well none of that stuff is particularly interesting, sci-fi or fantasy, and the environment soon loses all meaning as it just becomes PLACE TO QUEST/GRIND and then you're off to the next zone soooo i don't really think it's such a big deal! i have no idea why you guys get all pumped up about this stuff when you're just going to look at it for a bit and then start viewing it within the context of the game itself and not the lore.
Well, for me it's all about the atmosphere of a zone. If a zone is really nice and I enjoy the look of it (Nagrand) then even the REALLY shitty quests don't bother me a lot. However, there are some zones (Shadowmoon Valley) that I've hated since I stepped foot in them and every single quest feels like a horrible test to see how long I can endure the zone's shittiness.
That's why Outland just didn't click with me.
Hellfire Peninsula? It was bland and boring. Each level felt like an eternity (except for the first two, I entered at 58 so those levels flew by).
Zangarmarsh? I thought it was kind of neat. It sort of reminded me of Morrowind, which was nice. Overall it was a cool zone and I did enjoy it, but mainly because of the Morrowind factor.
Terokkar Forest? It was a pretty zone, but geographically it was so badly designed and was awkward to nagivate so I was pretty unimpressed with the zone as a whole.
Nagrand? Simply put, the expansion's shiny crystal pearl. This zone was as great as most of the Azeroth zones, so I really liked it. Plus it didn't feel very alien, which was a plus.
Blade's Edge? I only liked the forest areas because they felt like Terokkar done right, and they had normal mobs.. Lynxes, moths, wolves.. No alien elephants or weird ass Consortium guys running amok.
Netherstorm? An okay zone, which is remarkable considering I usually detest barren zones. However, I think the eco-domes really redeemed this zone. They added lots of atmosphere to an otherwise depressing zone.
Shadowmoon Valley? Simply put, I hate it. A lot. I cannot even stand being present in this zone. I hate it more than ANY OTHER ZONE. Why? I just hate the atmosphere. I can't click with it.
So yeah..... Blizzard could have done much better than this considering how on Azeroth, I can probably count the zones I did not like on one hand. Let's try.
Badlands
Bloodmyst Isle
Darkshore
Feralas
Silverpine Forest
Stonetalon Mountains
Swamp of Sorrows
Okay, I lied. Two hands.
Anyway, yeah.. Atmosphere is really important. Even the really shitty, tedious quests don't seem as bad in zones that are truly fun to explore and level in. This is why Northrend looks really fun, which I never really felt for Outland before TBC was released. I definitely have high hopes for WotLK.
Gaming World Forums
WoW Megathread