World of Warcraft: Legion launches Aug. 30

"The great enemy of Azeroth is back..."

If you want the full gravitas of the following announcement, I'll present the first sentence of the actual press release: "The great enemy of Azeroth is back, and soon the kingdoms of the Horde and the Alliance will be consumed in a storm of fel fire."

Does that put you in the proper mood? If it does, then you'll be delighted to hear that on Aug. 30, World of Warcraft: Legion, the sixth expansion for Blizzard's MMO role-playing game will be launched.

As Blizzard describes it, "Defenders of the Alliance and the Horde can steel themselves for the return of the demonic armies of the Burning Legion by pre-purchasing World of Warcraft: Legion digitally here. Players who pre-purchase will unlock an instant level-100 character boost, as well as early access to the Demon Hunter—Legion's dexterous and deadly new hero class—prior to the expansion's release."

The press release continues, "In this expansion chronicling the events following Warlords of Draenor, all hellfire breaks loose when the warlock Gul'dan, betrayer of the orcs and twisted servant of the Burning Legion, unleashes a demonic invasion force upon Azeroth unlike any the Horde and the Alliance have ever faced. To save their world from annihilation, heroes must unlock the mysteries of the mythic Broken Isles, master powerful Artifact weapons, and strike a forbidden pact with the Demon Hunters of the Illidari—vengeful disciples of the dreaded Illidan Stormrage."

The game, of course, includes all the usual pre-purchase paraphenalia as well as a Collector's Edition.