From the moment Blizzard announced World of Warcraft's fourth expansion, Mists of Pandaria, the company has faced allegations from long-time WoW fans that it was selling out to the youth demographic, aping children's flicks like Kung-Fu Panda in an effort to draw in youngsters. But barely three hours after I started playing the expansion, I had already seen my character pass out drunk—twice—and be accused of complicity in a genocide. So it seems obvious pretty quickly that these worries were unwarranted, and that Blizzard may have even gone out of its way to allay such fears.

The latest adventure in the online world of Azeroth is not without cutesy appeal, but it's also rife with the high fantasy melodrama and challenging dungeons that have kept World of Warcraft compelling over the years. If Blizzard aimed to court the youth demographic, then it has done a masterful job of incorporating that audience into its overall vision.

Into the Mists

Blizzard is still second to none when it comes to world building, and Pandaria's use of vibrant colors and enormous scale often results in incredible scenes that are a joy to look at. This is a particularly impressive feat considering the World of Warcraft framework that the expansion is built on is now eight years old. I remain astounded that Blizzard has managed to keep this game visually appealing so long after its shelf life should have expired. It seems ridiculous that World of Warcraft's visual appeal could be compared in the same breath to Guild Wars 2, a game that came out in August.

Pandaria features a heavy emphasis on a sort of faux-Chinese cartoon aesthetic that makes numerous references to Southeast Asia. It's a bit jarring at first to enter a fantasy realm and be presented with images that tie directly to a real-world culture, but World of Warcraft is no stranger to cribbing from historical examples. The Worgen from Cataclysm draw heavily on 19th century English themes, the Trolls have a Caribbean vibe (and accent), the Tauren borrow heavily from Native American culture, and the Dwarves are basically short, bearded Scots.

We chronicled our first steps into Pandaria when we previewed the beta last March, and the expansion's introduction seems to have remained unchanged since then. We spent most of our time in the final release traveling around the new zones built for characters between levels 85 and 90. These locales are markedly more complex than what we saw in the beta, both in terms of narrative and gameplay, and this is where we expect most players will spend the vast bulk of their time.

Those who are looking for something grander from modern MMOs than the standard "kill X of Y creature" quest template will be somewhat disappointed by Pandaria. That said, Blizzard has done a good job of adding some excitement to the basic formula. One of the first Alliance quests in Pandaria's first zone, the Jade Forest, sees players flying a helicopter and strafing away from Horde attack boats. Another quest further down the road features a sniper mission. These are hardly revolutionary features for video games at large, but they show Blizzard's continuing commitment to providing unique gameplay to MMO role-playing.

Battle Pets

Apart from the massive new continent of Pandaria, the biggest new feature in Mists is the introduction of the Battle Pets system. This is essentially a Pokemon-style metagame where players battle and train the vanity pets/companions they've been collecting through their time in Azeroth. Any creature labeled as a "critter" can now be captured, battled, and trained to its fullest magical potential. Ultimately, players try to train a crack team of three pets to battle against other players, and there's even an automatic matchmaking system for facilitating these battles effortlessly. These features are available to all WoW players, even without purchasing Pandaria, and there are also new pets all across Azeroth that can be collected and trained.

When I first tried out Battle Pets, I was convinced that it would be a silly, passing amusement at best, but several hours and dozens of pet battles later I felt differently. Taken objectively, the pet battle system is frustratingly simple. If your opponent has a pet that has a higher level and a faster attack speed than yours, then the match is practically decided before it has begun (at least that was the case in the early levels that we were able to play).

But the key to the battle system's appeal is the emotional connection players have with the pets they've been collecting throughout the main WoW experience. These aren't battles between random creatures with increasingly ridiculous names, as in Pokemon. Pets are little companions players may have been carrying around and showing off to friends (and setting against computer-controlled enemies) for years.

Emotional Attachment

So much of Mists of Pandaria is difficult to evaluate because of emotional attachments. Sure, the bulk of Pandaria's main gameplay feels a bit dated, and the quest structure is essentially the same as what was introduced eight years ago (apart from a few notable deviations). But I wonder if it's really constructive to look at the expansion through that kind of lens.

By the time a WoW player has reached Pandaria, he or she will likely have invested hundreds or even thousands of hours into that character. That's easily more time and character investment than any five Final Fantasy games played one after the other. As a result, even the most banal quest in Pandaria is going to be much more engaging because it's adding to an extended personal story.

It's difficult to know what Mists of Pandaria might be like for a new player, but I can say that it has been good fun to explore the land with a dwarf that's now over seven years old. I'm looking forward to diving further into the other zones and tackling the high level dungeons and raids once there are no more new lands to see.