World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade - Is it Worth Coming Back For?

Blizzard Entertainment, one of the jewels in the crown of Vivendi Games, has set new records in subscriptions this year with World of Warcraft and its expansion, the Burning Crusade. In the first 30 days, the expansion sold 3.4 million copies world wide, and overall accounts for World of Warcraft swelled to 8.5 million! By any measure, both World of Warcraft and the Burning Crusade are massive hits. Burning Crusade has brought a lot of players back to World of Warcraft - but some are still waiting to see whether it is worth the cost to pick up the box and renew their subscriptions. If you are one of those, this review is for you - I'm here to tell you what all the hoopla is about!

There are plenty of great new features to attract you back to the world of Azeroth. If you are one of the many that played through all of the content with your epic-equipped level 60, you'll find plenty of new challenges waiting for you in Outland, as well as new gear that will make your once-envied inventory look like so much vendor trash. You'll now be able to venture through the Dark Portal to the world once known as Draenor - the one time home to the Draenei and the birthplace of the Orcs of the Horde. Just on the other side of the Dark Portal you will immediately find yourself wrapped up in the events of the renewed conflict with Sargeras and his Burning Legion. Demons run rampant across the landscape at the behest of the local Pit Lord, who marches on the Portal itself. You'll find tons of new quests that will help you climb toward the new level ceiling of 70, as well as equip you with new, better gear. New kinds of quests are offered as well, including a few 'bombing run' quests that will give you your first taste of what it will be like when you manage to reach 70 and purchase your very own flying mount! In addition, you'll find that all of your trade skills have been expanded too, allowing you to advance the primary skills up to 375 - and their are ton of excellent reasons to do just that, as the new enchantments, patterns, plans, and recipes are truly impressive!