Tomorrow marks, to the day, the sixth anniversary of World of Warcraft, and Blizzard is going to celebrate Azeroth’s birthday by completely destroying it. The moment we’ve all been waiting for — the Shattering, the moment at which Deathwing is figuratively reborn into the world by making a literal hole in it — is nigh. I recommend looping the following for effect as we briefly discuss which changes you can expect in 4.0.3a (sorry internet parodies, the original is still the best):

The Shattering — Patch 4.0.3a

Even with the normally well-informed folks on the PTR, I noticed this week that many were baffled about what they could and could not access. I suppose that’s what happens when you’re juggling live, test, and beta versions of content at the same time, causing anyone who isn’t following the proceedings that closely to become easily confused.

To clarify, here are the new features you can expect when 4.0.3a goes live:

• Major Zone Changes — All changes to existing zones will be available to everybody. This includes the revamped Troll and Gnome starting areas, but not any other brand new zones/subzones.
• New Class/Race Combinations — Feel free to start up that new alt, as long as it isn’t a Worgen or a Goblin! Holy Cows (Tauren Paladins), Dwarven Shamans, and Troll Druids will no doubt be amongst the most popular choices. Expect starting areas to be crowded all over again.
• Universal Cataclysm Content — This is media essential to the game whether or not you plan on purchasing the expansion (though, why wouldn’t you?). It encompasses things like the new log-in screen and cinematic, as well as updated music for some existing zones.
• City Changes — Despite the bleedingly obvious ones (a complete, but badass revision of Orgrimmar, for instance), there are a few smaller tweaks you should be aware of. Portal Masters in Shattrath City and Dalaran have been removed and replaced with Class Trainers.  There are also City Quartermasters who you can purchase new Tabards from if/when you have the appropriate level of Reputation.
• Dungeon Changes — At BlizzCon, it was revealed that some old-world dungeons would be significantly streamlined, so you should be able to experience the new versions of any instances you could access previously.
• Class Balance — Most of the class balance changes were added in 4.0.3, but there are still a few more to be added, which you’ll find in the patch notes after the break. In addition, Hunters will have access to new tamable pets, and the following classes will have their Talent Points reset: Druid, Paladin, Priest, and Shaman.
• Leveling Experience – It was recently announced that getting through Northrend would be a lot easier. Treat yourself to a 20% reduction in required XP from Levels 71-80.
• Bug Fixes — Self-explanatory.

Cataclysm — The Purchased Expansion

Of course, Blizzard ain’t just giving away everything for free. The following content will require a retail purchase of the expansion, which arrives in two weeks (Dec. 7), so don’t expect any of it with tomorrow’s patch:

• New Races — Cataclysm gives you access to the new Goblin and Worgen races, as well as areas specific to them. That means — if you’re a Horde player, for instance — that the Lost Isles are off limits in 4.0.3a, but you can level up in Azshara, which has been greatly transformed by the presence of Goblins.
• New Zones/Dungeons/Raids — Speaking of zones, here are the ones you will not able to get to without the expansion (so don’t bother people in General/Trade by asking about it): Kezan, Gilneas, Lost Isles, Mount Hyjal, Vashj’ir, Uldum, Maelstrom/Deepholm, Twilight Highlands. Likewise, the dungeons and raids associated with them will be locked out.
• New Profession: Archaeology — Can’t touch it unless you buy the expansion. You won’t see any artifacts in the wild, either, since being able to do so requires that you’ve learned the profession.
• Level Cap: 85 — You’ll be stuck at 80 until you get Cataclysm.
• Illustrious Grand Master — Likewise, since you can’t level up any further, you won’t have access to professions past 450 until the expansion.
• Guild Leveling/Achievements — While The Shattering will get people excited and bring lapsed guildies back to the game, don’t expect things to get truly exciting until after Dec. 7th, when Guild Leveling and Achievements are available.

So, hopefully things are a bit easier to understand now. Don’t forget to read up on the patch notes after the jump!

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Ooohhhhohhhh, we're haaaalfwaaay theeereee....

Don’t go scrambling for your keyboards or feverishly hunting for the game’s icon on your desktop just yet! You’ll still have plenty of time to complete the Elemental Invasion world events, and the Cataclysm, itself, has yet to cometh. Remember that Patch 4.0.3 does not activate all of the changes to the old world (that would be 4.0.3a), but it will contain the data needed to do so when the switch is flipped in a few more weeks.

