There are a few spoilers of the storylines of Warcraft III and Starcraft in this review, you were warned!
I am a huge fan of Blizzard games, playing Diablo II hours on end and designing single-player campaigns for Starcraft. So I, like the rest of the Blizzard fan community, awaited eagerly for the release of what looked to be one of the best games of all time.
And Blizzard, for the first time in history, failed to deliver.
The storyline was crap. Crap crap crap. Sure, it had a few redeeming points, but for the most part, we (my friends in the community and I) were all quite let down by the overall quality of it. Without bothering to do any sort of explanation as to WHY, they bring back Medivh, who you killed in the original Warcraft, who was then an evil sorceror and is now a lycanthropic prophet with a crow form. He has come to warn the kingdoms of men that an undead plague is coming and they must flee west to the forgotten lands of Kalimdor. So of course they just ignore the prophet, the son of the king of Lordaeron becomes a sort of Kerrigan-type, starting out with the greater good in mind and then getting corrupted by the very things he's fighting. Come ON, Blizzard! You already used that one.
Another story element they rehashed from Starcraft was that of an Overmind-like being. Ner'zhul was slain by the demons in the Twisting Nether and his soul captured by them, and they forced him back to the world of Azeroth encased in a giant frozen prison that amplifies his mental powers so that he can control the Undead Scourge. From what it looks like they plan to do in the expansion for this game, Ner'zhul wants to use Prince Arthas (the dude who got corrupted by the Scourge) to be a new host body for him (anyone remember Kerrigan taking over the Zerg Swarm in Brood War?).
As for gameplay, single-player is good and challenging, but multiplayer is god-awful. The defenses Blizzard gave each race just plain suck when pitted against the over-powered units; if you don't work EXTRA-HARD on getting your base defended right from the get-go, you won't last long.
Now, to give credit where credit is due, on to the positive aspects. BEAUTIFUL GRAPHICS! GORGEOUS. One of the most beautiful games I've ever seen. And the map editor is to DIE for. You can literally do ANYTHING with that editor. ANYTHING.
I am a huge fan of Blizzard games, playing Diablo II hours on end and designing single-player campaigns for Starcraft. So I, like the rest of the Blizzard fan community, awaited eagerly for the release of what looked to be one of the best games of all time.
And Blizzard, for the first time in history, failed to deliver.
The storyline was crap. Crap crap crap. Sure, it had a few redeeming points, but for the most part, we (my friends in the community and I) were all quite let down by the overall quality of it. Without bothering to do any sort of explanation as to WHY, they bring back Medivh, who you killed in the original Warcraft, who was then an evil sorceror and is now a lycanthropic prophet with a crow form. He has come to warn the kingdoms of men that an undead plague is coming and they must flee west to the forgotten lands of Kalimdor. So of course they just ignore the prophet, the son of the king of Lordaeron becomes a sort of Kerrigan-type, starting out with the greater good in mind and then getting corrupted by the very things he's fighting. Come ON, Blizzard! You already used that one.
Another story element they rehashed from Starcraft was that of an Overmind-like being. Ner'zhul was slain by the demons in the Twisting Nether and his soul captured by them, and they forced him back to the world of Azeroth encased in a giant frozen prison that amplifies his mental powers so that he can control the Undead Scourge. From what it looks like they plan to do in the expansion for this game, Ner'zhul wants to use Prince Arthas (the dude who got corrupted by the Scourge) to be a new host body for him (anyone remember Kerrigan taking over the Zerg Swarm in Brood War?).
As for gameplay, single-player is good and challenging, but multiplayer is god-awful. The defenses Blizzard gave each race just plain suck when pitted against the over-powered units; if you don't work EXTRA-HARD on getting your base defended right from the get-go, you won't last long.
Now, to give credit where credit is due, on to the positive aspects. BEAUTIFUL GRAPHICS! GORGEOUS. One of the most beautiful games I've ever seen. And the map editor is to DIE for. You can literally do ANYTHING with that editor. ANYTHING.