World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

BlizzardPC

The highly anticipated expansion to PC’s most popular game arrives just in time for the holidays. Too bad for Azeroth the massive dragon known as Deathwing didn’t feel the same joyous spirit, waking from slumber to lay waste to the continent. Azeroth looks completely different now, but with the change in landscape comes the change in how quests and storylines are run. For all those people who first picked up the game over six years ago, Cataclysm looks a whole lot different.

Much like the Wrath of King expansion before it, however, this expansion is catered more to players with high level characters. You can now get to level 85, and the game provides a lot of specific content for those users who enjoy maxing out their character, such as new zones, dungeons, and battlegrounds. Though all this new content is impressive, there isn’t nearly the same amount of added features as there was for wrath of the Lich King.

Five new zones are introduced, and though you don’t have to complete all of them to get to level 85 (you may get there before you even start the fourth), they are all quite a lot of fun. As you’d expect, all relate in some way to the Deathwing narrative, but there is a lot more to it than that, like heading to Mount Hyjal to defend the World Tree against fire elementals.

Of course the most immediate new feature you will come across is the addition of two new races, the Worgen (werewolf) and Goblin, and boy are they quite different. Worgens start off in a land lifted straight from Victorian Age England, or considering there’s a werewolf epidemic, Castlevania. The Goblin race on the other hand begin on the Isle of Kezan, which by WoW standards, is a technological wonder. Only a couple quests in and you get a car to start driving around on highways that spread out all over the main city. Both environments suit the race well, but between the two, the Goblin city seems a little more imaginative.

Goblins hold a slight advantage over the Worgens in terms of having more useful racial abilities. Goblins get bonuses at vendors, get more health from potions, increased alchemy, a ranged damage attack, and the unique ability to summon a banker whenever. Meanwhile the Worgens have increased skinning ability, increased critical chance, a sprint ability with a cooldown, and most importantly, nature and shadow resistances. For a werewolf character, you’d think the Blizzard team would come up with something a little more exciting to fit this exotic race

Though the Worgens’ racial abilities may not be as good as it could be, its starting story is among the best in the game. A werewolf epidemic sweeps across the city of Gilneas (located outside the Greymane Wall), and your character catches it. You start off human, but you soon become a wolfman and much of the earlier stages is about trying how to cope with the disease. From there you try to rebuild a crumbling city and people. The Goblin storyline isn’t nearly as epic, taking a more easy-going, funny approach based around money and corruption.   

Aside form the new races, starter missions all around have gotten a lot better and more creative as quests are not all about killing and recovering remains anymore. Furthermore, now as you gain class abilities, there are tooltips to help newbies with not only how to use a new power, but strategy as well.

World of Warcraft has never been better than what it is right now. Though this expansion caters more to high-level characters, beginners are treated very well. The game is more accessible than ever, and the starting quests are more fun. WOW indeed.