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World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

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6.6 User Score:

Universal acclaim

Based on 46 critic reviews
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Based on 151 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment

Developer: Blizzard Entertainment

Genre(s): Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game

Players: Thousands

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: January 16, 2007

Summary

Several years have passed since the Burning Legion's defeat at Mount Hyjal and the races of Azeroth have continued to rebuild their once shattered lives. With renewed strength, the heroes of the Horde and Alliance have begun to explore new lands and broken through the Dark Portal to investigate the realms beyond the known world. Will these heroes find friends or foes? What dangers and rewards lie in wait beyond the Dark Portal? And what will they do when they discover that the demons they thought vanquished have returned to renew their terrible Burning Crusade? New Player Races: New allies will join the game, expanding the story line and allowing players to develop powerful new characters within the world. Higher Level Limit: The game's level cap is being raised to 70, and with these new levels will come meaningful spell, ability, and talent upgrades for each character class. New Lands and Battlegrounds: Explore the magical realms of the Blood Elves and Draenei, journey through the Dark Portal into untamed Outland, and visit dungeons and battlefields previously inaccessible to players. Flying Mounts: In Outland, players will gain access to unique airborne mounts that will allow for smoother travel over some of that region's more hazardous terrain. [Blizzard]

Also On Metacritic

GAMES: World of Warcraft World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central GameSpot Guide

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

GamePro

The new locations, characters, items, and monsters are nothing short of awesome. The voice acting is perfect, the sound effects spot-on, and the score at times both ominous and uplifting.

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100

Eurogamer

In a genuinely striking move, The Burning Crusade simultaneously gives World of Warcraft veterans the swathes of new content they've been crying out for, and makes the end-game experience vastly more open to casual players or new players.

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100

GameSpy

If you played World of Warcraft to level 60 and enjoyed it, you'll enjoy Burning Crusade even more. And if you never stopped playing WoW, the expansion isn't an option, it's mandatory.

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100

Cheat Code Central

Burning Crusade is the kind of game that single-handedly lowers a school's attendance record, and would have business managers everywhere handling sick-day calls, if they weren't stuck at home trying to reach level 70 before their boss finally fires them.

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100

1UP

The Burning Crusade is more of a resurrection than an expansion, a vast and munificent span of content that both refines and totally invalidates what came before it.

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100

GameShark

One of the most solid expansion packs I have ever seen for any game. While you may find a few bugs here and there, it's a thoroughly polished package. It simply delivers where many don't, and it's easy to see why its already having so much success.

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Game Chronicles

Though lore fiends may be beating their heads against solid objects thinking about all the new directions The Burning Crusade takes the continuing saga of the World of Warcraft, they really should learn to relax and enjoy what Blizzard has set before them: perhaps the most comprehensive and detailed expansion set ever to be released for an MMORPG.

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Game Informer

The new zones are huge in comparison to the original game and graphically lush. But it’s the content inside them, the quests and the instances, that make the whole game tick.

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GamingExcellence

The overall quality of The Burning Crusade is simply astounding.

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PALGN

Simple. If you own a PC and are willing to devote your life to a great game, you need to buy this.

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GameZone

With new content for newbies and veterans alike, The Burning Crusade is a complete expansion and one that no WoW player should be without. Hell, there’s enough here to make a whole separate game.

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AtomicGamer

Blizzard has really added a lot to the game – a ton of new quests, flying mounts, the ability to hit level 70, fun new zones and more.

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Gaming Illustrated

With plenty that’s new to see and do, even without seeing what the new continent has to offer, The Burning Cruisade looks like a fantastic expansion set and comes highly recommended for WoW veterans as well as players that have gone into hibernation (like me), or newbies looking for something fun to take up 88 hours of their week.

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Strategy Informer

It’s teeming with new loot, better opportunities to stick it to your fellow players and has even richer music to fit the mood.

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PC Zone UK

"Must-buy" doesn't seem strong enough. There should probaby be some kind of law forcing every player to have it. For their own good, of course. [Apr 2007, p.73]

PC Format

The bar for MMOs has been lifted even higher - it'll take something almost sexual in nature to topple the mighty WoW now. [Mar 2007, p.70]

ActionTrip

Another thing worth mentioning about the expansion is definitely the inclusion of flying mounts. This is clearly more than a simple cosmetic addition to the game, as it adds a whole new dimension to world exploration.

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Gamers' Temple

If you have a high level character, it’s hard to find a reason for you not to buy The Burning Crusade. An entirely new continent filled with great content and with some really imaginative zones to explore make the expansion a must buy.

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GameSpot

World of Warcraft has never been better, and while you don't need the expansion pack to continue playing, it's hard not to feel like you're missing out in Azeroth without it.

