As if there weren't enough distractions in World of Warcraft to drain away precious moments with family members, Blizzard has just served up a three-course meal of delights. Burning Crusade, the first expansion to World of Warcraft, almost feels like an entirely new game.

Diving straight into the first course, Blizzard offers a double feature: two new races that bring changes to the entire realm of Azeroth. Elves, a race nearly as old as the planet itself, have been vastly changed by important events. The Elves previously inhabited Silvermoon and Azeroth for an uncountable number of years, though just over a dozen years ago; the Scourge almost wiped them out, led by the Prince-turned-treasonous-King Arthas. Blood Elves rose from the dust of Silvermoon as the proverbial phoenixes, returning with a vengeance. Now overwhelmed by evil and with a lust for revenge, the Blood Elves join the Horde's army. With the ability to steal the powers of the Naaru and become Paladins, they pack a punch that the Alliance won't soon forget.

To counter this increase in power to the Horde, the Alliance now has help from above. The Draenei, aliens from Draenor (the same planet that brought the Orcs to Azeroth), who have the ability to become Shamans, the one class formerly excluded from the ranks of the Alliance. Their interdimensional ship has been sabotaged and stranded them in Azeroth, just as their pursuers began closing in. Now, just as the Draenei begin to settle on Azeroth (in the remains of their ship), the gates to the very planet they fled start opening.

The Dark Portal is already a detrimental part in the Warcraft series, even having a previous expansion named after it. Now the gate has returned, allowing the beings of Azeroth to traverse what remains of Draenor, now titled "The Outland" because of its destructed appearance. The shattered planet contains more than just fire and death, however. The Outland holds environments of all types, from the grassy plains of Nagrand to the fungal forest of Zangarmarsh, and of course some barren and fiery crags strewn throughout. This new land comes complete with many new cities, characters, storylines, dungeons and quests. Enough so that The Outland almost feels like a separate game, taking level 57 players to a whole new world, all their own. A second course game offering that is worthy of note.

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