And there’s a “zombie wall” skill.

There are no more dreams left.

Diablo III [Awesome-saturated official site]

Blizzard’s European site has a new Insider interview with World of Warcraft lead producer J. Allen Brack and art director Chris Robinson about the lessons learned developing the Sunwell Plateau and the challenges in building the icy continent of Northrend for the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King expansion.

Robinson explains that Wrath of the Lich King will have a much more grounded, traditional look than Burning Crusade, favoring Nordic and gothic designs to Outland’s bizarre alien landscapes and equipment. The art team is busy creating as many new items that reflect this art style as possible. “From the get-go, players will earn trophies of war that are very ‘Northrendy’ — for example, say, a two-handed axe that’s made of a dragon jaw, covered with spikes, leather, and other traditional materials,” says Robinson. “We want players to see the new gear and think, ‘Yeah, that guy’s been to Northrend.’”

Robinson also detailed their visual design philosophy for the continent itself, explaining, “The relatively green and ‘temperate’ starting areas will be fairly densely populated, but as the story progresses we expect players to get more spread out. By slowly adding more and more snow, we can enhance that growing sense of isolation and dread. It’s very much what Arthas must have experienced when he wandered the wastes of Northrend after destroying Mal’Ganis.”

According to Brack, the giant turtles of Warcraft II will be making a return in the expansion, acting as transports between the two starting zones on either end of the crescent-shaped continent of Northrend. Brack describes this solution to the problem of placing the two starting zones so far apart as “simple, effective, grounded in Warcraft lore, but … also one of those light moments that are so important to create the iconic Warcraft feel.”

Brack also reiterated Arthas’ role as arch-nemesis in the upcoming expansion. Blizzard wants players of all playstyles – from the casual PvPer to the hardcore raider – to interact with the titular Lich King from the onset. In Burning Crusade, only the top game’s top raiders ever saw villains Illidan and Kael’thas.

In closing, yes Blizzard, you can have all of my money.

Fury of the Sunwell and Beyond [WoW Europe via WoW Insider]

WoW Insider has confirmed through anonymous sources that Wrath of the Lich King, the next World of Warcraft expansion, has entered closed alpha. Currently a very select and prestigious few players are being chosen to participate in the testing under strict NDA.

With the expansion now in alpha, it appears Blizzard really is shooting for a Fall 2008 release date, putting it up against EA Mythic’s Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, which is currently billed as the only upcoming MMO that stands a chance at loosening Blizzard’s deathgrip on the market.

Burning Crusade, WoW’s last expansion, missed the crucial holiday release window, arriving in January of 2007, but still dominated the PC sales charts for that year. Blizzard’s “when it’s done” mantra often causes the developer to miss ideal release dates, but if the company’s unending flow of self-congratulatory press releases are anything to go by, their unmatched production values do more for sales than a well-timed release ever could. As such, a 2009 release date is still very much in the running.

Expect plenty of impressions, screenshots, and spoilers when a unreasonably high percentage of World of Warcraft subscribors get access to Wrath of the Lich King’s beta later this year. As always, I’ll be excluded (left out of the cold, if you will! HA!), regardless of how many FigurePrints I order.

Breaking: Wrath of the Lich King is in alpha [WoW Insider]

Jane Barnett of Middlesex University in London claims people are more relaxed after playing World of Warcraft. She conducted a study of just under 300 WoW players between the age of 12 and 83 and found “there were actually higher levels of relaxation before and after playing the game as opposed to experiencing anger but this did very much depend on personality type.”

Barnett claims, “This will help us to develop an emotion and gaming questionnaire to help distinguish the type of gamer who is likely to transfer their online aggression into everyday life.”

She will showcase her findings at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference being held in Dublin.

So, there you have it: A laid back, mostly non-violent game doesn’t frustrate or anger those who play it. A shocking revelation, to be certain. Perhaps next time she’ll study the affects of Manhunt on convicted killers.

‘Violent’ games can lower anger says one UK university researcher [Strategy Informer]

World of Warcraft Coming to Consoles With Molten Core™

At long last, World of Warcraft is finally coming to consoles, though not exactly in the form many had hoped. Molten Core allows players to relive their first raiding experiences alone or with friends, and has a decidedly retro feel. Be sure to check out the concept art/screenshot comparisons. Once again, Blizzard has successfully replicated the distinct visual style of their talented artists in-game.

New Hero Class for Wrath of the Lich King: Bard

Capitalizing on the success of Guitar Hero (and the recent Activision/Vivendi merger), Blizzard’s newest hero class allows players to wield a guitar-based keyboard peripheral and destroy their enemies with the power of rock. Wrath of the Lich King may just have the first bard class in the history of MMOs that players actually want to play. Blizzard has plenty of screenshots and concept art over at their official site as well as a few sample talents and an example of a level 70 epic bard axe.

New StarCraft II Unit: Tauren Marine

The obscure planet of Azeroth was found to harbor a dizzying selection of humans, mutants, and aliens in a state of perpetual superstition and conflict. The most physically imposing of these warrior races were the so-called ‘tauren,’ an anthropomorphic bovine genotype with super-human stamina, overpowered racial combat abilities, and bizarrely well-developed horticultural skills.

Orc marines were already included in Warcraft 3, so tauren marines for StarCraft II seems like a natural progression. Furthermore, Blizzard’s continual cross-pollination of its series suggests that the inevitable Blizzardcraft isn’t too far away.

Introducing the Diablo Loot Piñata

Diablo players looking to replicate the series’ rewarding loot porn in the real world are in luck with Blizzard’s latest product. The Diablo Loot Piñata comes stuffed with the magical swords, shields, and shrunken heads Diablo players love. Experience the rush of taking on a colorful paper version of the Lord of Terror in the most realistic hardcore mode yet. Defeat the youngest of the Prime Evils to collect his fat loots!