Neat, I haven't heard of this game before. It's certainly interesting that it's free to play, though I suspect that more people than you think will be willing to buy the bonus items. If people spend hours and hours (or even weeks) grinding for a certain piece of gear, why wouldn't they be willing to spend a few bucks to get it right away? This seems like a better option for those unwilling to commit to a monthly fee or with little time or patience for grinding. Only downside would be that people with lots of cash might have an edge over poorer players with better skills. WoW dabbled a bit with this (I think) with some kind of collectible cards; you could get a code for a special item. Haven't heard much of it, though.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective), WoW does have all the features you seem excited about (except for the carefully detailed facial options). There are mounts (many, many kinds) and some that fly, and now there are certain areas where you can fight on horseback (or dragonback, as the case may be). I've been glued to the expansion (Lich King) pretty much since I got it, and am having problems getting real work done!! Just hit level 80 with my gnome mage last night. I decided to rejoin the alliance so I could "raid" with my friend. Did the first one last night--a 25-man run to kill a bunch of dragons. It's almost like playing an intramural sport when you have all those people so well organized!