The Player: The Burning Crusade.

The Burning Crusade is officially unleashed on the world, God help us all.

I've never been particularly moderate when it comes to video gaming; I know what I like and I'm not afraid to spend eight to twelve hours in one sitting to get it. Fortunately the games that can interest me for that full span are few and far between. In recent memory, I would probably count Guitar Hero II and maybe Phantasy Star Universe (barely). But there are some games that really steal my life away, starting back in my high school days with Phantasy Star Online (10 days played on my main, a level 180 HUcast) and progressing naturally into MMOs.

The undisputed king of MMOs, both in the market and in my heart, is World of Warcraft. I have three level 60s (the former maximum level), which isn't a mean amount, representing roughly thirty days of in-game play time. But I must've played at least twice that much, since World of Warcraft is the one game I can't quit. I keep on trying but inevitably, like a beaten dog, I come back asking for more. I know the game is terrible at level 60. I know there isn't a single piece of content that I haven't experienced at least twice on some alt or another. And I know there's NOTHING left for me to do... but I just can't let it go.

And now the Burning Crusade has arrived. World of Warcraft's first expansion, destined to fix all of Warcraft's flaws and destroy my life completely. I was in line at GameStop 12:01AM Tuesday to get my copy. I had it installed by 12:30 and I was up until 3 actually playing it. Work was really awesome the next day. I'm not quite sure what's possessed me so completely about the expansion -- I mean, I was in the beta, and I've played Warcraft before top to bottom -- but I feel a burning desire to quit my job and just play full time. Happily, I have enough restraint to resist. But only because I can sneak in six hours a day after work. It's like the part-time job I pay Blizzard to play!

To make matters worse, though, all my friends are steadily progressing from 60 to 70 (the new level cap), I've decided to create a new character and join the ranks of one of the new expansion races: the Blood Elves. (I rolled a Paladin. Yeah, roll your eyes.) Though I'm only level 14 now, I hope to level up at a truly startling pace. I love Blood Elves and also I love Paladins. Also, I play way too much. At this rate I'm primed to burn out on my lowbie Blood Elf Paladin, which I can't honestly say would be a bad thing. But on the day after the official release all I can do at work is think about getting home and playing more.

I'll take some pictures of my Paladin next time I'm in-game. Until then, you just have to take my word for it that he's almost ludicrously hot. Consider that a teaser for next week's post.