16 new World of Warcraft: Cataclysm screens

ROCKET BOATS!

We've just got back from a trip to see the latest expansion pack at Blizzard's offices in Irvine, California, and we've got 16 brand new screenshots, and some colour commentary below.

Thousand Needles is flooded in Cataclysm but that's not going to stop the goblins putting on a race. Here they've got rocket boats that zip around the lake. Problem - they're under constant bombardment from pirates.

Here are some gnomes. Gnomes are quite exciting. Look at her shoulder pads. It's like the eighties all over again. More seriously, by the time Cataclysm has been launched, we should, with any luck, have retaken the Gnomish town of Gnomeregan. Gnome Gnome Gnome.

Stormwind Keep is a place you can walk into now. What isn't shown is the giant hole where the Park District used to be. Poor squirrels.... Ah, screw 'em. Filthy nut stealing vermin.

This is the Southern Barrens - which is now split into two seperate zones. The Northern End seems pretty similar to the previous incarnation. But it's the Southern praries that have had the most love. Not pictured: giant lava-filled crack in ground.