Cataclysm cinematic now available
by Allison Robert 
Oct 17th 2010 at 4:58PM
The Cataclysm cinematic has just become available, and -- words fail me -- it's amazing. Some folks behind the scene here think it's Blizzard's best yet, but personally, I think it's a dead heat between this and the Wrath of the Lich King cinematic.
Interestingly, there are no NPCs or characters of any kind visible in the cinematic apart from Deathwing himself (apart from a quick glimpse of what are probably a few goblin or human-looking armorers). You do see some extraordinary landscapes rendered in high-definition glory for the first time -- The Barrens, Thousand Needles, Darkshore and Stormwind -- and perhaps it's meant as a reminder that the aspect of death was once the aspect of earth and that he hasn't relinquished his power over the latter.
Sorry, gnomes; looks like you're still waiting for a cinematic debut!
Interestingly, there are no NPCs or characters of any kind visible in the cinematic apart from Deathwing himself (apart from a quick glimpse of what are probably a few goblin or human-looking armorers). You do see some extraordinary landscapes rendered in high-definition glory for the first time -- The Barrens, Thousand Needles, Darkshore and Stormwind -- and perhaps it's meant as a reminder that the aspect of death was once the aspect of earth and that he hasn't relinquished his power over the latter.
Sorry, gnomes; looks like you're still waiting for a cinematic debut!
Filed under: News items, Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 18)
Aurix Oct 17th 2010 5:42PM
@Stickybones - A goblin crew member aboard fantasy airships named "Weatherlight".
klingers Oct 17th 2010 6:42PM
@stickybones: Squee. The reaction to exciting stuff or hyper-cuteness. See below. http://wavelengthcomic.com/comics/2010-05-31.png
..Usually it's both though... Is Deathwing really fluffy enough to warrant a Squee?
Rolly Oct 17th 2010 7:53PM
Stickybones
It's the sound a full grown man makes when he sees something like that.
stickybones Oct 17th 2010 9:08PM
I feel schoooooooooled. *thumbs up if you get the true blood ref*
woshiernog Oct 18th 2010 3:18PM
@stickybones
Personally, i prefer the term joygasm. Now that doesn't need to be explained.
Zancorr Oct 17th 2010 5:01PM
I love the Wrath intro, but I think I like this one better!
Bronwyn Oct 17th 2010 10:25PM
This. I think this one is most definitely the best cinematic, and it's really got me more excited for this expansion than I thought possible.
Iirdan Oct 17th 2010 5:01PM
Not a chance. This is, without doubt, the best WoW cinematic to date.
It's lore centric, as was the Wrath cinematic, but in addition, the animation here is simply beautiful. This is top-notch CGI of a kind that Wrath simply cannot compete with. Here, we see the Barrens, Darkshore, Stormwind and Loch Modan torn asunder - in Wrath, we see a small part of Icecrown and the Frozen Throne.
Deathwing's emergence is far more intimidating than Sindragosa's emergence, given that Deathwing is actually, you know, THE bad guy.
Blizzard, I am not disappoint. Bravo.
MusedMoose Oct 17th 2010 5:23PM
Gotta agree with you. While I had hoped for some shots of the new race-class combos, this was utterly and completely epic. With a capital EPIC.
What really got me, though, was seeing all these places we know in the game getting burned and broken. The tidal wave heading for Booty Bay, the flooding of Thousand Isles, Deathwing's sweep over Darkshore... and then, the ending in Stormwind. Incredible stuff all around, and it really gets me to be able to say "Hey, I quested there! Nooooo!!"
Revrant Oct 17th 2010 5:30PM
There's nothing lore oriented about this cinematic at all, no idea what you're talking about, it's just an awesomely crafted action-packed mega-monster of CGI, it's a superb action set-piece and I love it.
But lore? No, nothing to do with lore, now rape-clawing Stormwind on the other hand...!
Iirdan Oct 17th 2010 5:33PM
No lore?
