Hello, my name is John. I'm 50 years old, and I am a WoW -aholic.


HELLO, JOHN!


I have three level 70 Alliance toons, a level 60 Horde Hunter, a level 29 Alliance Shaman twink, a level 29 Horde Hunter twink and a level 33 Horde Warlock (soon to be a level 39 twink). I have five other Alliance toons between the levels of 23 and 31. And ? oh my god, I HAVE TRANSFERRED A TOTAL OF 14 TOONS BETWEEN FOUR SERVERS.


It's okay, John, we understand.

Addicts need their WoW however they can get it.

My 13-year-old son plays. We play games together, you know. He kicks my butt at the 360, but I can hold my own on the Wii. But we've really bonded over World of Warcraft. Most fathers and sons bond over sports. Yeah, we like baseball, but ? but ? no, I can't ?


It's OK, John, go on.


HE HAS MORE TOONS THAN I DO!


Oh, my.

I have been to two BlizzCons already. I have the dancing Murloc and the Murloc suit. Tomorrow morning at 6 a.m., I am flying from New York to get to this year's BlizzCon at the Anaheim Convention Center for the start of the show. I'll get to hobnob with guildmates and I will get more Warcraft swag. And I'll be able to play more Wrath of the Lich King!


We'll be right there to support you, John.


Yes, World of Warcraft can be addicting. The facts above are a dramatization, but they could very well be true. And damn it if Blizzard doesn't keep feeding the addicts!


Uh, sorry.


The third BlizzCon is coming up on Friday and Saturday and the Crispy crew will be there to cover the latest news on the new expansion, Wrath of the Lich King (which I will play a lot), as well as provide updates on Diablo III and StarCraft 2. OK, I'm the only Crispy representative who will be there, but there will be plenty of gaming details to cover -- from panel discussions to tournaments, and of course, play time with the games, especially Wrath of the Lich King.


Oh, I mentioned that already?


I've had a beta account, but I haven't delved too deeply into it. Oh, yes, I'm dying to dig in, but part of me wants to play a finished product, which will be available on Nov. 13, eight days before the game's four-year anniversary.


When the first expansion, The Burning Crusade, came almost two years ago, I waited outside a Fry's Electronics in Fountain Valley, CA ? in freezing cold rain ? at midnight ? to be one of the first 20 people to get a Collector's Edition copy. I could have waited to get a boxed press copy, but it was fun mixing it up and chatting with fellow addicts in a line that numbered in the hundreds and wrapped around the store. After I got my copy, I rushed home and played until 8 in the morning. I hit 63 before getting some sleep, and was the second person in my guild to hit 70, three days after the game was released. Then I created another toon, and got him to 70. New professions, new races and areas to explore -- I had to see it all.

A dramatization. Or is it?

And it's all been downhill from there. Damn you, Blizzard.


So I want the final Wrath of the Lich King to level my first toon to 80. I want to try a Death Knight. I want to explore the new dungeons, try the new PvP battlegrounds. I want to face Arthas and kick his ass for killing his father. I want to make him my Bitch King (thank you, Scott Kurtz). I want to explore the new areas in a final form, and hit 80 within three days ? again. And then get my Death Knight to 80. And then try the other faction to 80.


SOMEBODY HELP ME!


Yes, at BlizzCon I'll be able to try Diablo III. I played the first two through several times, along with the expansions, so I am looking forward to trying this. I'm also looking forward to StarCraft II, although it never held the RTS fascination for me that Total Annihilation did. So I'll play that, too, and see if it has gotten any better. I'll attend the panels, watch some of the tournaments and maybe even catch some of it on DirecTV.


But I'll be there for Wrath of the Lich King. I need my fix.


So, BlizzCon, here I come. Get ready. I'll be cursing my addiction every minute I am there.


We hear you, John. We really do understand. All 10 million of us.