Warcraft III

Warcraft III is a game released by Blizzard Entertainment in 2002, US release. This game is the third game in the Warcraft RTS series. This game was released before World of Warcraft and it's an RTS with RPG influences, some examples of this is the fact that you can level your heroes and that they can get equipment. The expansion pack, The Frozen Throne came out in 2003.

The campaign features a storyline which introduces you to the four races in this game, which are the humans, the undead, the orcs and the nightelves. The storyline features three main characters, Arthas, Thrall and Tyrande. The storylines of these three characters tie in together at the end. We don't want to spoil too much so that's why we keep things vague.

Like we stated before in this review this game is an RTS with RPG influences. You're building a base, create forces and gather resources with the objective to destroy your enemy by laying siege to their base. In the campaign there are some levels that differ from this and have other objectives like surviving for a certain amount of time. The levels are usually mirrored giving both sides an equal opportunity to win, on the maps there are quite a number of scattered units which don't belong to a faction, just like the Gaia faction in Age Of Empires. They usually defend certain spots on the map such as Goldmines, Goblin Laboratories and Goblin Shipyards. At these Goblin buildings you can hire certain mercenary units, which are usually better than your own and can give an advantage in battle. There are shops scattered throughout the map as well, giving the ability to purchase equipment for your hero. Equipment is also dropped randomly by the units that don't belong to a faction. You also have the ability to play scenario's in this game, which can also be made or downloaded from other players.

When talking about the graphics, they can be compared to Age Of Mythology. The surroundings aren't too special. They've still managed to maintain a special style when it comes to graphics, the units are quite broad and heavy giving it a special fantasy style. Although some people prefer the old style over the new one, since the graphics of Warcraft II were outstanding and special when the game came out. Every faction has their own certain style to them, which makes you grow a certain liking to a faction and race.

Some sounds haven't changed in Warcraft III, when looking back to Warcraft II. The peasants and grunts for example still say the same sentences with same voice. When clicking repeatedly on units they'll say various funny things, just like in Warcraft II. There are also a few other funny occurrences such as exploding sheep and funny mini-games. You can make a sheep explode by clicking on it a lot. There is some music in this game but it goes really unnoticed, it's just playing softly in the background.

My conclusion on this game is that the game is quite fun to play, especially if you're into multi-player, it has a very active community and there are even some cash-tournaments. But all in all, if you used to be a big fan of the previous ones, you might not be as content with the addition of new races and the introduction of the new style, but if you can get over that, then this game can be very enjoyable.