Vivendi Universal World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade review

You've probably heard of World of Warcraft.

It's the most popular online role-playing game with millions of addicts worldwide. You choose to be a dwarf, elf, orc and so on, and venture out into an enormous world where you battle other players or computer-controlled opponents for treasure and power. The graphic design is cartoon-like, but the game is serious, massive and stuffed with things to do as well as fight, including fishing, weaving and dancing.

The Burning Crusade is the first expansion pack for World of Warcraft. It adds two new races: the good but demonic-looking Draenei and the beautiful but evil Blood Elves. Each race has a new island to explore before venturing into the wider world. It allows players to get more powerful by raising the game's maximum level, plus there's a new realm called Outland packed with fresh enemies. This broken and ruined region requires you to use new flying steeds, which include Gryphons and Wyverns, to get to its maximum-level dungeons.

World of Warcraft can be an expensive habit. On top of £20 for the original game and £30 for the expansion pack, you must pay a £9-per-month subscription. However, you have to buy the expansion pack only if you want to use the new races or play at the highest levels. If you're new, the original game should suffice.

The in-game community, especially in the UK, is not as friendly as you'd hope until you get to higher levels, making this a solo game for much of the time. Many quests are repetitive, and the weeks it takes to get up to speed can be tedious. There's little instant gratification.

If you've not played World of Warcraft and want to, this is an excellent time to get involved as the expansion has given the game a new lease of life. Just be aware that you're undertaking a huge commitment.

Author: Evan Knowles