For years, the hungry masses have yearned for fresh blood in the Warcraft series from Blizzard. Their patience was rewarded thusly when Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos went on sale on July 3rd, 2002; and based on what I've read, pre-orders were through the roof. But, before I get further along, let me just take a moment here and dispel any notions that this is a full-detailed review of the game and all its intricacies. What you will read is one man's humble opinion about what he thinks of the game.
Firstly, I am a dedicated console (mostly Nintendo) player. I seldom play any games on my computers since they are what I use to do my work, I don't always want to muck up the system with extra extensions and such. It's should be pretty evident, too, that I am a Mac user, of which I have several. But since I do have to check my work on PCs, I do own one of those.
The fact that I like my system as clean as possible, I do make a few exceptions to that rule. So on my computer, I have installed Warcraft II Battlenet Edition, Starcraft, and, of course, Warcraft III. It was only a few short years ago that my friends introduced me the world of Blizzard games, but I wasn't hooked instantly. I gave it a little time and now I look forward to allying myself or destroying my friends whenever we get a chance to play either through the rare LAN parties, or through Battlenet.
Enough! Let's move on to the game. After seeing screens at E3 for several years, I was certainly thrilled to see it released (and simultaneously on both platforms), and the end result is that Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos looks nothing but spectacular! No longer does a player have to contend with the "flat" landscapes of previous Warcraft incarnations, or the pseudo "3-D" aspect of Starcraft. Warcraft III has a richly-detailed 3-D environment clearly defined by shadows, hills, valleys and streams, and such. The cinematics and full-motion videos are great to watch and help tie in the story to the single player campaigns.
I started playing the campaigns, finishing only the Human section recently and discovered a concept new to the "Craft" series: Heroes. Heroes are characters you'll encounter during your quests that are the main focus of the plot, they'll help tie-in story and gameplay, and here's a kicker, the Heroes gain experience. The more experience your Heroes gain, the more they can do, and that will help decide your strategy and how ultimately you can turn the battle in your favor.
Other pluses are game effects like when your Hero upgrades to a new level, healing powers, blizzards, death and decays, and defensive weapons like towers and ziggurats. Also, the sound acting is pretty cool, giving each character depth and distinction.
Despite the great aspects of the game, it is not without its drawbacks. For instance, spawning is not an option, and the price point seems a little high. But my biggest peeve is the high minimum requirements the game needs in order to run smoothly, and what a RAM hog it is as well. It can't be due to just the cinematics since Starcraft and Warcraft II, had them as well. I can't say for certain what a slower PC will act like if it can still play the game, but I know the requirements on the Mac helped ruled out a lot of people from playing it. People with iMac revision A and B will not be able to. Even early G3 desktops and powerbooks will have a hard time mustering the power and video it needs for smooth game play. My old G3-enhanced 8600 runs it, but very choppy and that's with all the options set on low. I really would like to know why Blizzard did such a thing.
However, with all that said and done, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos has the makings of a great, involved, fun real-time strategy game, and I can't wait until some of my friends are able to get their hands on it and we get started with the multiplayer mayhem.
WarCraft III boasts graphics that are far more lush and detailed than its predecessor's.
New units, such as the Water Golem, add to the complexity of the battles.
