World of Warcraft Previews

[GameBanshee News]

Both GameSpy and IGN PC have whipped up some new previews of Blizzard's World of Warcraft, in which they detail the new PvP system, rideable mounts, and more. Here's a snip from GameSpy's:

One of the most difficult aspects for an MMO to judge and balance is Player vs. Player combat. Unlimited PvP combat with no restrictions at all can create a very interesting world filled with fascinating interplayer and inter-guild politics. The recently launched Lineage II takes that tack. Unfortunately, unlimited PvP can also act as a barrier to players who just want to run around fighting monsters, questing, exploring and role-playing without worrying about being ambushed by other players. In order to balance out the conflicting needs of these two kinds of players, Blizzard is rolling out two different servers, each with different types of PvP action.

And an excerpt from IGN's:

Other additions in this World of Warcraft beta update include the option to use mounts, with a unique ride for each race (although the cost is arguably pretty steep). The Undead get to ride a Nightmare (a demonic horse), the gnomes get "Mechanostriders" (basically a robotic ostrich-looking creature), and the Orcs get wolves. Players will have the option to eventually learn the skills needed to ride the another race's mount, and even buy another race's mount, so it seems.