Familiar zones across the original continents of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms have been altered forever and updated with new content, from the devastated Badlands to the broken Barrens, which has been sundered in two. 
Genre: Persistent Online RPG
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
World of Warcraft,
Release Date: December 7, 2010
MSRP: $39.99
Also on: Mac
T for Teen: Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (PC) Preview:
Building on the foundation established in World of Warcraft and its first two expansions, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm adds a variety of new content and offer players the opportunity to rediscover Azeroth and experience the game from a whole new perspective. Players are be able to adventure as two new playable races, achieve new levels of power, take on challenging quests and dungeons in all-new zones, and experience dramatic changes to familiar aspects of the game in the wake of a world-shattering disaster.
In Cataclysm, players will witness the face of Azeroth being altered forever, as the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing awakens from his subterranean slumber and erupts onto the surface, leaving ruin and destruction in his wake. As the Horde and Alliance race to the epicenter of the cataclysm, the kingdoms of Azeroth will witness seismic shifts in power, the kindling of a war of the elements, and the emergence of unlikely heroes who will rise up to protect their scarred and broken world from utter devastation.
Hidden away in a secluded sanctuary, the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing has waited, recovering from the wounds of his last battle against Azeroth and biding his time until he can reforge the world in molten fire.
Soon, Deathwing the Destroyer will return to Azeroth, and his eruption from Deepholm will sunder the world, leaving a festering wound across the continents. As the Horde and Alliance race to the epicenter of the cataclysm, the kingdoms of Azeroth will witness seismic shifts in power, the kindling of a war of the elements, and the emergence of unlikely heroes who will rise up to protect their scarred and broken world from utter devastation.
Features:
- Adventure as one of two new races--the cursed worgen with the Alliance or the resourceful goblins with the Horde.
- Level Cap Increased to 85. Earn new abilities, tap into new talents, and progress through the path system, a new way for players to improve characters.
- Familiar zones across the original continents of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms have been altered forever and updated with new content, from the devastated Badlands to the broken Barrens, which has been sundered in two.
- Explore newly opened parts of the world, including Uldum, Grim Batol, and the great Sunken City of Vashj'ir beneath the sea.
- Enjoy more high-level raid content than previous expansions, with optional more challenging versions of all encounters.
- Explore Azeroth as a gnome priest, blood elf warrior, or one of the other never-before-available race and class combinations.
- Progress as a guild to earn guild levels and guild achievements.
- Take on PvP objectives and daily quests on Tol Barad Island, a new Wintergrasp-like zone, and wage war in all-new rated Battlegrounds.
- Archaeology. Master a new secondary profession to unearth valuable artifacts and earn unique rewards.
- Flying Mounts in Azeroth. Explore Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms like never before.
- And much, much more...
Minimum systems specs:
Windows XP 32bit (SP3), Windows XP 64bit (SP2), Windows Vista 32bit (SP1), Windows Vista 64bit (SP1):
Intel Pentium 4 1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1500
1GB or more of RAM
NVIDIA GeForce FX or ATI Radeon 9500 video card or better
DirectX-compatible sound card or motherboard sound capability
25 GB free hard drive space
You must have an active broadband Internet connection to play
Recommended specs:
Windows XP 32bit (SP3), Windows XP 64bit (SP2), Windows Vista 32bit (SP1), Windows Vista 64bit (SP1) Windows 7:
Dual-core processor, such as the Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2
2 GB RAM (2 GB for Vista users)
3D graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capability with 256 MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600 or ATI Radeon
2600 or better DirectX-compatible sound card or motherboard sound capability
Broadband Internet connection
Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel recommended
As you can see, the requirements aren't like the ones for Call of Duty: Black Ops, as Blizzard wants to keep World of Warcraft accessible to any player running on almost any type of computer.
