There are those on the Horde side who are unhappy with the Goblins as our new found allies in Cataclysm. There are others who cannot wait to get back at the Alliance and their annoying little Gnomes running around giggiling. After playing the Goblin opening zone for a while, it looks like the Horde will eventually be happy with these scrappy little merchants who can play any class except Paladin and Druid. The Goblins are fun and offer a new race to the Horde even though they are small; they definitely make up for it with attitude.
So, on the island of Kevan you begin your journey as a goblin. I created a Goblin Mage. You begin by doing some basic quests to clear a mine of giant worms as well as getting some trolls back to work. Nothing is to surprising here as normal WoW quests go, but things pick up as you start to do more quests and eventually get the Goblin Hot Rod. That’s right; The Goblin Hot Rod makes the whole opening zone fun.
The quests continue as you repeatedly go back and forth with the Merchant Prince of the island. He walks around in a mechanical machine checking on things and giving you quests. It seems like there are schemes afoot though as the merchant prince is also holidng various treasures and running the island like a corrupt politician. These are goblins after all; the racial ability "discount" alone should tell you how they do things. Cash is king for the Goblins, but we knew that already, right?
Back to the Goblin Hot Rod, this is by far the highlight of the opening zone. How many people would have wanted a mount when they first started the game back in 2004? I can remember running back and forth from the Valley of Trials to Sen’jin Village to Razor Hill, having the Goblin Hot Rod would have made life much easier. This is by far one of the best ideas the Blizzard has implemented into an opening zone. Mounts in the game have become standard and there is no reason players should have to foot it around anymore, even in the early zones.
The Robot Football quest was fun, but way too short. For a great set up and funny dialogue the quest was over in about two seconds. Then another follow up to kick the field goal between two smoke stacks. When you come upon the field and get asked to jump in the game I think Blizzard could have done a lot more with this quest area. Sure it reminded me of Blood Bowl, but what football style game with Goblins doesn't?
Another quest that was fun was running over looters as you drive around the island. This goes back to Blizzard’s wicked sense of humor and each looter you hit with your car not only bounces off the hood, but the loot bag flies up and lands in the back of your car. Fun stuff even though it was ridiculous, I guess they view Kevan as a place where they don’t have to take WoW too seriously. The island definitely plays more like Rayman’s Raving Rabbids than Warcraft.
Another quest that was fun is checking out the goblin party and having to entertain the party guests. If a party guest is dancing, you can go and dance with them. If they are puking, you get to give them a bucket. One of the party guests is eating, hand him a leg of turkey, while another wants more drinks, so you can hand them a glass of wine. These small UI quests are fun and change up the gameplay a little. Another quest where we get to play a fun minigame is when you break into the Goblin Bank. You have to play a game of memory with several devices you use to open up your vault. These minigame style quests are appearing more and more in WoW and are a nice break from the “Kill 10 Wolf Pups” quests we have come to know.
Overall, Kevan is fun and the Goblin starting area definitely has a sense of humor. I did like the look of the Goblins which I never thought I would. I usually play Orcs by nature and thought the Goblins would look silly. They actually had some fun custom options and making giant ears is always a laugh. The Goblins are a great addition to Warcraft, yet once again it is just a race with no new classes. I still believe that MMOs should launch a new race with a new class to the mix. Say all you want about game balance, as much can be said for game variety as well. I do like the Goblins, but they would have benefited from a new class as well. Next up, I’ll go through the Worgen starting zone.
