Some of the first insights from our test drive of Blizzard’s World of Warcraft Burning Crusade closed beta test.

I know that a lot of you have been waiting to hear just what is going on with the Beta Testing of Blizzard’s expansion pack to World of Warcraft, The Burning Crusade.

Well I will let you know some of what we have been doing and just what is going on. First let me say that Blizzard was very tough on just who would receive beta test keys. It seems that they included mostly journalists on this exclusive list.

Now i will refrain from reviewing this title because as you are well aware, this is a BETA test and not the final version of Burning Crusade. I will however share with you some of my observations and of this beta version. Please bear that in mind as you look at this information. It is NOT the final version of World of Warcraft Burning Crusade.

I saw some very nicely animated login screens with Guild Wars new expansion release, Night Falls, where the waterfall looked so real I thought it might be a video. Amazing stuff coming out gang!

I started out by creating a couple of characters that I would take up to some higher levels. I have not copied over high-level characters though Josh and Soulrift are going to be doing so. I wanted instead to start a couple of new characters from scratch using the new races, the Draenei and the Blood Elves. The Draenei are a race from outer space that crash landed on Azeroth and were befriended by the Alliance. The Blood Elves are a Horde race that is trying to regain their power and magic that was almost lost when they were killed off.

I can tell you that from what I have seen so far, I am VERY impressed. I like the direction that Blizzard has gone in the graphics and the environments. They seem more real than the present WoW offering, but how old is that technology? Blizzard has really gone in the right direction with much of the new races though there are a few things that I can see that need rethinking like the fighting animation of the Blood Elf…who holds their sword in an awkward defensive posture like that? Well they are constantly changing and updating the content.

As for the Burning Crusade beta, I am really pleased but i am also hopeful that some areas and glitches will be fixed before the final release. For those of you who are WoW fans, this will really re-invigorate your love of WoW. For those of you who are not currently playing WoW, this will get you into it for the first time. And I don’t know about you but i will HAVE to have the deluxe edition of the Burning Crusade expansion because i HAVE to have that new pet.

How about you? Do you now play WoW? Have you seen or played the BC closed beta? What are your thoughts? I’d LOVE to hear what YOU think…thanks!