World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) set in the high-fantasy world of Azeroth. Warlords of Draenor is the 2014 expansion of the World of Warcraft game.
Great Graphics/Art
Great Music
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Story & Themes
In the Warcraft universe, two races, the orcs and the humans, began battling each other a long time ago in the land of Azeroth. The orcs have entered Azeroth from a different dimension and invaded the human world after being dislocated from their historic home. The second and third Warcraft games expanded this storyline to include other fantastical humanoids and their cartoon political intrigues. All of these characters fall into two factions: the Horde or the Alliance. In the MMORPG game World of Warcraft, which is set in the Warcraft universe, players create their own characters and complete individual quests and story arcs. The major themes in all Warcraft games are war, dislocation, home, temptation, and duty.
Warlords of Draenor is the fifth expansion of the World of Warcraft game. (An expansion comes out every couple of years and includes a new storyline and content, such as new quests, monsters, dungeons, etc.) Warlords of Draenor is a prequel and has an alternate storyline that branches off from the main story. In Draenor, Azeroth's warriors engage in battle with the old Iron Horde; thus players are defending Azeroth from conquest by invaders from another world.
Save Points
The game is saved as you go.
Difficulty
World of Warcraft is simple to play at the lower levels, when you're leveling up your character and completing quests. It becomes more difficult if you want to level your character up and do raiding (group play to complete more difficult content). There are also player vs. player modes that can be very competitive.
Heads Up!
Violence World of Warcraft is all about warring factions, so there's a lot of violence. Violent content includes explosions, weapons of every type, some blood, and so on. However, the art style is cartoonish and so is the violence.
Scary Imagery Some of the monsters are scary-looking, but most of the scary content is played for humor.
Sex & Nudity The game has lots of revealing costuming for female characters. Sometimes characters dance provocatively, and there is some innuendo in the story.
Strong Language Game characters swear sometimes; most of the bad language you'll see in the game will come from other players.
Substance Use World of Warcraft does have quite a few references to the use of alcohol, and players can become "drunk," which results in blurring and shaking effects. There's also some allegorical, non-explicit drug use.
Consumerism World of Warcraft does encourage some in-game purchases, such as pets that will follow a character around. There's also World of Warcraft merchandise available.
Discrimination This game has been criticized for its stereotypical depiction of various races that are uncomfortably close to real-life racial stereotypes.
Online Community
The World of Warcraft user base numbers in the tens of millions. As in any large community, some of the online communication can be objectionbable and inappropriae for children. However, players often join guilds of people they know or people with similar interests and sometimes these guilds can be sources of lasting friendships.
Conversation Starters
Why do you think groups of people go to war with each other?
What are some ways to prevent war or stop the fighting?
If a group of people is ousted from its historic home because of violence or natural disaster, where can the group go? Do other peoples have a moral duty to help them, even if they don’t share the same core values?
When is it okay to turn against your leaders, or even your people?
Many of the races in the Warcraft universe are stereotypical representations of different cultures or nationalities–at what point does stereotype become damaging? Is a stereotype inherently damaging to the people it is applied to?
What are some ways to keep stop online interactions you don't want to engage in?
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