Project Lore

Feeling a bit down on your luck lately? Run into one too many ganks, Ulduar wipes or failed PuG runs? Perhaps it's time for you to take a break from the grind and get to know your toon's chivalrous side through the Argent Tournament. Now I know some people in our Project Lore forums have expressed skepticism about how popular the Argent Tournament will be in the long run. Others also seem enthusiastic about the idea. I, for one, love being able to kick back for some casual game play in the tourney. I've always thought that WoW has taken a new look at Azeroth as a different kind of take on medieval times. But the Argent Tournament is a bit less subtle, which I find refreshing. We don't have to dig deep to find plenty of pop-culture references that provide framework for how we visualize medieval times. You know, the romanticized, Hollywood version with valiant good guys who wield legendary weapons to defeat a corrupt and overbearing government and win over the hot (and virgin) woman. Right away for the tournament, you start quests investigating a mysterious black knight who is said to be able to defeat anyone who is unfortunate enough to meet him (I won't ruin it for anyone who hasn't started, but it's a fun quest line!) Then you'll progress into proving your jousting worth and venturing around the world to either gather various items, kill random bad guys or rescue helpless maidens (I don't think it matters whether your toon is male or female!) It all leads to more jousting until reaching Champion status and working toward buying some tournament rewards. If you want to speed through the new addition, or if you want a closer look at what you'll be getting yourself into, definitely take a look at iTZKooPA's guide to the Argent Tournament. As for me, I am thoroughly enjoying taking my time through these quests (on my husband's main, haha, I'm still leveling!). It makes me want to join a RP server and see what kind of fun plot lines are being worked into the already awesome tournament goodness. I definitely call the Argent Tournament a win for WoW. So what does everyone else make of the new Argent Tournament addition? Is it holding your interest, or something that you'll be over within a week or two? I'm hoping that the coliseum area continues getting built up so that it maintains a fresh feel.

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Blizzard Entertainment gets their audience. This is one of the main reasons that their titles – all of them – are so incredibly popular. From clicking on mobs in their RTSs for the funny one-liners, exploding critters, or the Cow Level in Diablo II, the developer has created or honored pop culture for years. Their latest release, Wrath of the Lich King is no different.

All those level 80s out there who grinded their way up via quests have surely come across a few different pop references as rewards, NPCs, events, titles or achievements. You have Predator, Zelda, and even a somewhat subtle nod to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I could go on and on, especially when if we count achievements, as there are a ton of references hidden in those goals.

The thing is, we have known Blizzard to be a witty bunch of nerds for a few years now. What I have enjoyed the most so far is the fascination the quest developers had with making us pick up crap. Most of us probably came across a poo-based quest back in The Burning Crusade, but in the first two territories in Wrath, I came across a pair of them.  My initial experience with the substance was for Iggy “Tailspin” Cogtoggle (another pop reference). Just an FYI.  Wolves howl when they drop the kids off at the pool, not at the moon. Second time was more “fun,” as the goal was to literally scare the shit out of Darkclaw Bats using firecrackers.  Pyrotechnics and cowpies, awesome.

I would like to believe that there is a reference in that quest too, as I learned the definition of Guano from one of the greatest movies of all time. That is probably a stretch, but please, do not call me a looooooooooooooooooo-seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer. I had to.

To top things off, whoever designed these quests is sitting at their desk snickering to themselves, "I am totally getting millions of people to play with animal droppings."

Unlike some of my ProjectLore cohorts, I have not dinged 80 yet. So let me know if I get to play with brown clay later on!

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