We have all again been graced with the presence of yet another of Blizzard Entertainment’s masterpiece creations with the recent global release of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. I must admit that even I ran out and pre-ordered this addition to my great hobby. I also spent countless hours on the game prior to the release of Cataclysm to achieve the Traveler’s Tundra Mammoth mount that would help me to navigate the new “Old World” of Azeroth and also provide me with a way to dump my vendor trash and repair on the fly while leveling.
Now we have all heard of the release of the new expansion through various forms of media and promotions. I would like to reflect just briefly on the coverage of the event. Most of the media sources which we hear, see and read from day to day on this or any subject mainly comes from TV, papers and our favorite game and entertainment magazines with in house writers and staff that seem to become experts overnight on the subject. Not every time do you read a column or review from a true expert that has dedicated several hours a day over countless months to truly disclose the best clear view on the subject. From them we can see the positive improvements that Blizzard has provided us as well as the loyally honest criticism of its failures.
The online blog is not where we are likely to find the professional journalist nor the daily column writer. It is where we run into the loyal player. It houses those honest opinions from those who hours before were using their blogging keyboards to take on a raid, “PWN” in the arenas or even conduct virtual business on the trade channel while hiding in the auction house. When we visit and support these blogs, we find out what really makes gamers on the virtual but all to real World of Warcraft tick and what really peaks our interests. In a way, they are holding Blizzard accountable to the expectations of its loyal supporters.
Liz Skuthorpe on World of Warcraft: Cataclysm beta blog #2 akes us through this new expansion as she plays through the pre-release Beta version. She gives us all insight as a player along with commentary of the pros and cons that she finds. Another example of a gamer reporting on games is Chad Lakkis at RipTen writing live while listening to the official announcement of the Cataclysm release.
