The World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack is designed for veteran warriors who have worked their way up through the ranks in Blizzard Entertainment's previous two installments. In this installment The Lich King Arthas has betrayed his father's instructions to rule with wisdom, strength, and restraint, unleashing evil forces and setting in motion series of events that may wipe-out all life on Azeroth. Developing his character for "Wrath of the Lich King," the Blizzard guys have made Arthas even more hideous, heinous, and generally detestable than ever before. Naturally, therefore, they have made him bigger and stronger; they also have made him considerably more ruthless.

If you have an existing World of Warcraft account and have achieved at least level 55, you're eligible to create a new Death Knight of any race, and you're ready to launch your sorties into the frozen continent where the Lich King commands his devilish hordes. The Expansion Pack allows you to quest and battle all the way up to Level 80; and, as always, you may choose among the four options for realms or modes of play. Just as in the previous two installments, the designers and developers recommend you play against the environment and use all the help tags until you become thoroughly familiar with this frozen landscape, its inhabitants, and especially its terrible-roaring, fiercely-tusked menaces.

Although you maintain your level from your last Warcraft adventure, you join a new class: your new and improved Death Knight numbers among the Heroes who have freed themselves from service to the Lich King. Now, as you wage war against your former master, you learn and practice his necromantic arts, but you promise to use them only for good. Your new Death Knight enters the fray heavily armed, sturdily armored, and commanding a truly awesome set of forbidden magic powers.

The graphics and sound "Wrath of the Lich King" will dazzle and overwhelm you; they actually live up to the description "awesome." And the Blizzard guys wisely have added to and enhanced some of our favorite features in the older games: we have a whole lot of really cool new hairstyles from which to choose when we visit our barbershops, and we have a whole bunch of really cool new dance moves, too. If only my real-life body moved like my avatar does!

You already know how seductive and addictive these adventures become. You know the Blizzard Entertainment guys are masters of their media. Still, your jaw inevitably will drop as you discover the "epic" content in this new game.

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The more time I spend in the World of Warcraft, and the more I learn my way around Azeroth, learning not only its landscape but also its cultures, values, and possibilities, the more I realize evolution is the keyword throughout this virtual universe. Everything about me, my surroundings, my companions and combatants evolves as I grow more familiar with my environment and more proficient with my talents. When I take a more critical look at the whole World of Warcraft franchise, I recognize evolution is one of its hallmarks. Everything about the worlds, games, and their makers continues growing bigger and better.

Naturally, then, different editions of the game had to emerge and evolve until they developed a deluxe Collector's Edition. In the Collector's Edition, of course, the game remains the same, but the goodies get better.

Along with your software, you get a 208-page book?The Art of World of Warcraft:Wrath of the Lich King?the perfect coffee table accent for the hard-core warrior or mage. Many of the images that didn't quite find their place in the game but are too good to bury in the archives appear in the book. And a lot of the exquisite features in the art jump off the book's pages more vividly and vibrantly than they ever could appear on your computer monitor no matter how pixels you get.

You also receive a behind-the-scenes DVD, which gets you into the studios and even more into the minds of the geniuses at Blizzard Entertainment. In an hour of interviews, developers share their perspectives and insights on the game's features, what it took to create them, and what sophisticated players can do with them. The DVD also includes the director's commentary on the cinematic trailer. Like most artists, the director isn't always the best source of critical information about his powerful production, but it does provide a useful descant to the sounds and images in the three-minute clip.

Of course, there's more: The Collector's Edition includes a soundtrack CD, so that you can recreate the World of Warcraft pretty much wherever you go. I personally think this is a great advancement in soundtracks for rush-hour traffic, because some of the more animated and grandiose themes inspire me to pilot my 4-Runner more skillfully, gracefully, and strategically than I normally would. Taking the best, most powerful music directly from the game, the soundtrack CD really gives the music the attention it deserves. And the music helps me recreate the game's moods and motivations. The soundtrack CD really powers-up my domestic search-and-destroy missions: when I do battle with a teen-ager's gnarly bedroom, the music helps me conquer the nasty landscape.

And just to make sure nobody feels deprived, the Collector's Edition also brings you a mouse pad emblazoned with a handy map of Northrend and two starter decks of Lich King trading cards.

