Cataclysm is supposed to be the first of World of Warcraft’s expansion that would not introduce another new continent. On the other hand, it will give access to new islands and then inaccessible land areas. Its gameplay will be set in renovated, already existing zones of the present gameplay locations and in unreleased zones as well. The renovation will be explained by the restoration of Azeroth because of a “cataclysmic” event (thus the name of the expansion), as an effect to the actions of Azshara and Deathwing. Catclysm is expected to give additional phasing and daily quests as well, and also, a flying ability.
Interestingly enough, its release date for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is yet to be concretized and specified. During the announcement of this third expansion in the BlizzCon 2009, it was said that the target release date is within the year 2010. The rumored November 1, 2010 release date is said to be just placeholders that are posted in GameStop and Amazon.com for pre-order catalogs for the game.
There are few varying estimations and clues as to when Blizzard, the maker of World of Warcraft, will release Cataclysm. As for Brady Games’ official WoW strategy guide, they present a release date of October 26, 2010. We can also assume that Blizzard would want WoW Cataclysm to be ready for purchase in the market in time for Thanksgiving shopping. Nonetheless, Blizzard’s CEO Mike Morhaime would not go far beyond confirming that Cataclysm is indeed going to be released sometime in 2010.
What the game fans could hold on to however, is the seemingly patterned interval release schedule that Blizzard has been exhibiting so far—every 4th quarter of the year. But it must also taken into note that long term schedules as such are bound to change.One thing is for sure—whenever the exact release is going to happen, gamers could do nothing but wait. And while waiting, maybe we could keep our fingers crossed that everything is all worth waiting for after all.
And this all took place two full weeks before the expansion's release. The most visible everyday changes in the boxed product itself are the playable Worgen and Goblin races (for the Alliance and Horde factions, respectively), each with their own unique starting zones that topple all previous starting experiences. For Worgen, it's Gilneas -- a perpetually gloomy Victorian peninsula hammered by an undead invasion and a strange curse that turns its citizens into vicious werewolves. The funky Goblin starting zone is almost the opposite; here, insatiably greedy green-skinned opportunists race up and down highways in garish hot rods -- robbing banks, cracking jokes, and stealing art.
Inventive starter zones aside, the expansion content begins with five new endgame zones for levels 80 up to the new cap of 85. In the underwater spans of Vashj'ir, adventurers dart about on giant seahorses amid sunken ruins and cranky shellfish. In the long-awaited vistas of Mount Hyjal, players defend the world tree Nordrassil from the ravages of fire elementals and the Black Dragonflight. Deep below the swirling Maelstrom, players repair the shattered "World Pillar" that threatens to pull Azeroth into the abyss. In the desert wastes of Uldum, adventurer Harrison Jones (and whoever will go with him) trashes sacred architecture to find legendary artifacts The only dubious locale is the Twilight Highlands -- here, feisty mountain dwarves known as the Wildhammer Clan battle the forces of evil in crumbling hillside villages that bear an unmistakable resemblance to Tolkien's Shire. The Highlands don't offer much for riveting exploits, though even this zone has its standouts, including a disturbing Lovecraftian tentacle maw and one of the most memorable wedding sequences in video game history.
All this flies by at a pace that could easily leave your shiny new level 85 Goblin dancing in low-quality gear in a week or two. Heaps of experience, loot, and gold shower your character, and the world changes endlessly through phasing technology as you complete missions. If you ever played through the Death Knight starter quests in Wrath of the Lich King, you have a good idea of what to expect here on a worldwide basis. Quest NPCs are never far from their objectives, and if you stray, a cut-scene often plops you back to the quest-giver to speed things up. Overall, these are good changes. On one hand, they eliminate the hours of travel once needed to turn in a quest from the other side of the world; on the other hand, the breezy pace robs some of WoW's wonder. Curiously, the streamlined process comes to an awkward halt between levels 58 and 78 when players enter Outland and Northrend, the untouched epicenters of the last two expansions. Outland's tedious old-style gathering quests sting like a whip to the face after the exciting ride of quests in the new old world.
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