World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria review

Hardcore raiders have already hit level 90, and World of Warcraft virgins aren't likely to start now. But for those who've played Blizzard Entertainment's genre-defining MMO at some point, you might be wondering if the latest expansion, Mists of Pandaria, is worth your time and subscription fee. The short answer is: Yes. Though there's no telling how long it'll keep its addictive grip on you this time around, MOP is the freshest WOW has felt in years.

After the widespread zones of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, MOP keeps things centralized with the appearance of Pandaria, a massive island consisting of seven varied zones. This is the mystical homeland of the Pandaren, a race of portly panda people with origins tracing back to the Warcraft III. The long-anticipated race is now playable for both factions (a first for the MMO), alongside the latest class, the Monk. If you haven't guessed it by now, this expansion is heavily themed around Pan-Asian motifs; that means plenty of mythological creatures and master martial artists roam the Pandarian countryside.

Personality-wise, the Pandaren's philosophical musings and generally mellow attitude make them one of the most amiable races to choose from. Creating a Pandaren plops you into their short-but-sweet Wandering Isle starting zone, on the terraformed shell of a gargantuan turtle. Questing hasn't changed much--killing and collecting is usually the name of the game--but Blizzard has mastered the art of perfectly pacing the quest hubs, so that it's on to the next area as soon as you're starting to feel fatigue for your surroundings. After the stellar starting zones of the Goblins and Worgen in Cataclysm, it's a bit disappointing to blow through the low-level Pandaren content so quickly, though it's definitely fun while it lasts.

What could've been an interesting opportunity for WOW's first truly neutral race is sadly skipped. After completing the Wandering Isle quests, you're jarringly forced to enroll your Pandaren with either the Alliance or Horde, before being unceremoniously dumped into their general starting zones. Being forced to choose sides is a shame, given the Pandaren's diplomatic demeanor; it'll also be strange to see Pandaren killing their own kind when they start to populate the PVP zones.

The Pandaren race is the perfect pairing to the near-universal Monk class, which becomes exponentially more fun to play as you approach the new level cap of 90. Like the Paladin or Druid, the Monk can take on the tank, DPS, or healer roles--but their gameplay has the kind of frenzied activity as a Rogue or Warrior. Playing a Monk means you'll have to balance your quickly replenishing Energy with orbs of Chi, which enable powerful fist or foot strikes. Early on, Monks' limited arsenal can be a drag--but they eventually offer one of the most enjoyable tanking experiences, soaking up damage and tossing huge kegs of ale to initiate fights.

Those that are returning to a previously-max-level character will find a staggering suite of changes. First off, talent trees no longer exist. Instead, you'll find a consolidated list of 18 abilities which you'll have to pick and choose from, no matter your specialization. It's a change made to promote player ingenuity, placing less emphasis on "cookie-cutter" builds--but time will tell if this accomplishes the opposite effect, by making every character feel homogenous to the rest of their class. One thing's for certain: The new talent system makes leveling a lot less exciting for fresh alts, as you're only granted new choices every 15 levels.

That's not the only change, though--months' worth of tweaks and balance changes have polished WOW to a mirror finish, with nearly every parameter adjusted to make players' lives as pleasant as possible. Each class has also undergone varying degrees of transformation to make your role of choice feel as dynamic as possible, and the changes largely succeed. Combat is pretty much the same as you remember it--but the new quests and dungeons offer just enough innovative encounters to keep things interesting. The adjustments may feel a bit shocking for vets who've been away for a long while, but it'll only take a handful of fights to get back into the swing of things.

What could've easily been a throwaway change--the introduction of the Pet Battle system--ends up being the best distraction/obsession in the game, giving glorious purpose to the formerly vanity-only pets that players have been collecting all along. Capturing and battling trainers and friends alike is addictively amusing, and watching your team do battle to classic Warcraft II music will give you the same giddy uncertainty of a Pokémon encounter.

Pandaria offers the best high-level questing area since World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, in terms of variety and sheer awe at your surroundings. Tranquil fields, snowy peaks, and ornate temples are all incredibly pleasing to the eye--an impressive feat, given the engine's old age. Of the new zones, the Dread Wastes is our favorite, offering gloomy, foreboding wastelands that sharply contrast with the jade forests and peaceful breweries of earlier areas.

