I have lost all interest in the popular MMO, World of Warcraft. I used to make fun of the game because it lives off the souls of children and the time that the children have lost to it. But eventually, I tried it out with some of my friends. So I got the first expansion, Burning Crusade, and leveled one character to lvl 70. After getting into a fight with the friends that I played with, I stopped playing the game. Then the second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King came out. I got back into the swing of things. I found out more of my friends played and got a brand new character to lvl 80. Now that I am trying out other classes and finally getting involved with the game, Blizzard announces Cataclysm, the third expansion to World of Warcraft. I have to say that this is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I am proud to say that I will be quitting World of Warcraft.

A week ago, I heard from many websites that Cataclysm's details were leaked. After reading about all the new content in the rumored expansion pack, I was hoping that they were false or that the article was just a bad dream. But come this afternoon, I had a bomb drop on me. Cataclysm was real, and it was going to release nothing but utter nonsense to the world . . . of Warcraft. Blizzard has announced that they will be releasing two new races (one per faction), Goblins and Worgens. Considering that Goblins have been neutral since the game was released leaves me wondering why Blizzard thought that Goblins siding with the Horde was a good idea. Same can be said for Worgens. Worgens (werewolves in other words) were hostile to both factions, so why would they side with the Alliance? On top of this, they are bringing players back to where the game started, the lands of Azeroth. Oh, but this time the world is in ruins. So this is going to make new players and veterans of the game venture the same terrain, just in different conditions. Doesn't sound confusing or illogical at all, right?

I felt like there could be reasonable explanations for these inconsistencies. But the one thing that made me change my mind was the fact that they are allowing other races among both factions to be classes that they couldn't be before. For instance, the Tauren from the Horde and Night Elves from the Alliance were the only two races that could be a Druid, but now Blizzard has announced that Trolls can be Druids too. Also, Blood Elves were the only race from the Horde that could be a Paladin, and the Draenei were the only race from the Alliance that could be a Shaman. Well now, the Tauren from the Horde can be Paladins, and Dwarves from the Alliance can be Shamans. On top of that, the Undead from the Horde and Humans from the Alliance can be Hunters.

What it comes down to is Blizzard has completely thrown off the balance of the game by teaching old races new tricks, and by bringing in two races (which will also tip the scales for both factions) that don't fit into the story, Blizzard has thrown the nostalgic lore out the window. There were a few improvements that caught my eye. You can now use flying mounts in Azeroth and . . . umm . . . uhh . . . well. Okay so there was only one improvement that caught my eye. Before Blizzard's convention, I had hopes that the new expansion would be something great, but now I feel like I made rid of my ball and chain. I can now move back to console gaming and finally give myself the chance to play Infamous.

Thanks for reading my blog. I hope to bring good news once my time in the Rehabilitating Center for Former WoW Players is up. Cheers everybody.

Alright, I'm gonna have to admit. I'm not big on the whole "console war" shenanigans. I think it's bad for the industry when consumers pin these presumptuous terms, like "Sony has lost this gen" or "The Wii is a child's console". This will carry on this generation unless the companies decide it's necessary to conform to what people expect of them. People want Sony to drop the price of the PS3, and I personally think it's courageous of them to face the public simply saying, "NO!". People want hard core games on the Wii, but Nintendo will be cutting off the crucial audience that got them into the business in the first place: the kids. People want Microsoft to make Xbox Live a free service, but the service itself is so vastly superior to anything thus far that it can justify it's price tag. Each company has picked it's path this generation, and bickering amongst the consumers is only going to give a bad rep to the companies as well as make it hard for other consumers to make a choice this gen. As long as each console has an apparent flaw that is brought up constantly, why would anybody want to jump into the new gen?

This brings me to my next debate topic. While 2009 isn't over and there is still a lot more to come out for all consoles, I'm curious as to which console is going to come out on top. As my first paragraph points out, I think all three companies are doing a good job. I'm glad that I own everything (minus a 360, but that might change soon). So who's gonna win? Also, if you agree with what I had to say before, just pick the select few if not all of the companies that you think will do a great job this year. I also apologize if this turns out more heated than the other debate topics.

I have an actual Blog this time around. So this will be pretty special to me. I currently own a PS3, Wii, DS, PSP, and a high-end PC that bursts with awesomeness. I have been contemplating getting a 360. The only issue is that I'm not really buying the system for a reason, I'm gonna buy it out of impulse. I will end up having the opportunity to check out some games that I haven't had the chance to play before, but I'm trying to decide if this is a smart decision. All of the PR talk from both sides are starting to confuse me a little. Sony talks of continuing to make first-party exclusives for its console, and Microsoft is talking of making everything multiplatform. So the smart decision is obvious, but expensive. Since I already have a PS3 and a powerful PC, is a 360 a wise decision?

This'll still seem like a debate blog in comparison to my previous ones, but this is a serious decision on my part. If you guys think a 360 would really be worth it, explain your opinion and list some games you would recommend. Any input would be appreciated, and I don't want to seem like I'm stepping on toes, just looking for answers. Thank you.