Yes, the Collector's Edition is a little expensive, but you and your World of Warcraft collection cannot evolve without these valuable editions. And, in time, the set will live-up to its title as a collector's item. Oh, yeah, and don't forget you also get a little pet?a real life one, not a virtual one?along with all this other great stuff.

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I give hearty snaps and props to World of Warcraft veterans who have accumulated "mighty" powers, deadly skills, and backpacks full of great stuff. I barely have learned how to work the mouse and arrow keys simultaneously, and my greatest, most satisfying rewards so far have consisted of a big drink of water and a raggedy old boar's pelt. Still, in my first few hours as a warriorette and priest-in-training, I have wracked-up some significant discoveries that won't appear on my scoreboard?

? I absolutely understand why World of Warcraft commands fierce loyalty among 11.5 million (plus me) people worldwide. The game instantly seduced me: the graphics are spectacular, and my avatar moved easily over the terrain despite my conspicuous lack of manual dexterity. Although the landscape seems dark and dangerous?more or less the way I imagine most people imagine "the dark ages"?it's not so menacing that I wanted to flee in panic. Instead, just as a quest really should, each new cavern and pathway lured me further along my path. As I moved from location to location, I could examine each new landscape and its inhabitants from several different points of view, and I always could chat with my fellow questors if I chose. Although it took a little while to learn all the codes for different modes of expression, I loved having all those choices. Yeah, some of the veterans were so intent on their missions and so hell-bent on domination they had no time for me. But most of my fellow tourists were really nice. By a leap of imagination and faith, I could begin to fathom how the World of Warcraft provides opportunities for social networking. Hey, if some nice guy saves an ing?e like me from a gnarly old monster, how can I refuse his friendship, ya know?

? I begin to understand how my play in the game reveals a lot about me, my personality, and my way of getting along in the world. This discovery follows pretty naturally from my insight into the social networking phenomenon. In my ordinary life, I am cheerful with and curious about everyone I meet. I generally listen carefully and patiently to all people have to tell me, and all of it prepares me for my next steps along my life's path. Same here in the world of Warcraft. And, just like in my ordinary life, some of the ugliest, most repulsive characters have the most to disclose, the greatest lessons to teach and the finest gifts to give. I walk briskly through this virtual universe, but I pause to examine almost everything that beguiles me. I can easily understand how, if I traveled along the path with a constant companion, or if I joined a guild, a natural partnership would develop, and my virtual companion would learn all there is to know about the "real" me from the way the virtual me behaves.

? I gain an inchoate understanding of how, after a few thousand hours of play, the grizzled teen-age veterans, like the Beach Boys, get tired of drivin' up and down the same old strip and long for a new place where the kids are hip. A warrior can roll-up his ride-on warrior beast only so many times before he begins to wonder, "where are the babes?" and "what else is on the menu?" Even distinguished with only a few boar kills and a dance or two, I can see why the guys at Blizzard Entertainment feel pressure to keep imagining and inventing: Their stuff must evolve faster than its players, or their devotees will move-on other, more enchanting-enthralling landscapes.

Latest in the series of WoW adventures, "Wrath of the Lich King" transports the allies, warriors, and hordes to Azeroth, a fearsome arctic landscape as icily scary as the original landscape feels kinda hot and humid. Dealing with the Lich King, his wrath, and his political issues, the new game pits questors and warriors against Arthas, his "mighty" forces and his plague-producing powers. As we contend against the Lich King's wrath?and, trust me, this guy is in a very very bad mood?we struggle to end his reign of terror.

Azeroth is the totally cool new place where the kids are more than hip. And if you thought the World of Warcraft was seductive, addictive, enchanting and enthralling before, this new version takes all those charms to their third or fourth exponents.

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Before today, my computer gaming resume listed "solitaire." That's all. Just solitaire, which I totally own, but which doesn't exactly qualify me for the big time. My experience with "role playing" amounted to trying to keep it real in my own life, where I use my superpowers to sustain my role as Wonder Mom. That's all. I rule the carpool and I dominate the grocery store and Target.

In World of Warcraft, I am the newb of all newbs. I have no idea what I am doing, but my curiosity and initiative drive me. I consider this adventure something like a quest; is there a grail at the end of this journey into a terrifying wilderness?

