World of Warcraft Gen Con Report

PlanetWarcraft has written up a Gen Con report of World of Warcraft, detailing several aspects of the game that they had the pleasure of trying out during the event. Here's a bit about the battle system:
Looking good so far, but what about the battle system. Most MMOs, and Blizzard's last RPG, (Diablo:2,) are ridiculed for the detachment of their battle system. However, gone are the days of the (hack n' slash), (click-and-watch,) or (potion fights.) Battle in (World of Warcraft) is meant to be immersive and engaging. It does so by making each monster battle feel like a strategic challenge. Character health and mana recharge naturally over a time, and this time is quite short for new characters. (Sitting and eating food increases this rate even greater.) As such, rarely do you enter battle at low levels at less than full health, and boy do you need it. Most early solo play will take your character to the brink of death with each encounter ensuring you use your few skills and that you be active and alert.