Your main enemy isn't a singular villain like Arthas or Deathwing; instead, you'll fight back the corrupting influence of the Sha, which are the manifestation of emotions like hatred and doubt. Blizzard employs the phasing technology from previous expansions to amazing effect here, constantly morphing the landscape to reflect your recent successes. It goes a long way towards making each fetch quest or extermination errand feel like an actual accomplishment--a change for the greater good that'll last long after you've left.

Solo play is also the best it's ever been, with more boss-like encounters, dramatic in-engine cutscenes, and quests rewards tailored specifically to your class. Though few in number, the new dungeons are loot-dropping thrill rides, with very few trash mobs in between the splashy boss fights. After playing recent competitors like Star Wars: The Old Republic or Guild Wars 2, it feels a bit odd to be playing a silent MMO protagonist--but Blizzard does the best with what it's got, conjuring characters that make up for your champion's void of personality. Novel races like the Hozen and Grummles feel like ham-handed attempts at humor, but interacting with the Pandaren and Klaxxi NPCs (giant insects with an air of superiority) is a treat.

So yes: If you and some buddies feel like dipping back into WOW, MOP offers some pretty enticing incentives to do so. Even if you only resubscribe for a month, you'll feel like you've gotten your money's worth thanks to the 40-hour (taking time to smell the lore roses) journey to conquering Pandaria. It might be showing signs of age, but that doesn't mean WOW can't learn a few new entertaining tricks.

Nascar: The Game - Inside Line preview - The road to the winner’s circle

To the average gamer, trying to dive into a Nascar game that enables players to get into the intricacies of not only racing, but managing sponsorships, tuning, and developing a fanbase, might be a little intimidating. Luckily, in our hands-on time with the career mode, Nascar: The Game - Inside Line introduces you to the world of professional race car driving in a way that may turn you into a real foam finger-wearing racing fan. 

Career mode starts you off driving a low class car, then pits you against true-to-life, world class drivers like Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Danica Patrick, and forces you to work your way up the ranks. The great thing about the career mode--especially if you know nothing about Nascar--is Inside Line walks you through the entire process of a race exceptionally well. By the time you finish your first race, you'll know everything from how to take a turn and the effects of drafting on your engine to upgrading your car and tuning it to the track.

You won't just be jumping into a forty-car race from the get-go. You'll choose from a number of events, which include practice runs, tuning, qualifiers, more practice, duels, and then races. Practice lets you get familiar with the track. You'll have the entire track to yourself, to which you can figure out the precise moment to release the gas or accelerate through turns, experiment with passing lanes, and make tuning adjustments in the garage.

Once you feel like you and your car are set up to race, you'll enter the qualifiers. Essentially, qualifiers are time trials that determine your starting position during the big race, so doing well can have a huge impact on how you place at the end. Getting a fast time will put you in a defensive position, closer to the front of the pack, and dropping the ball will have you playing catch up when the race starts.

Sitting in the driver's seat feels incredibly immersive. The third person view makes the game feel more like a standard arcade-style racer, but if you want full Nascar feel, the cockpit view is the way to go. As you're racing, your pit crew will be talking in your ear, giving you tips on the position of rival drivers, encouraging you when you're doing well, and pushing you on when you're not. It's gives a nice touch of realism to the races, and the tips might actually help you shave a few milliseconds off your lap times. 

Before you enter your first race, you'll be used to taking perfect turns on empty tracks, but once the real race comes around the corner, having forty cars surrounding you is an entirely different experience. You'll have to draft rivals, take outside lanes, and maybe even nudge a few opponents out of the way to stay ahead. But doing all of these actions is extremely dangerous. Nearly any miscalculated move can result in a multi-car pile-up and even put you out of the race. However, if you do manage to pull off a win, you'll earn significant rewards. 

Winning a race opens up many more options in your race shop. The better you place, the more credits you will receive, to which you can purchase parts upgrades, like faster engines, a chassis that improves your handling, and other performance enhancing items. If you do exceptionally well, you might also get sponsorship offers that require you to perform specific challenges, like pass five cars in the next race, or draft an opponent for 700 yards--earning you even more credits in the long run. 