Because I am "green" as spring's first twig, green as Kermit himself, I begin at the very beginning. I learn the basic basics?
World of Warcraft, often referred to as WoW, is a "massively multiplayer online role-playing game" (MMORPG). Can I say that ten times fast? MMORPG, MMORPG? It's the "RP" that matters, but the "MM"?massively multi-player?definitely intimidates me. I may be innocent but I am not na?: We are talkin' massive: More than 11.5 million people subscribe to this game every month. Good to know it requires a subscription: I get to pay money to watch my own annihilation? How fun! Meanwhile, these 11.5 million players helped WoW set the World's Record for the most popular MMORPG?they're in The Guinness Book of World Records and everything. Right this minute, nearly two-thirds of the people playing "MMOG's" are playing World of Warcraft. I don't think it's an accident they call it "WoW," hunh?

When I sign-up for my ten-day free trial, I will control my avatar. I get that, but can I be cuter in the game than in real life? I mean, even if monsters are gobbling me in single bites, I still want to look good while they devour me. If I understand this deal correctly, I at least get a little bit of time to explore the landscape and take a few practice shots on wimpy ogres before I really undertake a serious challenge. I hope I get a little time to develop my skills in the minor leagues before I have to take the field in the majors. How embarrassing to show-up, make a cameo, and immediately die!

The WoW website tells me, "World of Warcraft is a living, breathing online adventure world." Okay, I reassure myself, that's a little hyperbole, but with ten million people imagining and innovating, I'd hazard the guess that this virtual world has quickened and taken-on life of its own. It's only the "breathing" part that leaves me a little uneasy; but I'm guessing I'll get used to it.

The website says, when I log-on, I will become one among "thousands of mighty heroes in an online world of myth, magic, and limitless
adventure." I've never been "mighty" before. That alone will inspire the next mouse-click. But I also get a little foreshadowing, a subtle taste of what awaits: As I wander through this wonderland, I ultimately will face the dragon of Blackrock Spire; he cannot be any worse than my Ph.D. committee, can he? Is it a he? And I will perform community service as I "cleanse the undead from the looming ziggurats of Stratholme"?good thing I know what ziggurats are and have a little prior experience with climbing them. And, hey, I even can look forward to a little inventive anachronism: I'll fly a zeppelin over a "smoldering" battlefield. My characteristic pessimism kicks-in just a little: with my luck, my zeppelin will be The Hindenburg.

The first screen asserts, "An infinity of new experiences await." Then, it demands, "So what are you waiting for?" Because I have no good reason for hesitating, balking, or waiting, I take the plunge. I delicately press and click.

The guys at Blizzard Entertainment, the geniuses who created this seductive, highly-addictive masterpiece, really like the word "mighty." Before she downloads and begins play, the newb needs to know that without high-speed internet access and lots of ROM, she's toast. In other words, your computer and its peripherals must be as "mighty" as the terrain she's about to enter and the horrible wild things she's about to battle.

The business part of this goes simply and straight-forwardly enough. Although I feel a little surprised that a place which empowers my imaginary self demands all the details about my authentic self, I feel reassured that it's all encrypted, and I just type and click my way through the three-step process that whisks me into this virtual landscape.

In my first five minutes, the tips and helpers answer all my questions, allying all my doubts. I can play for ten days for absolutely free; they got all my digits, but they required no credit card for my initiation. My avatar is at least as cute as I?even with tusks; and I have chosen to train as a priest. I get to see other players as they go on their quests, but we're not required to talk; and when we do chat, they're nice to me. One vaguely attractive young knight shows me how to dance. My avatar has some nice moves.

In my first ten minutes, I have slain ten wild boars, acquired some "mighty" skills and experiences, satisfied my first initiation requirement, and taken-on my second assignment. A few ogre guys tell me they're not amused when I touch them or ask them questions; but, hey, that's not so different from my real life. I can manage it. I have enjoyed a tasty snack and some truly refreshing cool water after my boar-battles, and I have some nifty new items in my backpack.

In fifteen minutes, I have evolved from terrified wanna-be to complete rookie to emerging warriorette. That's not a bad day's work. I'm hooked. I'll be back. I have a mission to complete.

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