World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (PC)

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The Burning Crusade presents an interesting conundrum for World of Warcraft players: drop your existing high level character for the allure of starting one of two new races, or keep on with your uber-equipped killing machine and brave the shattered realm of Outland.

So far, most beta players have opted for the high level rewards of Outland over starting a new character. But this isn't to the detriment of TBC's two new races, the manga-esque Blood Elves and the big blue aliens the Draenei - both have aspects that have drawn concern from the typically vocal WoW fan base, but overall are shaping up nicely.

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But first, some background for all you lore fans. The Draenei are aliens who have crash landed on Azeroth in their city-sized space ship. They are descended from the Eredar, the same ancient race as Archimonde, leader of the Burning Legion's recently thwarted invasion of Azeroth. The Draenei resisted the demonic forces that corrupted the Eredar and fled their ancient home world, devoting themselves to ending the Legion's apocalyptic crusade.
While fleeing, the Draenei befriended the Naaru, who taught them all about the power of the light, hence them being in the Alliance. They hate the Orcs, who killed 80 percent of them in Outland, where they settled. They also hate the other new race, the Blood Elves, who stole technology from them and sabotaged their dimensional ship, the Exodar.

You might have seen members of the other new race, the Blood Elves, before. Players will be familiar with two BE NPCs in the Blasted Lands who dish out two of the most powerful buffs in the game. They were allies to the Alliance, but are no longer trusted, so they've joined the Horde to hunt down the demons that destroyed their homeland of Quel'Thalas.

It's in these early hours of play that you'll realise how righteous the Draenei are.

You'll either care about the lore or not. Many do. But for most players the important thing is how the new races play and what their starting areas are like to quest in.

As a Draenei, you start at level one waking up among wreckage of the space ship Exodar, which has crashed on Azuremyst Isle - an island just off the Night Elf area Darkshire in North Kalimdor. Much of the land is forested and mountainous, with lush dark greens everywhere. Power crystals are littered throughout the area, scattered from the explosion of the crash. They have corrupted the local fauna and driven previously passive animals mad. Smoke billows from ship wreckage. The odd bolt of electrical energy sparks across the sky. It's a convincing and absorbing effort from Blizzard and unlike any starting area in the entire game.

Questing in the area, up to about level six, is quick and easy, and follows basic WoW conventions - go here, get that, kill these, etc. It mostly involves assisting Draenei priests tending to the wounded and helping alchemists assess the impact the crash had on the environment. It's in these early hours of play that you'll realise how righteous the Draenei are. They don't kill anything unless they have to. Much of your work involves repairing the damage the Exodar has caused. They are the ultimate do-gooders. NPCs often say things like "each day is a blessing" and "be kind to those less fortunate". As one quest-giver says: "Indiscriminate killing is not the Draenei way". We'll let the Draenei off, on account of them being the new kids on the block.

You can tell much of what the Draenei are about in the animations of the characters. They're big blue aliens with tails, horse-like legs and tendrils sprouting from their necks. The males are massive, the second biggest race behind the tauren. They're also very wide. The females are typically feminine, and, curiously, quite attractive. There's been some criticism of the running animation of the Draenei, in that it's slightly camp. It's true that they "trot" with their chests pumped out in the extreme, but that's just trying to reinforce the "goodness" of the species, a bit like Buzz Lightyear with a Greenpeace jacket on. Oh, and they have Russian accents.

It's also immediately obvious that the Draenei are the most technologically advanced race in the game. Apart for the space ship malarkey, there are holographic emitters, the previously mentioned power crystals and the futuristic blue/white metallic sheen of the wreckage is everywhere. This is demonstrated best by the mail box in the starting area of the Draenei - the letter sign is a hologram.

The Draenei have caused some heated debate among die-hard WoW fans. Some believe their sci-fi theme ruins the traditional fantasy world of orcs and elves that has served enthusiasts so well. Others think the lore behind them is just plain stupid. Most will at least concede a crashed space ship is perhaps a curious home city. As far as I can see, they haven't got any ray guns, so until they do, they just kind of look like a curious cross between a tauren and a murlok.

You'll soon find your way to Azure Watch, where some Draenei have set up camp. This is where you'll pick up one of the best early Draenei quests. I don't want to spoil it for you, but what I will say is that it involves learning a new language, deciphering mysterious totems and gaining one of the coolest buffs I've ever seen. You'll also get the opportunity to try out the Draenei mount at level 10, an elekk, which is more or less an elephant. You'll have a fun and interesting first few hours playing a Draenei.

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