Game Reviews

 Mists of Pandaria feels like the end of an era – not of World of Warcraft as a game, not by a long stretch, but of World of Warcraft as a cultural phenomenon. In most ways, give or take your tolerance for kung-fu pandas, it’s an expansion that just about any MMO would kill for. It’s not however the much hoped for shot in the arm that’s likely to restore the game’s flagging fortunes, or a sweeping update that makes it possible to forget how old both its design and basic game systems actually are.

Blizzard’s spent a decade refining and developing those ideas though, and even now, the king of fantasy MMOs has the power to surprise and impress. Can that be enough to keep players happy, bring some back to the fold, and even pick up a few newcomers with its practiced charm? Let’s find out.

What you get for your money includes five new levels,

though that’s largely meaningless at this point in the game, which take your character to Level 90; the ancient China themed continent of Pandaria made up of seven main areas and assorted dungeons; a new Pet Battling system; and the brand new Monk class. I won’t be talking much about that because my main is a Mage and I’ve only been able to put the Monk through its paces in the tutorial areas. They offer some interesting skills though, like the dynamic jump kick and the Touch Of Death, which one-hit kills non-bosses who have less HP than you.

Every race save Worgen and Goblins can now take up martial arts if they like. Both Horde and Alliance have also welcomed the Pandaren to their ranks, and you can create one regardless of whether you buy Mists of Pandaria. They just can’t be a monk, which is a little weird considering that they’re still effectively being trained as one during the tutorial. Assuming you have the expansion, you can opt for all the classes save for Warlock, Druid, Paladin and Death Knight. Shame. That would have been adorable. Unlike the other races, you pick your side at the end of the tutorial and go pledge your loyalty. You can’t however talk to Pandaren in the other faction because look over there a bunny!

We’ve already looked at quite a bit of this in our Review In Progress, so check there for a few of the points that follow discussed in more detail. This review here was written after reaching Level 90, taking trips into dungeons and endgame content, and playing with the various features in more depth.

Let’s deal with the elephant… or to be more exact, the panda in the room. While Pandaren have been part of Warcraft lore for a long time and were actually considered as the new Alliance race for The Burning Crusade, they’ve typically been treated as a joke race. That’s allowed for lots of hilarious puns about Blizzard ‘panda’-ing to the mass market, and generally dumbing things down.

Me, I don’t have a problem with the Pandaren in concept. Remembering that this hyper-serious world already includes alien space goats, giant breasted rock monsters, Jamaican trolls, Victorian werewolves and goblins who chirp “Keep it real!”, they’re reasonable enough additions. Had they just appeared as part of, say, “Nightmares Of The Emerald Dream”, I doubt there’d be any real controversy.

That said, they don’t deserve a whole dedicated expansion. Not even close.