Metascore

Universal acclaim - based on 47 Critics What's this?

User Score

Mixed or average reviews- based on 546 Ratings

  • Summary: Players last visited Northrend in "Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne," when Arthas Menethil fused with the spirit of Ner’zhul to become the Lich King, one of the most powerful beings in the Warcraft universe. He now broods atop the Frozen Throne deep in Icecrown Citadel, clutching the rune blalade Frostmourne and marshaling the undead armies of the Scourge. In Wrath of the Lich King, the forces of the Alliance and the Horde venture into battle against the Scourge amid Northrend’s howling winds and fields of jagged ice. Wrath of the Lich King adds a rich variety of content to an already massive game. New features in the game’s second expansion include: Death Knight Hero Class: Create a high-level Death Knight character -- the game’s first hero class -- once certain challenges have been met. Increased Level Cap: Advance to level 80 and gain potent new talents and abilities along the way. Northrend: Explore the harsh new continent of Northrend, packed with new zones, quests, dungeons, monsters, and items -- and do battle with the undead armies of the Lich King. "Inscription" Profession: Learn this exciting new profession and gain unique ways to permanently enhance spells and abilities in the game. Siege Weapons and Destructible Buildings: Take the battle to another level with new player-vs.-player game mechanics and new battlefields to wage war on. New Character Customization: Change how characters look and express themselves, with different hairstyles and dance animations. [Blizzard Entertainment] Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 47 out of 47
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 47
  3. Negative: 0 out of 47
  1. 100
    The journey through Northrend is one of continuous wonder, where every zone has something new to show and exploration of every detail is something that you feel compelled to partake in.
  2. 100
    Wrath of the Lich King takes the best-of-breed MMO and improves everything about it. It's a work of supreme confidence and quality that is twice as fun and ten times as beautiful as classic WOW, not to mention anything else in the genre. But above all else - in the breathtaking sweep of Northrend, in the assured, epic storytelling, in the constellation of brilliant quests - it is a grand adventure. Perhaps the grandest adventure in all gaming.
  3. I might copy the takeaway message from the review of The Burning Crusade: the best game in the universe has been significantly improved. It's amazing what Blizzard managed to achieve in this expansion. [Jan 2009]
  4. But by any standard, this far into the development of an MMO, and with two years since your last expansion, the envelope should be pushed a little. Blizzard could've shaken up the genre here. Wrath of the Lich King has had two years to innovate, build and refresh WOW, but all it seems to have done is prolong the same experience that people have been waiting to continue for years. Whether or not that's a bad thing is up to you.

See all 47 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 62 out of 105
  2. Negative: 35 out of 105
  1. ZachB.
    10
    WotLK, in my opinion, is a great expansion to WoW. I have been playing WoW ever since its release and unfortunately got quite bored with it through the original release and the BC expansion. However when Blizzard started the patch to ready WoW for WotLK I was instantly hooked. Although I found it hard to play until WotLK, I have been a big fan of the mystical world the WoW takes place in which causes me to find it humorous on some reviews on here saying things such as "WoW is an old and outdated boring MMORPG, all about grinding mobs and gearing up." When they dont realize that WoW is more about a mythical world that you can take a part in and experience and while you can ignore that aspect, it's still fun to do the many quests, group with others to run instances or raids, and to just play the game. I know many people won't agree with me and I know I cant change that but in my opinion WotLK is a great expansion. Expand
  2. doodman
    8
    Definitely an improvement from BC is some areas, but also a step backwards in others. The new abilities for each class make them much more interesting and original (not to mention fun to play) but that's basically where the really good stuff ends. Much of the end game content is more shallow, offering less to shoot for. My guess is this will be changed with patches though. There have been small improvements all around the board, making it worth while to play. I think the only major downfall of this game is the players. A sadistic crazed addiction to get more stuff for no real ultimate reason other than to get more stuff shoots this game into the shitter. This game is made to be enjoyed by DOING those things which give you the cool stuff. stupid, stupid people. Expand
  3. 7
    Maybe it's nostalgia or just pure burnout but I did not have as much in wotlk as I did in vanilla or tbc. I think the developers went too mainstream and focused to much on the profit model giving players anything they ask for by just putting a price tag on it. While not all that came with this expansion is bad, many things have really irked me enough to take a long break from the game. Expand
  4. Very veeeeeeery bad expansion. It's here where all the catering to bad players took it pace. Game was so easy even monkey could level to 80 and clear raids. Only thing good about Wotlk was Ulduar, one of best raids ever, everything else was crap. Collapse

See all 105 User Reviews