The Curse of Naxxramas features a full story mode that starts with the Arachnid Quarter and runs through five weeks and five different wings to deliver a fun story for the highly popular card game. The expansion features 14 different bosses in total, and nine different class specific challenges means players will unlock class specific cards within each wing as well. The powerful Lich Kel'Thuzad is awaiting players at the end of the campaign, but the powerful undead warrior constantly throws insults and funny quotes at the player with each new level. The storyline is a lot of fun, and many players will enjoy the new content over the actual raid missions the expansion is based on.
Gameplay for each wing begins in the Normal ranked boss battles of each quarter the wing is based around. There are 3-4 bosses for each wing, and players are awarded cards for defeating each boss. The bosses have powerful hero abilities not seen from the game's nine primary classes and include powers such as dealing 2 damage to an opponent's minion or returning opponent's minions to their hand. Defeating each boss can be a case of trial and error, as players test out different decks against different bosses to see what works best for the unique situations. The game gets even more difficult in the Heroic difficulty boss battles, though the only content unlockable through Heroic difficulty is a new card back awarded for defeating every boss on Heroic.
After completing the boss battles for each wing, players can also access class specific challenges. There are one or two of these challenges per wing and nine total. These missions allows players to battle against some of the same bosses using preconstructed decks. Players will unlock a pair of cards made specifically for the class used in the challenge. These class specific cards rank from some of the worst cards available to some of the most overpowered, but fans of Hearthstone will want to add them all to their collection anyhow. Unfortunately, most players will never revisit any of the challenges or boss levels once they've been completed and all cards have been collected, so replay value is really limited with Curse of Naxxramas.
After players complete each of the wings available in Curse of Naxxramas, 30 cards plus an alternative card back will have been unlocked, and the entire adventure can cost as low as $19.99 for all five wings. This is a good value proposition for dedicated players of Hearthstone, as the cards unlockable in the expansion includes different rarities and exclusive cards that can't be unlocked anywhere else. To say that purchasing Curse of Naxxramas is a necessity is barely an understatement, but given the low replay value of the wings, it's also hardly the best piece of DLC we've seen in 2014. Luckily, fans can purchase every wing available in Curse of Naxxramas with in-game currency at 700 per wing, and gold can be earned through winning Play Mode matches and completing daily quests, so fans can actually get the new content with no out of pocket expense.
Curse of Naxxramas doesn't add much additional content to Hearthstone beyond some new cards and missions, though the Innkeeper does greet players with a few new quotes, and hardcore players in the Hearthstone community will notice the many changes to the game's "meta." Ultimately, Curse of Naxxramas is worth the purchase simply to unlock the game's new cards. The storyline of the expansion is fun but short lived, and once players have completed all of the new challenges, they likely won't ever revisit these missions again. Players looking for a quick leg up in constructed play will want to purchase Curse of Naxxramas to start experimenting with all new deck possibilities immediately. Join in Curse of Naxxramas in Hearthstone today!
Hearthstone is now available free to play for PC, Mac and iPad and is coming soon to iPhone and Android. Hearthstone is rated T by the ESRB for Alcohol Reference, Blood, Fantasy Violence & Mild Suggestive Themes. For more information on the game, check out the official Hearthstone website.
Game Features:
- Online Multiplayer 1-2
- Unlock Each Wing with In-Game Gold or Real Money
- Exclusive Cards
- Class Specific Challenges Multiple Unlocks per Wing
Game Information:
Developer & Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Platforms: PC (reviewed), Mac & iPad
Release Date: July 22, 2014
