So, a great big update to Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Among the changes is the game's first multi-racial starting area. When you roll up a new character, you can either work your way through your race's unique starting area, or you can start in the desegregated Isle of Dawn. Also, make what you will of this:

The revamped [character models] are now capable of looking much more heroic and contain a lot more personality.

I admit it: I'm curious. Vanguard was widely regarded as a trainwreck, but I felt it got a bad rap. To its credit, it was big and ambitious and some of it even worked well. It had a nifty NPC diplomacy system based on collectible card duels. The crafting was an addictive set of involved minigames. Even the combat had a fiddly tactical feel that was a bit more than waiting for your favorite fireball to cool down.

I played a lot of Vanguard when it launched and, for what it's worth, I feel it did a much better job than Age of Conan in terms of the basic game design and the amount of content. Of course, things are different now. Vanguard isn't just competing with World of Warcraft, where it has the advantage of a serious tone, more challenging gameplay, and an advanced game engine. Now it's competing with Lord of the Rings Online, Warhammer Online, and, yes, Age of Conan. So while I am curious, I'm not quite curious enough to take time out of Warhammer Online. I'll make a note to myself to check it out when things are slow in January.