World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Reviews
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World of Warcraft has something for everyone right now. After six years of iterations on what was already a superb formula, this phenomenally popular massively multiplayer online game is in the best shape of its life. Areas of the world that were starting to show their age have been updated, new players are being made to feel more welcome than ever, and Cataclysm has added enough great new content to keep most players entertained for many months to come. It's unfortunate that the new archaeology profession is mind-numbing and that there aren't enough new zones that you can level multiple characters from 80 to 85 without repeating large chunks of content, but most of Cataclysm's content is so great that playing through it a second time isn't a hardship. You don't need Cataclysm yet if you're thinking of getting into World of Warcraft for the first time, but if you've got a level 70-80 character already you certainly won't regret continuing their adventures in this great expansion.
While the latter goes for a perfect 5/5:
Blizzard tears WoW to the ground and builds it up more skillfully than ever before. The new content is creative, has a tangible sense of story and progression that you wouldn't expect from an MMO, and is implemented so skillfully and smoothly that the bumps in the road are actually a bit jarring. Excellent art design goes a long way at concealing the cracks and wrinkles in a ten-year-old engine, but it is at its core still World of Warcraft and a fresh coat of paint and a significant tune-up can't change that. And yet, maybe it doesn't have to be anything else.
