WoW Cataclysm: The new races
I am possibly the worst WoW player who continues to pay a subscription. After six years (I was there at the start!) I have managed the grand rank of 73 on my most consistent character.
To make sure that minimal progress continues I decided to create alternate Goblin and Worgen characters over the holidays and play through their new starting levels (Gnome and Troll characters must also be done at some point).
I started with the Worgen first, the ambience is dark, gothic and spooky. It is also an extremely compelling storyline with a nation under siege and on the run. The conflict with the Horde is believable and hopefully the tie-in to the Night Elves (which worked for me) means places like Darnassus might be a bit more lively than they have been.
The Goblin storyline meanwhile is a riot with all manner of computer game spoofs embellishing the main storyline of comedic disaster. I liked the GTA, SimCity and Left4Dead references; all of which were balanced by the epic Horde events the goblins are swept into.
However ultimately the alliance between the goblins and the Horde worked less well from a narrative perspective as motivation was not clearly defined. Also the free-wheeling fun of the Goblin adventures definitely made going to Ogrimmar feel like a bit of a come down whereas the Worgen’s darker tone fed into the destruction of Auberdine and the coming of Deathwing a lot better.
