World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Preview

The editors at IGN are offering up a two-page preview of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, with the entirety of the article being devoted to the expansion pack’s new goblin race. A few paragraphs:

As a Goblin you’re tossed into the action fairly quickly. Right from the beginning you’re gunning for a promotion to Trade Prince on the island of Kezan, which is a big deal for Goblins. The initial quest is simply to go into a nearby mine to get the Trolls in down there working again, and along the way you might pick up a can of Kaja’cola. Consuming one of these is good for a short, small bonus to Intelligence, but also “gives you ideas” which in one case caused my Goblin character to shout out “A truck that delivers ice-cream. With a catapult!” It’s silly, but it’s a style of humor Warcraft fans would expect at this point, and works within the fiction Blizzard has built up around this particular race within its world.

Once that’s done access is opened up to the rest of the starting area, which is large enough that it’s a pain to trot around on foot between quest givers. Thankfully it’s not long into the experience until you’re handed a Key to the Hot Rod, which lets you summon a gigantic car at any time to speed around at a faster rate. While in the car you can turn the radio on, hit the hot rod’s horn (which coincidentally sends any Goblins in the area running in all different directions), and get a temporary 50% speed boost. If you happen to hit an innocent Goblin while driving this thing they’ll yell and go flying into the air, which is particularly hilarious if you run through the line of Goblins waiting to get into the bank. As they soar through the air after the collision they’ll yell at you, call you a bad driver, and threaten to sue.

Driving through the city reveals an area that’s full of machinery and smoke stacks and, for some reason, fake flamingos. Outside the house you start in the trainers aren’t just standing around like robots. The Rogue trainer is stealthing around the yard, the Mage and Warlock trailers are firing magic projectiles at each other, and the Warrior trainer is a wooden cutout bobbing back and forth on a spring. With NPC names like Bruno Flameratardent and Sudsy Magee, it gives a pretty good indication of the kind of quest tasks you’ll be getting into.