greater incentive to complete Zul’Aman as quickly as possible with clocked events that yield greater loot if completed on time. So get your guilds into gears my friends, and get ready for your biggest challenge since Karazhan!