E3 06: Blizzard WOWs all with Draenei

Blizzard has confirmed that the much talked about new Alliance race for Burning Crusade - the upcoming expansion pack for massive online PC game World of Warcraft - is the Draenei.

Descended from the demonic Eredar race, the Draenei make up one-third of the inhabitants of Draenor, where they live in not so mutual harmony with the ogres and the orcs. And as the remnants of a once great society destroyed by the orcs, they have scores to settle not only with the green-skinned fiends but also with the demons of the titular Burning Legion.

Game designer Jeff Kaplan told The New York Times a little about how this new playable version of the Draenei would differ from other races: "They have these cool forehead features, and one of the customization features is switching around these facial features and the tendrils hanging beneath the chin and so on."

Indeed. We are about to toddle off and take a look at the Blizzard stand, where we'll be sure to report back on our first look at the Nether Drakes - a race of controllable flying beasts and Nexxramas, the next big dungeon in the game.

May 11, 2006