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With the imminent threat of the Cataclysm behind us, and Deathwing put to rest for good, the mortal races of Azeroth turn to another ever-lingering foe… each other. In doing so, they discovered a long lost race of spiritual creatures, the Pandaren, and disturbed something lurking just under the surface.

Listen now:

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria
The 4th expansion pack to the award-winning, best-selling MMORPG juggernaut by Blizzard Entertainment, Mists of Pandaria. Released September 25, 2012.

Mists of Pandaria expands upon the the closed story of Cataclysm, finding aggressions between the Horde and Alliance at an all-time high. When a naval skirmish between the factions goes awry, boats from both sides find themselves crashed on the shores of a long lost, mist-shrouded island. Neither the Horde nor the Alliance know what sort of allies, or enemies, they may find among it’s native peoples, nor what their presence on this undisturbed island will awaken.

Minimum System Requirements:

Windows                                                                                 Mac

Operating System

Windows® XP/Vista/7 with latest service pack

Mac OS® X 10.7.x (latest version)

Processor

Intel® Pentium® D or AMD Athlon™ 64 X2

Intel Core™ 2 Duo

Video

NVIDIA® GeForce® 6800 or

ATI™ Radeon™ X1600 Pro (256 MB)

NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT or

ATI Radeon HD 2600

Memory

2 GB RAM (1 GB Windows XP)

Storage

25 GB available hard drive space

Internet

Broadband internet connection

Media

DVD-ROM drive required to install from disc

Input

Keyboard and mouse required. Other input devices are not supported.

Resolution

1024 x 768 minimum display resolution

Recommended System Requirements

Operating System

Windows® XP/Vista/7 with latest service pack

Mac OS® X 10.7.x (latest version)

Processor

Intel® Pentium® D or AMD Athlon™ 64 X2

Intel Core™ 2 Duo

Video

NVIDIA® GeForce® 6800 or

ATI™ Radeon™ X1600 Pro (256 MB)

NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT or

ATI Radeon HD 2600

Memory

2 GB RAM (1 GB Windows XP)

Storage

25 GB available hard drive space

Internet

Broadband internet connection

Media

DVD-ROM drive required to install from disc

Input

Keyboard and mouse required. Other input devices are not supported.

Resolution

1024 x 768 minimum display resolution

Review:
Mists of Pandaria builds upon the well-established franchise of World of Warcraft, going into it’s 8th year. For a game that is 8 years old, WoW has never looked better. They’ve updated some of the graphics engines (and having done such, raised their minimum system requirements somewhat) and unleashed an entire continent of absolutely breathtaking scenery. Make no mistake about it… Pandaria is *gorgeous*. The scenery is amazing, the monsters are fierce and NEW (big bonus points for not rehashing old models as they’re prone to doing), and the quests have a flow to them that isn’t found anywhere else in Azeroth. In spite of the systems bar being raised higher, Blizzard has still managed to keep the requirements loose enough that pretty much anybody who WANTS to play still can. When I hit level 90, the first thing I did was fly around Pandaria and just take in all the scenery.

WoW may not have as much of the graphical punch of newer MMOs (Guild Wars 2, TERA, The Secret World, etc), but it makes up for that in it’s sheer accessibility. The character models are in the process of receiving structural updates to prevent some of the more notable clipping issues that have been known to occur in the game.Blizzard has also gone all-out for this launch, from start to end-game, including six new 5-man dungeons, 3 new raids (spanning 17 new bosses), 2 new world raid bosses, 2 new PvP battlegrounds, 8 new scenarios (a smaller instanced area, requiring only 3 players, with no needed group composition), and 3 redesigned classic dungeons. Mists of Pandaria also introduces the bi-factional Pandaren race, and the new Monk class. Being a raider for over 2 years straight, I am beyond excited about seeing so many bosses opened up at launch. The scenarios, being a brand new addition to the game, allow for a nice change of pace between all the same dungeons, with the same pugs over and over until you’re sick of them.

The redesigned dungeons are also a great touch, because as the game has grown older, Scarlet Monastery and Scholomance have grown a bit stale compared to some of the newer instances that have been released. Coming off of very successful retouches of other classic dungeons Deadmines and Shadowfang Keep, Blizzard keeps the pace with Scarlet Monastery (which combines the old Graveyard and Monastery), Scarlet Halls (which combines the old Armory and Library), and Scholomance.

Not a max-level player, or not much for end-game content? No problem.

Feel free to check out the new “big thing” in World of Warcraft: Pet Battles. Ever played Pokemon? This is basically Pokemon, done Blizzard Style. Use your companion pets to battle critters found around the world, battle against “Battle Pet Trainers” found in zones across Azeroth, or even take your team and battle other players. Can we say “Gotta Catch ‘em All”?  I personally haven’t found the time to get into pet battles yet (there’s just so much to do!) but by all accounts, Pet Battles are huge. I have seen large crowds gathered around the pet trainers, and lots of people out in the world rampaging around for critters to capture. As a side-effect of this new feature, the auction houses have positively *exploded* with companion pets and critters, some of the rare ones fetching incredibly high prices.

The Downside

I have very little to complain about in Pandaria. I only have two real complaints about everything I have managed to get into thus far. First: In the new Pandaria zones (level 85-90), there is no flying until you reach level cap. This is kind of a backhanded “downside” because it also gives you a chance to really get a feel for the scope of the landscape, and you’re really immersed in the scale of it. Even still, after having the power of flight at my fingertips pretty much everywhere for so long, losing it is pretty jarring at first.

My other main issue comes with the Pandaren starting area. This is a *very* minor issue, all things considered, but it’s still there. Since the Pandaren are able to be either Horde or Alliance (you get to make a choice after you finish all the quests in the starting zone), there is no mailbox to funnel gold, heirlooms, and bags to. Blizzard’s rationale here is that it would be an easy way to cheese money cross-faction… and they’re right. There’s no way of knowing whether this toon is Horde or Alliance until you finish the zone and make your choice, so people would use it for transferring money or commodities between factions. Like I said, it’s a minor issue, but it’s still there.

Little Things

1. Cataclysm did a lot of good things as far as quality of life issues, but it never really had people hooked the way Burning Crusade or Wrath of the Lich King did… Mists of Pandaria harkens back to the tradition of earlier expansions with immense scenery, fantastic storytelling, and expands by giving a little of something for everyone.

2. Monks are just plain fun to play. Seriously, even as an alt, you should try a monk. You’ll find yourself giggling every time you roll in some direction.

3. The Pandaren models are stellar. Blizzard has already mentioned, on several occasions, their intent to bring the “older” race models more up-to-date, and if they’re brought in line with Pandaren, then I can hardly wait.

4. I know I’ve already said this, but the scenery in Pandaria is simply breathtaking. It’s very easy to forget that this game is approaching a decade old.

Rating:

4 – Critical Hit – If you’re already a WoW fan, then you can’t miss the Mists.
Blizzard has always done launch day very well, and MoP is no exception. It’s easy to tell that, even this early in it’s lifespan, Pandaria is a clear home run.

Our Ratings:
1 out of 4 – Miss: Disappointing, just like rolling a 1 to hit
2 out of 4 – Glancing Blow: A good attempt that doesn’t quite connect
3 out of 4 – Hit: Solid, but falls short of greatness
4 out of 4 – Critical Hit: So awesome it makes us want to /dance
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