The War Within official cinematic is rather different than most of the previous expansion cinematics. There's no attempt at a narrative, it's more a collection of characters and scenes. In some ways, it harkens back to the Classic and TBC cinematics.
However, the tone is very different. It's darker and more mysterious. A lot of people have said that it's closer to a Diablo cinematic than a Warcraft one. There's a lot of truth there, as there a "lightness' to WoW which is missing here.
Still, though it's pretty interesting trailer. That Arathi shield with a flame is quite neat, and hopefully will show up as an actual item.
The quality of the animation is excellent. The actual impression and excitement it is supposed to generate is pretty 'meh' for me. A cinematic should tell a story, but this is just a series of disparate scenes.
ReplyDeleteXal'atath is also underserved. She doesn't generate the urgency to defeat like the Lich King or Sargeras. They've written her more like that annoying know-it-all kid back in middle school that you just want to smack. We need a stronger, more visceral connection to wanting to fight her. (Also, Lovecraftian old gods are way, way over used these days.)
Well, did the original WoW or TBC cinematics tell a story? I think they're trying something a bit different, which is fine. Plus we have the Anduin cinematic which is heavy on character/story/narrative.
DeleteI'm also not sure that Xal'Atath is best served by having the players want to defeat her. The players like her, so it's probably best to keep her from "kicking the dog". Like you could argue that was the mistake they made with Sylvannas, when she burned Teldrassil. There's really no coming back from something like that.
To me, the original Wow and BC cinematics were about showing characters easily associated with players being involved with the world. They invited you into the game to play. They sparked interest and imagination.
DeleteThe characters we saw in TWW cinematic were NPC introductions. Those need to start giving reasons why I should care about them. WIthout that they are just random images of unknown characters that I have no idea if I should care about or will be needing to defeat.
I have a feeling that Xal'atath is going to be a divisive character. A lot will like her, but I think an equal amount will view her as fingernails on a chalkboard character. At least Iridikron seems to be acting from deep seating beliefs, but Xal just feels like someone you want to just shut up and sit down/go home.