Last Tuesday, the latest expansion to World of Warcraft, Mists of Pandaria, was released!  Those of you that keep track of Relative Dimensions, you know that Philip and I have planned to spend the past weekend diving head first into the new content.  Yet, during the short time that it's been out, I've learned a thing or two that I'd like to share with y'all.  You'll just have to click on to find out what they are.

1) Blizzard has stepped up their storytelling.

More than any other expansion, I have really been drawn into the storyline behind Pandaria.  I have seen many people downplay this expansion as just "Kung Fu Pandas", but Blizzard has gone above and beyond to deliver an awesome story.  The first quests that send you towards Pandaria consist of cinematics that grabbed me immediately and wouldn't let me know.  The quests are designed to lead you around the various landscapes, revealing more and more of the storyline(s) that Blizzard has scattered throughout the different zones.  I can't wait to see what happens next in the storyline, and I'm only level 87!

2) The Battle Pets system is familiar, yet still awesome.

There's no doubt about it, this new Battle Pets system is Pokemon.  From the over the shoulder viewpoint that happens when you enter into a battle to the cheesy battle music in the background.  Yet, like many things that Blizzard does, they have taken this system and tweaked it into a great product.  I love the aspects that they have added, such as constant reminders of what is weak/strong against what in both the pet descriptions and on the individual actions themselves.  I can quickly glance down and know what attacks are going to be strong/weak/normal against my opponent.  With the random PvP matching system, its really easy to jump into a match quickly when you have a moment to spare.

Which leads me to:

3) I suck at Battle Pets

Either that, or the logic that Blizzard uses to pair you up with people for PvP pet battles does not match people as close to your level as it claims.  I think the only random Pet Battle I've won is the very first one I participated in, when all my pets were level 3 or below.  Ever since then, I've lost every single match, typically because the people I fight have 3 pets that are all the same level.  Conveniently, that always happens to be the level of my highest pet.  I'm hoping that I need more experience with the system and that eventually I'll get some sort of strategy together.

Finally:

4) So much to do, so little time

WoW is far from dead.  This expansion brought a wealth of content to the game (something that many people claim Cataclysm failed to do).  Between the Battle Pets, farming, questing, new dungeons, and new aspects like Scenarios and the monk class, the problem you face when you log in is which path to venture down.  Where as in Cataclysm, Philip and I were quickly leveling through the content and got to 85 in no time, we have spent most of this weekend playing Pandaria and have only just hit 87.  I believe that I will be enjoying this expansion for a good long while.

Are you playing the game?  Why or why not?  If so, what have been your thoughts?