Review of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
Sunday, 23 January 2011 19:05
It isn’t easy writing a review about a mmorpg, let alone when the mmorpg is one of the most renowned and popular in its genre. World of Warcraft has gone from a strategy game to one of the hottest selling mmorpg of all time. With its third expansion pack released entitled Cataclysm it still has something to prove. Prove that it hasn’t fallen off, prove that it still is king and prove to the millions of addicted wow players that they still have a reason to lock themselves inside the house for the next couple of months.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Activision Blizzard
Platform: Mac OS X, Windows
Genre: MMORPG
Once upon a time
I remember playing Warcraft when it wasn’t World of Warcraft. I remember spending hours playing Warcraft 2 when it was still just a great strategy game with orcs vs. humans. I also remember how I missed the World of Warcraft wave when it first hit and infected the earth. The infection spread and took over our kids; it ruined relationships and drove people into complete isolation. Ok that might be overstating it but it’s simply to pinpoint how addicting and fun these games can be. And if you already are a mmorpg fanatic there is nobody better then Blizzard at what they do right now. I got into the Wow after a few years when I was doing a retro review of the first games. And I was nervous, nervous I would get sucked into this open world of orcs and humans never to return again. I soon realized that it was good, but I didn’t feel anything special about it. I still didn’t have any trouble turning the game off after a few hours of game play and I could actually work normally when I was not playing it. Maybe there was something wrong with me? I got a friend to help me out the next Wow session I had. Just so a newbie like myself could really get into this thing because of the share size and amount of quests packed into it, I didn’t want to play the game wrong in any way. And that’s when I hit me, after a few hours of gameplay with my friend who had leveled out his character 2-3 times already, it hit me. I suddenly felt the urge to level up high enough to get cooler looking armor, and when I got that I wanted stronger weapons, when I got that I wanted a mount, and when I finally got it, that’s when reality struck. I was really getting into this game.
The secret of success
You see the thing with World of Warcraft is the share amount of different quests and entertainment, and the fact that there always is something better then what you got. If you have a sword you know there is a sword out there that’s better, when you get new armor you know there’s armor out there better than the one you already got on. And that’s what’s so addictive about it, besides the huge landscapes and the different feel of each and every one of these landscapes, it’s the feeling of accomplishment when you level up and grow more and more into the character you have chosen to be.
New world order
Cataclysm introduces two new races, Worgans and Goblins. The difference between them besides their look is as always the setting you are put into with the different characters. Where the Goblins are more what I like to call Cyberpunk, the Worgans are darker and more serious. Where the goblins race makes you smile the Worgans make you hungry for blood. The two different races carry with them two entirely different ways of playing the game and it should suit both kinds of Wow players perfectly.
Bigger, better & stronger
As you stumble across the giant world you also notice changes in the landscape for those who have been with the game since it started. Some things are added while others have been replaced. It all makes for a new unique feel of an already explored world. It is so hard to review a game like Wow simply because of the way you play the game. There is no right way or wrong way. And when you die, you turn into a ghost and have to travel back to your corpse and resurrect yourself with your own spirit. It’s also open ended so even though you go through all the quests you can still play the game and have fun. You still have the guilds and the caves and all the other goodies that have always followed the Wow franchise. Cataclysm can best be explained as an impossible remake of a world that nobody thought could be redone and better yet, it is all for the better. Cataclysm is the best expansion pack of all the other expansion packs and that as you may or may not know, is saying a lot. If you are into Wow chances are you already have this expansion, if you haven’t then there is no reason you shouldn’t go out and get it. If you are new to the game or the genre, Cataclysm is the perfect way to start your addiction. It is the easiest one to get really fast into and if you can just hang in there with the walking until you reach level 20 you are set, because as of now, level 20 is the official mount level (or if a Worgan you get the ability to drop to all four and run like the animal you are). And by this time I’m also predicting that you are too into the game to finish off and you are going to run through the game until you have reached level 85. Yes 85 ladies and gentlemen, no longer 60, no longer 70, its now level 85. Meaning enough quests and action for you two enjoy this game for months and months to come.
Conclusion
The only reason the game don’t hit the perfect 10 score is the reason as it is with most mmorpg’s; because of the share size of the landscape you will hit walls and mountains that can be a pain in the ass to walk around. You will also get stuck in rocks or swimming and not being able to get out of the water again for a long time since the ledge is a little too high for your character. Nothing huge, but when you play it for hours and hours it will get to you and that’s the only reason Wow Cataclysm doesn’t get perfect score.
Although with that being said, make no plans, call in sick, buy food as you were expecting Armageddon, lock the doors and welcome to your new life, called World of Warcraft – Cataclysm
Game score 9.5/10