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GamingTrend

The level cap has increased allowing for more spells, talents, and power for individuals with the insanity to chase them. This is a whole new world.

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FiringSquad

It runs well, it’s almost completely bug-free, the servers are good, the game scales mob spawn rates to keep up with demand, the quest log always has something for you to do and the instances are brief and enjoyable. There’s no clearing of crap before you get to the Dead Mines or Maraudon proper, you no longer need to get 40 people together for a raid... it’s not next-generation, but The Burning Crusade is as good as this generation of MMOs is going to get.

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Computer Games Online RO

A lot of new content clearly tailored based on the community requests.

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Gaming Nexus

The guilty-pleasure, fast-food champion of MMO gaming has expanded their menu, upgraded their sides, and supersized everything on your tray. Eat up.

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Games Master UK

This is as good as it gets for online roleplaying. [Apr 2007, p.84]

Boomtown

The Burning Crusade is a must-have, both for ongoing players of World of Warcraft but also the players who got bored at level 60 and stopped playing.

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PC Gameworld

Beautiful environments; new exciting quests; awesome PvP content; all sorts of goodies for WoW players.

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Play.tm

All you can ask from an expansion pack, does it improve the original game, does it offer more content and does it do enough to become essential to the core experience. The Burning Crusade offers an emphatic yes to all these so there really is very little excuse for fans not to buy it.

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GameTrailers

Along with the new races and their respective areas, flying mounts, jewel crafting, and persistent player versus player maps, the Burning Crusade ends up being more than a mega-patch, and justifies the cost well beyond the hope of a glacial grind to the next level cap.

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GameDaily

Any level 60 player has no reason not to achieve level 70, and anyone who bought their epic mount has no reason not to have a flying mount as well. Basically, if World of Warcraft feels right, so will Burning Crusade.

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Yahoo! Games

Launch issues aside, there's absolutely no reason why any World of Warcraft player should hesitate to pick it up. Consider it essential.

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Pelit (Finland)

New areas and races are well thought out and there is tons of stuff to do. Some hardcore raiders will not love the new 25 player raid cap, though, and the guild aspect of the game could have used more improvements. [Jan 2007]

Games Radar (in-house)

Lush and vibrant, it is everything an expansion should be: a furthering of a much loved and honored world. We found ourselves barely able to stop playing long enough to write this, and plan on delving right back in as soon as we can.

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Gaming Target

Although the new areas are largely designed for levels 1-20, they provide a refreshing pace after going through the Alliance’s starting points about five times.

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AceGamez

Everything is new again, it's exciting to discover new areas and exhilarating to conquer new dungeons, and given that Blizzard have already confirmed an expansion every year (quite a lofty goal to set after the delays for this one) there's already an excitement about what they'll include in future updates.

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games(TM)

With The Burning Crusade, Blizzard has yet again raised the standard by which all MMORPGs will be judged. [Mar 2007, p.112]

Computer Games Magazine

The Burning Crusade adds some much-needed high level content to a game that had grown pretty stagnant for the Level 60s who spent all day and night dancing in front of the Auction Houses in Ironforge and Orgrimmar. [Apr 2007, p.58]

Jolt Online Gaming UK

MMOs are not for everyone, but this is certainly the closest they get and this new expansion just cements that fact.

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IGN

Few World of Warcraft players would consider their experience complete without the additions that The Burning Crusade brings.

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PC Gamer

However, if you've been level 60 for a while and let your account lapse, The Burning Crusade is reason enough to reactivate your account. [Apr 2007, p.46]

PC Gamer UK

Nothing else is this slick, this viscerally impressive, this overwhelmingly addictive.

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eToychest

Burning Crusade's most grievous crime is that it totally invalidates the years of work you've put into pimping out your toons, but if you can handle looking like you can't dress yourself in the morning, the new equipment you'll be earning will be a salve on the wound.

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VideoGamer

It's clear that the TBC really just serves one purpose. That purpose isn't particularly subtle, nor is it a masterstroke from developers Blizzard. But the important thing is that this purpose is achieved with a kind of wonderful self assurance you only really get from a developer confident in the knowledge it is responsible for the most popular MMO in history. If it 'aint broke, don't fix it.

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NTSC-uk

The fact the game continues to expand, with a new patch on the way which will include more Outland endgame content - including the chance to fight the Big Bad, Illidan himself - only makes it that much more exciting and World of Warcraft’s continual evolution will ensure its continuing popularity for quite some time to come.

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GameBrink

New 25 man limit dungeons in the end game open up things to most everyone but require a ridiculously expensive flying mount to get to them so there will still be some silly gold grinding when you get to 70.

