After the Wrath Gate event, for instance, the landscape in front of the entrance is encircled by fire and screaming citizens run every which way and it stays that way afterward. In the Death Knight opening scenario, you'll travel back and forth between the land and a floating necropolis, and between each journey to and fro there'll be no load times yet the landscape below will shift from idyllic human town to a roaring battlefield over which frost wyrms soar.

Yet you've still got to drop in the caveat that it's a good story…for an MMO. It's something that those ensconced in Azeroth will absolutely adore, but won't win over those who put the game to the side years ago or those who never took any interest in the genre in the first place. These types of transitions, though sometimes subtle, really work to enhance the notion that you're affecting the game world in a meaningful way. Coupled with the in-game cut scenes and you've got a World of Warcraft with far more narrative direction that has been previously seen.