Our WoW: Cataclysm impressions two weeks in
I was not planning to play Cataclysm at release. However, after all the good stuff I was hearing I promptly change my mind. So a plea went out to get the review copy at the eleventh hour, and I got lucky.
Arriving home, I was in for a shock. Having not played for a little over a month, I knew that my client was somewhat out of date. Some big patches were implemented just before Cataclysm’s release to bring everyone’s content up to date and I believed the Cataclysm retail disc would roughly get me up to speed. Oh, was I wrong!
After installing Cataclysm I noticed it was updating over 8Gbs. What the hell!? What was the point of the Cataclysm installation disc when I still needed to update so much? Luckily a friend helped me out since updating that much over 3G would have been costly.
The Plan
Now I needed a course of action. Should I get my 80 Shaman to 85 first, trying the new high level content? Or should I roll one of the new races and see how the old world had changed? Well, after some thought, I decided to look at the revamped content first.
First up – Project Woof
While creating my Worgen, I noticed how the Human and Worgen changes affected each other, which is both interesting and annoying. Once I settled on a look and name, I got started.
After loading in, I found Gilneas overrun with keen Worgens, and for good reason. The experience playing through the Worgen campaign was fantastic, and of a much higher quality than seen in World of Warcraft to date. The implementation of cut-scenes and voice-overs made the whole experience that much more vivid. Blizzard also used the phasing mechanic excellently to make the world evolve to reflect the changing story.
Next I wanted to try the Goblins.
Short and Green
I found the Goblin content vastly more enjoyable to be honest – not that the Worgen campaign was not great – but the Goblins, I felt, had the better of the two. This was largely due to Blizzard’s amazing sense of humour and fun, which the Goblins truly epitomize, and I often found myself having a good laugh at the interaction. Goblins seem to have all the fun!
Like the Worgen campaign, the use of cut-scenes, voice-overs and phasing greatly increased immersion. Both the Worgen and the Goblin areas were a treat to play through and come highly recommended!
Something New for Everyone
I went back to the older races and was happy to see that they had not been forgotten. All starting areas have been given an update to set them on par with the masterful Worgen and Goblin areas.
Resume – Project Woof
Time to get my Worgen to roughly 40 before looking at level 80+ content.
From Darkshore (with cracks now etching the land and gushing water) to the Barrens which are not so barren anymore. So much has changed it is both scary and awesome! Once again, phasing was heavily used, and war had really come to the world with NPC skirmishes happening all over.
The quests have really been a pleasure to play through. A good deal of variation has been added to keep things interesting. One thing, however, that I have noticed, is that leveling is exceedingly fast at lower levels, with no need to “continent hop” to find quests.
Up and Away!
After getting my Worgen to 40, I felt I had a decent grasp on the revamped old content. Time to take my Shaman for a spin. First to Vashj’ir!
The boat ride there was highly entertaining. I do not want to spoil it, but I found the event really enjoyable (one of the many in Cataclysm – it bristles with such content!). Once I got my underwater mount (which does not take long), I was zipping around. Vashj’ir is beautiful to behold with its pastel palette, although it is challenging to work out distance in this new 360 degree world.
Like past expansions, you replace your gear at a furious rate. Soon my Shaman was tearing it up. To be honest, the stats almost seem a joke now and hit-points are going through the roof to match!
I still have a way to go, only being level 82, but it is going fast. Expect more 80+ coverage in the review very soon.
Overall impressions so far
I have to say, so far I am impressed. The quests are certainly more interesting and the world more varied, with a smoother pace to things. There are some niggles, which I will touch on in the review, but the cataclysm was certainly for the best. It is still very much World of Warcraft so, if you did not like the game before, there is little chance you will now.
Well, that’s it for now.See you back for the full review when it is done. Okay, back to my Shaman. Got to try some of these “harder” instances people seem to be griping about. I hear CC (Crowd Control) is so back! See you in-game!
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