World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Gets Dated

On Monday, Blizzard announced that the newest World of Warcraft (WoW) expansion pack, Wrath of the Lich King, will hit stores on Nov. 13th. The new expansion pack will cost $39.99.

Frankly, based on pricing of games nowadays, $39.99 is a bargain.

WoW has nearly 11 million subscribers, and bills itself as the world's most popular MMORPG. Players will need the original WoW game as well as the expansion World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade to play Lich King. These two products are combined in the World of Warcraft Battle Chest for $39.99.

Lich King opens up a new continent, increases the top-level limit to 80, and adds the game's first Hero class. From the press release:

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King sends players to the cold, forbidding continent of Northrend, where the fearsome Lich King Arthas Menethil, last seen in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, works from his secluded citadel to bring all of Azeroth under his twisted dominion. Players will battle the Lich King's undead army from the shores of Howling Fjord and Borean Tundra to the seat of his unholy power in Icecrown Glacier. In addition, players will be able to advance characters to level 80 and gain powerful new abilities while exploring several new zones and dungeons. The expansion also introduces a number of exciting new features, including an achievement system, expanded player-vs.-player combat options such as siege weapons and destructible buildings, and the game's first Hero class -- the necromantic death knight.

If you want to spend an extra $30, you can get the Collector's Edition, which adds the following:

• The Art of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, a 208-page book featuring never-before-seen images from the game.

• An exclusive in-game pet: Frosty, the baby frost wyrm.
  

• A behind-the-scenes DVD containing over an hour of developer interviews, the Wrath of the Lich King intro cinematic with director's commentary and more.

• The official soundtrack CD, containing 21 epic tracks from the game, along with exclusive bonus tracks.

• A mouse pad featuring a map of the newly opened continent of Northrend.

• Two World of Warcraft Trading Card Game March of the Legion starter decks, along with two exclusive cards available only in the Collector's Edition.

Lich King is the second WoW expansion and they've managed to time it perfectly for the holiday season.

Now, about Diablo III and Starcraft 2 (ahem) ...