Nascar: The Game - Inside Line has all of the mechanics, options, and intricacies you'd want in a hardcore racing sim, but fortunately, the campaign does well to ease new players into the game and learn the basic skills they'll need for higher-level, online competition. Be sure to look out for more on Nascar: The Game - Inside Line as we come closer to its November 6 release on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

The Testament of Sherlock Holmes review

In a world where Sherlock Holmes is more commonly known from modern-day crime dramas and Robert Downey Jr. movies than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories, European developer Frogwares wants to try the noble thing and bring the famed detective back closer to his literary roots. As such, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes--Frogwares' seventh entry in its Sherlock Holmes series and the first one for consoles since 2008's Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack The Ripper--eschews gunplay and 'splosions for some good ol' fashioned clue collecting and mystery solving. And while this adventure game suffers from some typical genre woes in the puzzle and presentation departments, its engaging plot and interesting spin on the Holmes character make it a solid entry in the longstanding character's legacy.

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 Watch The Testament of Sherlock Holmes launch trailer

On the surface, The Testament's story is usual Holmesian fare. A prominent figure is murdered, so Sherlock and his partner Watson are tasked with getting to the bottom of the shenanigans. But things are not as they first seem, and a relatively simple case soon becomes a complex conspiracy that not only puts England at risk, but also causes friction between the detective and his best bud. Along the way, you'll gather clues, make deductions, and solve a variety of puzzles as both Holmes and Watson (and even their helpful hound Toby at one point) until the case is cracked for good.

It may all sound familiar, but the enthusiasm and maturity with which Frogwares tackles the Holmes lore is undoubtedly the best part of The Testament. Sherlock is arrogant, condescending, and eccentric, but he remains ingenious and altogether likable throughout. Watson, meanwhile, plays the ordinary, everyman foil readers have come to know, love, and identify with. Both of these icons are fully-formed and well-acted, making your time with them a satisfying one.

One of game's biggest (non-spoiler) twists, for instance, finds Holmes himself becoming a primary suspect in the case. The resulting sections, which find Holmes blackmailing suspects, threatening rowdy kids, aiding escaped prisoners, and even sedating people with opium, among other things, will more than successfully keep interests piqued. When Watson's faith in his partner begins to waver as a result, it gets even better. These are 125 year-old characters that have appeared in dozens of pieces of entertainment, remember, so the fact that Frogwares has managed to make them feel relatively fresh again is a commendable accomplishment.

But alas, when you actually get to play as the detective duo, some all-too-familiar issues begin to appear out from underneath the magnifying glass. The many puzzles you'll solve from scene to scene are varied, sure, and the returning "deduction board" feature--where you take the info you've gathered for a particular happening and piece together your various conclusions--is fun, but completing them is often more frustrating than necessary.

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 Watch this teaser trailer from The Testament of Sherlock Holmes

While it is nice to have your intellect challenged from time to time, the game omits a useful hint system in favor of a "Skip Puzzle" option that lets you bypass the mental gymnastics altogether. This lack of assistance results in more than a few instances where you're left staring at your screen, frantically tapping the game's sort-of-but-not-entirely-helpful "sixth sense" button (which allows Sherlock and company to see what objects in the environment can be interacted with), and wondering what you're supposed to be doing before declaring yourself too dumb to understand what's going on. You may be playing as a world-renowned detective, but chances are good that you won't always feel like one.

You won't always move like one either. The Testament offers both first-person and third-person play, but good luck if you decide to go with the latter. Movements are clunky, stiff, and awkward, oftentimes making the simple act of looking at object a minor challenge. First-person control may sacrifice a better view of your surroundings, but controls considerably smoother by comparison. The game's decidedly average looks, lacking production values, and handful of annoying bugs--there was one where Holmes would frequently walk into a door for 30 seconds before opening it--don't help either.

It's definitely not perfect, but The Testament of Sherlock Holmes is still worth a look if you're ever in the market for a new point-and-click-style adventure. Its portrayal of the world's greatest fictional detective does the license justice, and its narrative intrigues up until its satisfying conclusion, even if getting there can be a pain sometimes. In other words, it's all elementary, my dear friends.

This game was reviewed on Xbox 360.