World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Previews

Blizzard’s World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is edging nearer to release, as demonstrated by a couple more hands-on previews of the expansion pack.

IGN presents us with “A Virgin’s Tale”:

Combat zones have not only been improved by re-arranging enemy placement, but the battles themselves have become more exciting. When I zapped a large jungle cat in Cataclysm, the feline leaped 20 feet to my location and swiped my character turned red and blood splurted out of my Shaman’s sides. Whoa.

In fact, all of the spells or special attacks that enemies inflict upon you make much more of a splash than before, which is great to see. The spell Shrink actually turned my character Hawkzors into something straight out of the movie, “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” and she ran around like a fairy on cocaine until it wore off. When water elementals attacked me with a tidal wave spell, an actual wave rose up and hurled toward my character, unleashing its devastating momentum on the poor Shaman. These are just a few examples, but it’s nice to see that Blizzard made an effort to re-vamp the attack animations to make battles more visually entertaining.

And then Game Rant goes a more traditional route:

Azeroth has been left in total disarray, and nothing has escaped the effects of the Cataclysm. Deserts have been flooded, wastelands overgrown with jungles, oceans have receded, mountains and cities torn a sunder, even whirlpools and other phenomena now lay scattered about causing havoc for everyone. Disaster looms throughout the world.

However, where there has been destruction, there also has been rebuilding. Cities are bigger and better than ever before. New roads, towns, oasis’ and vistas exist to explore and inhabit. Players can now fly in the old world, allowing them to really see it all again for the first time.