As this is a preparatory patch, the notes for 4.0.3 are a bit of a light load, featuring mostly bug fixes or additional tweaks to game operations made since 4.0.1 hit:

General

• Much of the data being downloaded in patch 4.0.3 will pave the way for the shattering of Azeroth shortly before the release of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm on December 7.
• The leader of Wintergrasp raids can no longer kick players from the raid (this change will also apply to Tol Barad in Cataclysm).
• When in a Looking For Dungeon group, using an instance portal to that instance will now take players to the Looking For Dungeon entrance point instead of the normal destination of that portal. This will make it easier to return to the instance after dying in an LFD group.
• Honorable Kills are no longer awarded for killing players below level 5.

User Interface

• Added pets to the new raid unit frames when displayed in party.
• The default UI Scale has been altered so it will be set at a 1:1 pixel/texel ratio. This will result in a smaller UI appearance for higher resolution monitors.
• Players may now adjust the local “Lag Tolerance” time for better precision of spell timing. This is an advanced-users-only feature found in the Interface Options (Combat) panel.

Bug Fixes

• Macros now handle spell variant transitions better. For example, Trap Launcher causes a different version of Frost Trap to be cast. Previously the macro system was not handling this transition properly.
• Queuing in Looking For Dungeon for a different wing of the instance a player is already in now works properly. For example, a party can now queue for Scarlet Monastery – Library after completing Scarlet Monastery – Graveyard.
• Killing High Interrogator Gerstahn before killing Emperor Dagran Thaurissan in a Blackrock Depths – Upper City random Looking For Dungeon run will now provide the proper reward. This also applies to Archmage Arugal and the Crown Chemical Company bosses in Shadowfang Keep during the Love is in the Air holiday event.
• Repeatedly inspecting other players should now function correctly.
• Area heal-over-time effects should no longer cause players to stand up.
• Male blood elves have received a crash course in dancing and now know to stop dancing when they run.
• Drake mounts have gotten bored with gliding and will flap their wings again when flying forward.
• Druid Flight Form now properly appears in the Spellbook before Expert Riding is learned.
• Sunfire’s damage-over-time effect now deals damage at the same rate as Moonfire’s damage- over-time effect.
• GM Ticket messages should now displace buff icons instead of obscuring them.

I just had to share this, Lore Hounds! You can file Chris Bringhurst’s epic tribute to Mega Man under damn awesome. What originally started out as a project featuring 100 characters from the video gaming panoply has — due to popular demand — now doubled in size. From the Blue Bomber’s 8-bit brethren to the latest current-gen classics, gamers from all walks of life will find something familiar in the picture below, but keep an eye out for a handful of Lore Hound favorites that make an appearance, as well!

Most characters adapt to Mega Man’s style surprisingly well, though a few come off as just a little disturbing in the process (Pac-Man, /shudder). Either way, the selection is ripe for desktop material or cutting up into unique forum avatars. Credit goes to PikiGeek, where you can also find an interview with the image’s creator. For the full, original file (too large to post on the main page), click here.

If there was one game that convinced me retro remakes could work, it was Bionic Commando: Rearmed. It looked slick and played great, with some fantastic bonus content and no need to transcend its traditional, side-scrolling content. Riding high off the success of Rearmed, Capcom was pretty well convinced that their impending full three-dimensional continuation of the series would fare just as well, if not better.

It flopped. Hard. So hard that it pretty much took down developer GRIN with it. But if GRIN is a young star that just shined too brightly, then Team 17 is a red dwarf that refuses to go out. They’ve been around since at least 1990 and have continued to, more or less, produce the same two series for that entire time. To be fair, it wasn’t until last year that they chose to resurrect top-down shooter Alien Breed, but therein lies the reason for the parable I mentioned above. When you’re remaking a game, it’s success depends on the perfect balance between preserving what still works and adding just enough of the new to make it feel fresh.

Has Team 17 made the right decisions in bringing the series up to date? Reactions to their first attempt, Alien Breed: Evolution/Impact were decidedly lukewarm. We played through the sequel, Alien Breed 2: Assault, to see if it fared any better. I implore to check out our video review below, but first a few notes:

1. I believe this is the first time we’ve actually used our new video intro. Appropriately enough for this review, it’s a bit retro, too. Let us know what you think!
2. I apologize ahead of time for my voice over. Unfortunately, that’s what you get to deal with when I’m all stuffed up.
3. If the footage of the in-game intro is running a bit long for you, well, feel free to skip ahead a bit. ;)