Cataclysm so far

Here is a quick review of my impressions of the latest World of Warcraft expansion.

Talents
I find the talent trees to be fun to level - the alternating “talent-ability-talent” leveling path is fun and interesting, even though some classes feel more boring than others. Some talents are still mandatory. The initial level 10 ability makes classes more diverse and specialized early on. 4/5

Reshaped zones
Orgrimmar: Awesome. there are now more than one fully-featured zones, the city seems alive and is probably the most changed city. 5/5

Ashenvale: Cool zone on the Horde side, with lots of fighting going on, phasing, simili-cutscenes. I tried a bit on the Alliance side, nice change of pace there too. 4/5

Desolace: The northern part isn’t changed much, but a forest popped out in the middle and is vibrant. The unchanged part do feel out of place. 3.5/5

Feralas: I’ve only touched a bit of Feralas, but the added Alliance camps help a lot. 4/5 so far.

Durotar: A zone I found utterly boring just got better. The flooded parts are nice, my only gripe is the clearly visible difference between “old” and “new”. 4/5

Shadowfang Keep: An old favorite has slightly changed. It’ll remain a favorite, as it’s just as fun. 4/5

Deadmines: Completely changed enemies and bosses, and there are nice touches here and there. I had a lot of fun doing this instance. 5/5

Stormwind: Mostly cosmetic changes. The new Dwarven district is much better, some textures have been improved, and the cemetery area is really beautiful. 4/5

Flight in old Azeroth
This is clearly one of the best feature of the game. 5/5

New Zones

Hyjal: I haven’t been able to touch many new zones, but this one is fun! The only few frustrating quests give a great reward (cool pets and blues). The story is great, and you feel like you’re actually doing something thanks to phasing. 4.5/5

Vashjir: I won’t rate this zone, I can just say it’s beautiful. I’ll skip it for now, and my next level 80’ll go there for sure!

Gilneas (Worgen starting zone): The starting area is moody. I felt like I was playing Ravenloft Online (if such a game existed, don’t look for it!). The story is nice, too, with a cool cutscene; you gradually become a Worgen, which is a nice touch. The area feels a bit overly serious, and the few laughs you get thus feel “out of place”. A friend of mine found quests to be boring, but I believe if you take the time to read the texts, you’ll enjoy the story much more.

Still, it didn’t reach my expectations. 3.5/5

Goblin starting zone: Kezan and the Lost Isles are some of the most fun I had in WoW yet. It’s really funny. I mean, you get a car, a radio and idea-giving potions! Phasing is used efficiently as well. Best starting zone? Probably. Although the next one is a contender… 5/5

Echo Isles: Not really a new area, but finally Trolls have their own starting area! And it is cool too! You get some close-up time with Voljin (troll leader) and the story presents the Horde’s inner troubles. It is a nice introduction to Horde politics, and the area feels alive. It is shorter than the Goblin’s zone, is less funny, but it feels more epic and heroic. 5/5

Dungeons
So far, I haven’t been able to enter any Cataclysm dungeon. I found the entrance to the Throne of the Tides, only to face a 40 minutes wait. Oh well, I hope it changes soon!

PVP
While leveling, PVP is really hectic. In my experience, some classes have some trouble surviving in some brackets, even with 5-level brackets. The experience feels unbalanced; a rogue managed to kill my level 42 decently geared Priest while I had a shield on by simply stunning me, then killed me before I could recover. And that’s with a full, Disciline Power Shield, and a full health bar, and a HoT on, in a 1 vs 1 situation. Yup. I’m bitter about it! So until I see how PVP fares at level 85, I’ll give a 2/5 for balance issues, but a 4/5 for the wise decision to divide bracket and give more battleground choices at lower levels.

Loot
Most quest loot looks the same, though some of the new gear, even at low levels, looks nice. 2.5/5

Games of the decade

Halo
This game is undoubtedly one of the most influential games of the decade. It has single-handedly secured the original Xbox a place in gamers’ homes and has spawned multiple sequels of various quality. Most notably, this year’s Halo Reach is apparently a very good game, after the somewhat uninteresting Halo: OSTD. The game created a nice mythology involving the Covenant and the Flood, as well as making Master Chief one of today’s most well recognized video game character.

God of War
God of War is Sony’s successful franchise that rivals Halo in terms of popularity (somewhat) and quality. I for one was never a fan of the story, which is a shame, since the game is a quality brawler-adventure set in mythological times. No GoW on console so far has been badly reviewed, and it has inspired action games, some subtly (Darksiders), others not so subtly (Dante’s Inferno).

World of Warcraft
How can one even think that this is not one of the games of the decade? Each month, more than ten millions (now 12 millions) are paying 15 bucks to play a game that is six years old. Few games have ever had such lasting success. This game is the reason so many companies try to make an MMO, and also the reason why no subscription-based MMO has succeeded so far. With the revamp of Azeroth that came in Cataclysm, it is likely the game will still be live for a few years. At least.

GTA IV
Maybe other games in the series would be more deserving of the title (like San Andreas, perhaps?), but there is no doubt that this series has redefined “open world”. These action games are notoriously violent, which is a shame, since it obfuscates the fact that it has a great story, great characters and a lot of cinematic values.

Little Big Planet
While this one may not have the same impact as others on this list, LBP’s Sackboy has somewhat become the de facto mascot for Sony, a feat not achieved since… well, maybe Master Chief for the Xbox? Maybe? But it also showed that people LOVE to create. Try some of the user-created levels, and you’ll see how deep the game is! My personal favorite was a recreation of Gradius’ first level! Absolutely stunning.

Gears of War
Gears of War is to 3rd person shooters what Halo is to FPS. It has quality graphics and diverse combat, as well as a dynamic and cinematic cover system. Shooting stuff shouldn’t be this fun!

Call of Duty
One of the most successful franchise of recent memory. It is the more “realistic” of the shooters, as it is set in our own world. Pick your favorite: Modern Warfare, Modern Warfare 2 or Black Ops, all share a very addictive and popular multiplayer. It is highly refined, and while it is not my personal choice, the series’ quality and impact cannot be denied.

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
Uncharted is one of Sony’s series, one that has you playing a movie. Really, even the most cinematic games on this list are far behind this game! Forget the shooting and the platforming (which are great, to be honest), it’s the characters and the script that are king here.

Persona 3
The previous game had you play a movie. This one has you play an anime series! This game is so amazing, even the turn-based fights stand out. This game is more story than gameplay, you’ll immerse yourself in that cool world where you play a Japanese teen fighting shadows. Plot, characters, and more plot! Pick your version: the PS2 FES version, which introduces a whole new chapter, or the PSP version that allows you to play as a female character, complete with new dialogues and the like.

Street Fighter IV
Thank this game for the 2D fighter revival! Definitely a game that revived a whole genre, whereas developers seemed stuck in 3-D borefests like DOA and SoulCalibur (the latest entries of both series were really disappointing. Has DOA evolved since its Dreamcast days? I think not). Of course, I’m more a fan of BlazBlue, but that’s simply a matter of personal preferences.

Assassin’s Creed
This one is more touchy, as the first game was far from perfect. Yet it launched an amazing new series, and the second game has corrected most of the flaws of the first one. But even in the original, it has some of the most satisfying kills, and it boasts one of the most gorgeous open-world.

Other games that should be on this list:

Oblivion, Mass Effect, Metroid Prime, Mario Galaxy, Resident Evil 4, Guitar Hero. I’m sure I forgot a few other games that definitely should be here, I’ll add to that later!