So here we are with the first ever video game review on The Casualty Report! Except not really! This is more of a discussion; for reasons that will become apparent I don't feel confident actually giving out a grade or claiming to have a truly informed opinion about this game. In any case, hopefully this will still be interesting and somewhat helpful (though probably not). You've been disclaimed!
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Activision Blizzard
Attempting to write about an MMO is a pretty daunting and usually futile task. Part of the reason that the genre is so popular is that the experience is so open-ended, and condensing a game so gigantic in scale into a brief write-up does not really do justice to the intentions of those who made the game or those who will play it.
Fuck it, though, I'm gonna go right ahead and try. My experience with World of Warcraft as a whole is minimal, and it's downright infinitesimal when compared with what the avid player puts in. A few years ago I was lured into trying out Blizzard's popular, gargantuan beast of a game with an offer of a free ten-day trial, during which I became thoroughly addicted and quickly reached the trial level cap of 20. I (wisely) realized that if I subscribed at that point, not only would I be using up money that I didn't really want to spend, but I would also probably be using up a large chunk of my free time in playing WoW. So I decided, with great difficulty, to just back away slowly and hope the addictive monster would let me go, and I never tried to play again for a long time.
As the astute reader has likely figured out by now, I recently managed to get roped back in to World of Warcraft with the release of the game's newest expansion earlier this December. This expansion, Cataclysm, is the game's third since it's launch in 2004. However, Cataclysm does not just provide new content or playable races (though it does) - the hook that drew me back into WoW was that Cataclysm promised to essentially shake up the entire game. Blizzard retooled the starting areas, adding in more immersive and fully-developed quests, and adjusted the leveling process to make it somewhat more friendly to new players. It's actually a pretty genius move, and I have a lot of respect for the sheer balls that it must have taken - instead of putting in a new continent or retconning in some weak story, Blizzard found a way to add content, tweak the entire game world, and actually have a fairly compelling story behind it.
I can't speak as to the effects of Cataclysm on higher level, veteran WoW players, but I can say that Blizzard has once again done a fantastic job in making their game impossible to put down. When it comes to MMOs, I'm definitely a complete noob, but that hasn't stopped Cataclysm from sucking me in and delivering a surprisingly engaging overall experience. That's not to say that everything is absolutely perfect: some of the "grind" that MMOs are notorious for is still present here, and despite the steps that Cataclysm takes, it can still be very confusing and overwhelming to try to grasp all of the intricacies of the enormous game. As with any game of WoW's scale, there are bound to be various bugs, some of which can be quite frustrating - though from what I remember of my previous time in WoW and some time playing Star Wars Galaxies, Blizzard has created a remarkably polished game with Cataclysm.
Those who tried World of Warcraft in the past and hated it would probably not have a change of heart if they tried Cataclysm - the basic formula of the game is still the same. However, Cataclysm marks a significant step towards refining an already addictive world into one that is both more accessible and deeper at the same time. Anyone who got tired of WoW in the past will want to check out what Blizzard has done with this game - and most of the changes that the expansion provides come in the form of a free patch, so gamers can essentially test-drive Cataclysm without having to buy it. I'm not going to give the game a letter grade, since I'm just not qualified to do so, but suffice it to say I'd recommend giving it a shot.
And for those of you who have absolutely zero interest in this game and will never get a minute's enjoyment out of it, maybe at least you'll find some entertainment in this. Hopefully this write-up was slightly less terrible.
Grade: None (Recommended)
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