One of the more traditional settings for grand adventures is in fantasy. You've got orcs, elves, magic, swashbuckling pirates and hell, you can probably fit robots/ninjas in as well. So obviously, some of the greatest adventures in gaming must be rooted in this setting.

Today's entry, at number four: World of Warcraft. What better game to represent a grand adventure? It's steeped in heroic tradition. Your character begins with lowly roots as a mewling level 1 babe of weak flesh, capable of little else than striking a kobold firmly on the head. By level 10 your character is leaving her homeland to explore the outside world. By level 20 she's entered her first dungeon and freed some part of the land from an evil boss' terror, snatching her first rare item in the process. By level 30 she's dual weilding weapons and traversing continents. 40 brings new armour for some, and the ability to ride a mount for all. World of Warcraft is at its heart a character origin story; a person of lowly roots rises to the occasion and saves the world.



Here is a turning point for your character; no longer is she simple adventurer out for quick profit. By now, she is a stalwart hero, used to defending her world from the terrors that lurk seemingly everywhere. She's joined a troupe of like-minded folks in her guild and with them she's traversed areas of the world that would have struck awe into the heart of her level 1 toon. To her, these places are everyday business.

Level 40 also brings freedom. The world no longer herds your hero from place A to place B. The world is more open, and almost any corner is open to your perusal. At level 50, your character is being introduced to her antagonist. Before The Burning Crusade, she would be taking her first frightened steps into the molten rocks of Blackrock Depths. Here she would here whispers of the freed titan Ragnaros who threatens all of Azeroth. In modern World of Warcraft your character is beginning to learn of the threat beyond Azeroth: the Burning Crusade, gathering its might in The Outlands helmed by Illidan Stormrage. Regardless, these prospects are no longer the far-off dreams of a country adventurer. They are the looming realities of Blackrock Mountain and the Dark Portal. Your hero has seen others who have gone to face these challenges. She's spoken to high-level paladins and warriors and mages who can tell her about the challenges awaiting her. And she progresses.



60 opens the new world. Now your hero is traversing the Outland, perhaps having dealt with the threats of Azeroth or perhaps not. Either way, she is nearing the apex of ability that will allow her to redeem Outland and protect her home. She doesn't even remember the girl who left Elwynn Forest, who challenged van Cleff and equipped her first rare relic. Now she's got trinkets and baubles to spare. It all culminates at 70: she is ready to save the world.

It's a stunning synopsis of things to happen to one little character. It's not a journey; it's not a quest. It's a thousand journeys and quests and campaigns that make up the adventure of your character's life in World of Warcraft. Maybe you get into your character's role or maybe you just play to progress, but either way you were stunned the first time you entered through the Dark Portal and saw the Outland sky. There is a sense of scale and awe to Azeroth that is unreplicated in any other game before or since. You traverse a world so much bigger than the little tower of Northshire. Forests haunted by elves and centaurs. Deserts and wastelands. Enchanted areas that defy description.



In a world like Azeroth, walking out the door would be a grand adventure. And in World of Warcraft, you do so much more. And you know what? You do fight pirates. AND ninjas.

Honorable Mention: Final Fantasies
When it comes to worlds with scale and variety, the Final Fantasy series has always impressed. Much like WoW, every new territory is filled with a new set of people, a new aesthetic and a new journey. But the world of Warcraft is so many times larger and more dense than even these impressive realms that they just don't compare.