World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (PC)

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Exodar itself is a huge, sprawling city which mirrors much of the wreckage of the ship you will have already seen. It has a futuristic beauty that is unlike any of the other cities in the game - from cold metallic walls to blue and pink glowing hues. From here playing a Draenei really takes off. You'll quest in the nearby Bloodmyst Isle up to about level 20 and then on to the rest of Azeroth, and the familiar battlegrounds most players have trudged through with their existing characters.

In terms of racial abilities, the Draenei have an effective heal over time spell called the Gift of the Naaru, gem cutting, which increases the new profession jewelcrafting by five, Inspiring Presence, which increases you and your party's chance to hit by one percent and a passive plus 10 to shadow resistance.

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TBC mixes things up a bit by allowing Draenei to be shamans, a previously Horde-only class. The Draenei base stats favour strength, intellect and spirit, which make them natural paladins or shamans. They're basically good healers, but you don't have to play a healer - Draenei can be warriors, hunters and mages as well.

Now onto the Blood Elves, who start in Eversong Forest, the northern section of Quel'Thalas, which was thought obliterated by Arthas during Warcraft III. If you're a fan of Japanese anime, you'll love the Blood Elves. They're an elegant, beautiful race, with burning blonde hair and eyes glowing with magical energy. It looks like Blizzard has introduced a "pretty" race to the Horde, to counter the frankly ugly undead, orc and tauren races.

Expect Silvermoon to be overrun with ninja-looking rogues within days of TBC's release.

The BE capital Silvermoon tells you all you need to know about the race. It's a scarred city, the remnants of a once proud elven metropolis. In Warcraft III, Arthas and the Scourge decimated the city and, so we thought, killed all of the BEs. When you get to Silvermoon, you'll immediately see how Blizzard has translated this into the design. The city is split in half, one side restored, the other abandoned and in ruins.

The city mirrors the BEs internal struggle - mastering their addiction to magic. It also feels like a place where magic seeps from every sinew, from the floating flowerpots to the glowing green magic crystals. But the overall impression is of a beautiful and grand city with a dark underbelly of magic mystery waiting to burst out.

The BE animations have drawn some criticism from players of the beta. The females have a quite amazing posture which can't be good on the spine. The males have recently been beefed up after players complained they were too feminine. In the cool stakes though, BEs beat the Dreanai without so much as working up sweat. Expect Silvermoon to be overrun with ninja-looking rogues within days of TBC's release.

BEs can be hunters, priests, warlocks, rogues, mages and paladins, who, like the Dranei shaman, have been added to the Horde where it was previously the exclusive preserve of the Human and the Dwarf. Their racial traits look like favouring player versus player combat. Mana Tap drains mana from your target, Arcane Torrent is an area effect silence, Arcane Affinity gives a 15 point bonus to Enchanting and all resistances are increased by 5. With high agility, intellect and spirit, Blood Elves look like good mages, but can also make decent rogues.

So that's that then. Time to start the Draenei vs. BE debate. But dig a little deeper and it may not matter. The thing about TBC's new races is that they're really only new up to about level 20, and then you grow too powerful for the starting areas and migrate to the all too familiar areas of Azeroth where you've levelled with the existing races. Ultimately, neither the Draenei nor the BEs change anything about playing Warcraft. And the two cities, Exodar and Silvermoon, will no doubt become deserted as players migrate to Ironforge or Orgrimmar. Another thing that might have helped is the inclusion of five-man dungeons in the Draenei and BE starting areas. It's perhaps something that would further compel players who have existing high level characters to try the new races.

As a fan of Warcraft who's played the beta for nearly a month now, I've had lots of fun. But I've realised that there's nothing here that will convince people who haven't played the game to join in. I suppose that's not what TBC's trying to do - an expansion is all about extending a universe, not rewriting it. If you're a fan, which I imagine you are since you're reading this, everything's shaping up great. But what can't be denied is the feeling of familiarity after the initial burst of excitement.

But perhaps Blizzard missed a trick here. Could they have added a class? New races are all well and good, but it's classes that change the dynamic of how you play the game - playing a priest is completely different to playing a warrior. Long term, playing a BE isn't that much different to playing a Draenei, except that they're on opposing sides of the war.

Maybe something to think about for a later expansion then, something Blizzard has promised will arrive on a yearly basis following the release of TBC. Until then, the beta is hinting that most players who raid high level dungeons on a regular basis will dabble in the mystical magic of a BE or the pure goodness of the Draenei for a while, but won't stick with them till level 70. But if you're not in a raiding guild, or simply enjoy playing WoW for a few hours a week, trying out a Draenei or a BE looks like a much more interesting proposition. Either way, the world's seven million WoW fans won't be disappointed.

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