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Worth Playing

My overall impression is "vaguely disappointed." There is a litany of technical issues, and the lack of new classes is spectacularly underwhelming, but it's the pervasive sense of same old, same old that really keeps me from singing glossy praise.

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Game Revolution

Sure, you get a new continent, ten levels to gain, and hundreds of quests, but compared to "EVE Online’s" upcoming free expansion (which includes a total graphical overhaul) it’s easy to be a bit under-whelmed, and feel a bit overcharged.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 6.6 (out of 10) based on 151 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Redd Red gave it a0:
This game kinda...sucked! boring and repetitive tasks! Kill 10 of this, kill 15 of that, or go get this letter and bring it to me...then we will let you be level 50! after that you can do more meaningless tasks in which you will recieve "XP"...but we will double your load in xp points to gain next level...uhhh... whats the point in that? BORING. PVP was kinda fun for a while, but got boring quick aswell. i give the game a 0. i tried it because of the hype but don't understand how people get addicted to it. Overall it sucked, there is other better games out there.

Ryan D gave it a9:
An excellent first expansion for WOW. The two new races are a welcome addition for beginners and there is plenty of great high level content including the new world of Outland. Only flaw is that high level dungeons take an awfully long time to complete. You can still solo up to 70 though.

Brian P gave it a3:
Basically this expansion took wow and launched it again but without the magic and addictiveness of the first installment. With gamebreaking problems and balance issues (warrior, RNG, ect) TBC might as well have not even been released.

Jack B gave it an8:
Okey 1. those who doesen't like this game can leave bye bye no one will miss you(seriously). 2. yes this game isin't all that perfect but it is better than many other games imo. If you grind 1-60 yes it can be boring but that just shows how stupid you are (those yellow markers above npc's head means that they have a quest for you) Then there are so much more than just killing mobs there's q that requires you to gather herbs and stuff, need to bomb something, visit somewhere and many other kind of quest's. I know it takes time to level from 1-70 but you don't have deadline to it. And read the quest they often have pretty interesting storyline to tell you. It's okay if you don't agree with me but don't cry about it .And last but not least if WoW was a free MMO(RPG) it wouldn't have as much content than it now has. PS. Guild Wars bah ! you must be joking right ?

Thiago T gave it a2:
The worst expansion I've ever seen. Burning Crusade DESTROYED that epic atmosphere I saw at the first game. Now we play at Outland, an entire map with green gear better than epics from Azeroth dropped from Kelthuzad's own ass. Even Hellfire Peninsula looking great I think the second game should be at Northrend. everybody wanted undeads, plague everywhere, Arthas and his minions, etc! And more: we like 40 man, we hate 25 man. We also hate to grind hundred hours to get gear that we have already spent on 60. Where is the lore? Sieges? New classes? Pandarens? Why blizzard destroyed Warcraft? And fuck the Lich King and its new Hero Classes! I can see the same shit done before and worst. Still have a dream called Diablo 3.

Night Elf gave it an8:
This is very entertaining, well made expansion for the original World of Warcraft. I gave WoW a 9 but I thought The Burning Crusade deserved a slightly lower score just because the experience isn't completely new. However, the addition of new races, classes, places, and of course ten new levels, was quite a treat. The arcitecture and design of this game is very nice. It has several new, challenging places to level up in the more advanced levels. I thought it was a very cool addition to WoW and hopefully Wrath of the Lich King will surprise me just as much as this game did.

fatdog gave it a9:
This game is great. I do admit that once you hit a certain level of gear (pretty much past Karazhan going into 25-mans) the amount of time and effort it takes to acquire a single upgrade (or in some cases a sidegrade) does seem to increase exponentially. However, its not a boring grind fest like some other reviewers are claiming. The reputation grinds are far from "same old boring crap" as most instances give the required reputation (if you don't like instanced dungeons you may as well not play the game, as it is a huge part of the end game and the reason you gear up to begin with), with the exception of the Kurenai/Maghari(sp) reps, which yield items that aren't exactly necessary for the game, but are nice additions (a new epic ground mount, which you don't HAVE to have, some vendored gear which has similar counterparts elsewhere, etc). If you don't like instanced dungeons, there's always PVP battlegrounds that offer quite powerful epic gear. The variety in the new quests and overall content is a nice change to what was beginning to get old and really quite annoying (levels 50-60 are a pain. "Hey, welcome to Darnassus. Take this backpack to Suchandsuch in Nethergarde Keep" [NW corner of the world to SE corner of the world with no direct travel >.<]). Instances like Blackrock Depths are waaaaay too long for my taste, and the new instance dungeon formats of trash-trash-boss x3,4 or 5 are a nice. And finally, the inclusion of (now 2) 10 man raid instances allows smaller guilds to progress significantly (and effectively gear up) without making the 25 man guilds feel cheated.

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World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

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