The expansion comes on several CDs (or one DVD if you have a collector’s edition) and takes a couple of hours to install and patch. The new areas comprise: Outland, a devastated dimension which can be accessed through the ominous Dark Portal; Azuremyst and Bloodmyst islands which are easily reached from Kalimdor’s main port, Auberdine; and Silvermoon City, at the northern most tip of the eastern continent of Azeroth. Prior to launch, routine patches began introducing these locations to Azeroth’s geography in maps but they can only be accessed once The Burning Crusade has been installed.

While most MMORPGs skimp on the story in favour of hacking and slashing monsters and other players, World of Warcraft has a comprehensive backstory in place for both the new races and their lands. Long ago, the Blood Elves – an offshoot of the high elves - became addicted to their magic but the source of their power, the Sunwell, was destroyed by the Undead Scourge. Their city is now split in two, one half an autumnal paradise and the other blackened ruins. The Draenei, under the guidance of the crystalline Naaru, are pacifist exiles, driven from their destroyed home world by the Destroyer of Worlds, who have crash landed on Azuremyst.

Upon starting The Burning Crusade, you have a choice to either continue using an existing character or create one from the two new races. While there are no new classes, the Draenei can become Shamans, previously a Horde-only class, while the Blood Elves can choose to be paladins. Both races are well designed with their own traits and differences that really make them stand out against the other already-played races; the pacifist Draenei all speak with notable Russian accents while Blood Elf females do a little twirl when they jump. Added to that, NPC emissaries from both races have been sprinkled across the existing world and pop up in most cities.

The one issue for The Burning Crusade is that while much is provided for both new and high-level players, there’s little for those in the 30-60 bracket as all the new areas are basically starter zones and Outland, the devastated Orc homeland, is hard for even level 70s. Granted there are a few new instances such as the Caverns of Time, which allows you to wander in the past and witness key moments of Azeroth’s history. The new jewelcrafting ability is also interesting but as players can still only have two professions on the go it means sacrificing another ability over which much time, effort and gold has been spent.

The big thing for many players was the raised level cap, allowing those folks at level 60 to once again gain some XP and ding for another ten levels. As well as a new PvP arena, Eye of the Storm, the other incentive for high-level players is the blasted ruins of Outland. Now accessible through the awe-inspiring Dark Portal, or for lower levels like my level 35 night elf druid, via the portalling abilities of your friendly level 70 mage, Outland is the largest of the three new areas. Shattrath City stands as the last bastion for the Horde and Alliance in what is a very unforgiving environment. As well as new instances, sections of Outland can only be reached by a new flying mount which requires a large amount for cash for both the normal and epic mounts but, on the upside, it’s a lot more fun being able to fly around the skies of Outland. Lucky old druids are the exception, they learn their ability to transform into a flight form a few levels before everyone else and are due an epic flight form in the next patch.

There are a lot more new quests and the ability to nip over to Azuremyst Isles, a gorgeous Alliance environment, is hard to resist. It’s a shame the Exodar area, the Drenaei’s crash-landed spaceship, is so complicated; the gorgeous graphics are marred by the fact it’s reminiscent of a rabbit warren.

Ultimately, World of Warcraft’s popularity will mean that, despite slight niggles, fans will play and love The Burning Crusade. It remains just as addictive and it’s so easy to lose days wandering through new areas, fighting new types of giant spiders and being slaughtered by higher-ranking Horde/Alliance. The fact the game continues to expand, with a new patch on the way which will include more Outland endgame content - including the chance to fight the Big Bad, Illidan himself - only makes it that much more exciting and World of Warcraft’s continual evolution will ensure its continuing popularity for quite some time to come.