While the graphics have not been vastly improved in this latest expansion, many of the new zones offer a unique artistic style which draws heavily from Eastern influences. Obviously, many new dragons have been introduced into the game and many of these have a far more Eastern look to them, definitely a departure from the dragons we have seen previously. In keeping with this Eastern theme, the elements play a large role in much of the visual imagery; many of the new zones have a very specific theme like jungle, desert, ice, etc. Even the hub zone of the expansion contains hints of all of these flavors.
They have also given one of the original zones of the game, Lavastorm, a facelift, which is now a brand spanking new area and even has a new dungeon called Lavaspinner’s Lair. A new element to the user interface has also been added – a very impressive world map. Similar to the one found in EverQuest II, this offers a world view where you can zoom into more specific locales, see how zones connect... the whole nine yards.
As far as audio goes, there’s not much to say. I noticed no significant level of new sound effects, and the music tracks were the normal “just okay.”
