14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that the upcoming Cataclysm expansion for World of Warcraft, which was unveiled by Blizzard at this year’s BlizzCon event, will be paying homage to one of the biggest videogame releases of 2008, Grand Theft Auto IV, by re-creating some of the experiences of that title in the starting area for the newly introduced Goblin race.
The fresh issue of PC Gamer United Kingdom was granted exclusive access by Blizzard and shown how the two new races, the above mentioned Goblins and the Worgen, begin the game. It's an early indication of the innovations that the developers plan to introduce as they remake the whole world of the MMO with Cataclysm.
The magazine is saying that the Goblins all begin in the island city of Kezan with the first five levels consisting of debit collecting, playing a version of American football, all of which sounds like it could be lifted out of GTA IV with the main characters replaced with fantasy replicas of themselves. When the Cataclysm event happens, the Goblins scramble to leave the island and end up in slavery.
The starting area for the Worgen is set in the Gilneas separatist state, where people are being drawn to someone called Crawley. The whole sequence is being told in a flashback, with the Worgen curse serving as the break off point and with the player transforming into a werewolf-like character in the starting areas.
Other changes planned for Cataclysm are a new Goblin city resembling the concept of Mount Rushmore and a new Orgrimmar, which is cast in black iron and has fallen under the leadership of Garrosh. Blizzard also intends to implement graphical updates to all of the areas of the world and might even redo some of the creatures that players must face if time permits.