While we didn't take any trips on ships or zeppelins, we were treated to an even more stylish ride. Scattered throughout the world are stations for griffon transport. You can use these creatures, with the head, forelegs and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion, as transports from station to station. You won't have any control over the griffon's path and you can only travel to stations you've already visited but it makes a convenient way of getting around. Too bad there's no gambling.

And it makes a fantastic way to see the world. Though you may regret not being able to soar wherever you like, the views you enjoy while atop the griffons more than makes up for this limitation. Buying passage from the Dwarven home of Iron Forge, we soared high above the Searing Gorge. The smoky haze parted for us as the red stones of the Gorge gave way to the forests of Elwynn. Up ahead, we could see Northshire Abbey rising in the distance. The griffon came skimming in low over the treetops before finally setting down in an open terrace in Stormwind. As I descended the stairs to visit the city, the griffon settled in to a large straw nest beside a few of his fellow fliers.

When you make these sudden transitions across a range of locations in the game, you can begin to appreciate the consistency of the game's visual style. It's not quite cartoon-like but the exaggeration of shapes and the vibrancy of some of the colors give the whole game animation and energy. There are no less impressive effects achieved with more subtlety. The cascading waterfalls in the wetlands have a pastel peacefulness about them. The colors of the cliffs are soft as well but convey indisputable stoniness.