So being shown the fusing of Adamantite Plates onto Deathwing is not lore? A moment that, unless one has done reading outside of the game, they are unaware of is not lore?
The actual emergence of Deathwing into Azeroth in a vortex of fire and brimstone, a hugely significant lore event, is not lore?
No, this cinematic is heavily lore centric. Now, Classic and BC show random characters fighting. That is not lore.
Deathwing taking a hammer to Azeroth and breaking everything, that's lore.
Brandon Tilley Oct 17th 2010 5:36PM
I find myself having a hard time choosing between the two as my favorite. Both cinematics were, in my opinion, carefully selected to set the tone of the expansion. I know that a lot of people didn't like the Wrath cinematic, but it really drove home how far Arthas fell, which was the theme for the rest of the content (especially ICC, obviously). This cinematic really pushes the climate of change and devastation.
Sure, the cinematics vary greatly, but in my opinion, the "mood" of the expansions also differ greatly. Wrath was very drama-esque, and the intro reflected that. I have a feeling we will look back later and say that this cinematic did a great job of doing the same thing.
Anathemys Oct 17th 2010 5:38PM
Three words:
"Oh my arteries."
Seriously, I think I had at least three heart attacks during that thing. This beats the Wrath cinematic hands-down. I mean, I love Arthas and his undead legions as much as anyone, but...
Damn.
Revrant Oct 17th 2010 5:43PM
Uh, no, it is not, it is very, very cool, but it is not lore-centric at all.
You're confusing lore for "Totally awesome balls to the wall action", those were not the adamantite plates, those were forged and placed by Goblins a long, long time ago, this is obviously very recent given he then explodes into the world.
The Goblin armor piece of lore was during the War of the Ancients.
I digress, lore is the story, this is an event in the story, so it is lore, but to call a huge action set-piece that would make Michael Bay kill himself after realizing he would never achieve this lore-centric? Eh.
Iirdan Oct 17th 2010 5:44PM
And the Wrath cinematic was the same way. Frostmourne, Terenas speaking to Arthas - all of that happened in the past.
Just because it isn't "new" lore doesn't mean it isn't lore.
GuyverIV Oct 17th 2010 5:51PM
@Revrant
If ya know your lore, you know that he has to get those plates changed, constantly. He burns so ferociously that even the adamant plates are only temporary.
After recovering in the Plane of Earth, he's gotten fresh plates slapped on, and he vents his fury and agony on the whole world.
That's lore.
Revrant Oct 17th 2010 5:55PM
That's...incredibly different, Wrath is a lore cinematic to the core, it emphasizes all of the story and lore up to that point regarding Arthas, an incredibly important lore-centric character that was built upon extensively in the lore.
This is why a lot of people don't like it, they want to see non-lore things, classes using their abilities, cool stuff, funny stuff, instead they get a very dramatic cinematic that is an ode to the lorekeepers like myself.
I digress again, the cinematic is a gorgeous piece of action filled with the Destroyer's destructive attack on Azeroth, but it has little to do with any lore beyond the actual event, all of that will be in the game itself.
SR Oct 17th 2010 6:15PM
Rev... You're just making less and less sense. Your points are invalid, and are continuing to lose the debate.
Cease posting. You're making my eyes bleed.
SillyString Oct 17th 2010 6:21PM
Revrant- Dude, we don't need a 15-minute intro that talks down to us like we're retards about the backstory of the game while showing every tiny little detail about this, that and the other thing. WarCraft has been around for over a decade, if you're still clueless about Deathwing and his past, then there's nothing Blizzard can do about it.
However, this will get those who aren't in the know interested and then they'll go check out the backstory on places like WoW Wiki. If they care enough to check, anyway. And random clips of random characters doing random things isn't "lore", it's randomness.
Revrant Oct 17th 2010 6:24PM
Neeeeevermind, I'm just going to go back to my lore forums and books and quests, knowing what the heck you're talking about regarding lore gets you rated into oblivion, and if I wanted to get rated down for talking sense I'd post on a Tea Party blog.
Kthxbai.