World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, New Playable Races & New Starting Zones Review – Where To Begin?

Written by Jessica-Lyn Hart on January 21, 2011 · Filed under Games, Review 

The new WoW: Cataclysm content has arrived after the previously released WoW: The Stattering content patch literally changed the world – now with the latest expansion pack, there are two new playable races in the World of Warcraft!

The dilemma that many players are now facing is whether they want to be a vicious Worgen or a cunning Goblin. Here’s a quick overview of the races and their starting areas to help you decide.

Worgen & Goblin Character Creation Screens

Worgen have the most unique character customization screen that I’ve seen. You get to design both a human and a Worgen, a change to one alters the other. The only complaint that I have about the linked changes is that some of the alterations don’t make complete sense.

I ended up with a Worgen with braids in her hair and a human with a short bob haircut, I’m not sure how the two are related and I still have no idea how a Worgen can braid its hair. Did some random human do it while I was sleeping? Do I have hair braiding fleas? I don’t know, but it’s beginning to bother me.

The Goblin customization screen is the same as the older ones. I enjoyed the new hairstyles that are certainly going to give Gnomes a run for their money in the “What happened to your head?” category. The variety of ears also gives each Goblin a unique look that older races tend to lack. The Goblins have more variety than the previous races, but I had more fun fighting with my Worgen in order to get a decent looking human and an awesome looking Worgen.

Worgen & Goblin Starting Areas

The starting areas are miles apart from each other. Worgen begin with a background filled cinematic that gives players the history of Gilneas and its people. Players are placed in a dark and wary city and begin by trying to help Prince Liam during a lockdown. You’re not certain what is going on, but you find out very quickly. The quests have a nice pace to them and the feeling of “what went wrong now?” never quite leaves.

The only complaint that I have is that there really isn’t much to explore. The city is very streamlined and so are the quests. The coolest quests involve Lord Darius Crowley who provides stats boosts from the aura of manliness around him; I spent several levels wishing that he was my dad. The weirdest quest was when I had to have a dog show me the hidden Worgen that I could clearly see. I’m still not sure what was so hidden about them…anyway you can read and watch the WoW: Worgen Starting Zone Walkthrough over on Zath TV.

While Worgen are overrunning the city, Goblins are having a grand ol’ time in Kezan. The music is upbeat, you get to drive a cool car, and you can feel the huge bustling city around you. You’re trying to climb the corporate ladder and some giant dragon apparently takes offence at that and decides to set off a volcano. Darn it Deathwing, I was trying to throw a party!

My only complaint is that you really don’t get to explore the entire city while questing. You run through a lot of areas, but they feel like they were put there to lengthen the road. My favorite quests were mugging robbers and breaking into the bank. The bank heist is a unique mini-game like quest that’s easy, but enjoyable. My least favorite quest was the art robbing quest at the Trade Prince’s estate. I wasn’t paying attention and got too close to the boars, then I had to wait until the way was clear and make a mad run for it. For full details you can check out my WoW: Goblin Starting Zone Walkthrough, also on Zath TV.

Summary

Both new playable race starting areas end with you actively choosing to continue on with your character’s life. This adds a degree of emotional connection between the player and character that will probably prevent me from ever typing in “DELETE.” Both races are unique and their starting areas work in completely different ways.

Players that want to quickly dash through a starting area and get their character into the world as fast as possible should probably choose Worgen. Those who would like to take their time and explore without growing bored should snag a Goblin. Roll a character, jump into WoW: Cataclysm, and see what else has changed!

Have you played through these new character race starting zones? What do you think to them? Have Blizzard done a good job for starting a new character? Are you new WoW entirely? Did you find it easy to learn with the way everything is introduced to you ingame? Or did you have to go searching the Internet for guidance?