Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos

Subject: Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:56 pm

Metachronos overall score = 93 / 100

Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos needs little introduction, and neither does Blizzard, the company that created it. The worldwide July 3 release of Warcraft III, which shipped about 5 million copies in its first run, seems like a suitably momentous occasion, given that the game itself is both so highly anticipated and has been such a long time in the making. Considering that many have long since preordered the game and that the remaining copies are likely to fly off the shelves, giving a critique of Warcraft III almost seems like a moot point. It's like trying to convince someone whether or not to go see a movie like Star Wars: Episode II. Fortunately for those who intend to play it no matter what anyone says, they'll find their time with Warcraft III to be very well spent. Sure, Warcraft III isn't a revolutionary departure from the conventions of real-time strategy gaming. But it's as good of an offering in the genre as there's ever been, featuring a superb story, carefully refined gameplay, plenty of depth, the best online multiplayer mode in any real-time strategy game to date, and the excellent production values you'd expect from a Blizzard product. So if you're looking for some validation to go with your preorder, there you have it.

If you've visited Blizzard's Web site in the past year or two, then you have a good idea of what Warcraft III looks and sounds like. And it looks and sounds superb. The fact that the game uses an entirely new 3D engine was a big surprise when Warcraft III was first announced, but it seems perfectly natural. Units have as much personality as ever in a Blizzard game and are animated even more smoothly. The terrain often looks even better than the units, as the maps are all very colorful and beautifully rendered. Details abound, such as how bodies of various shapes and sizes and blood and ichor of various colors can all be seen in the aftermath of a battle, delivering the impression that a great battle just took place. Some of the graphical quality is inconsistent--you may notice that some unit portraits seem to look much, much better than others. But overall, Warcraft III is a terrific-looking game, and it is one that demonstrates that a fully 3D graphics engine truly can replace everything that's great about 2D graphics. Warcraft III sounds as good as it looks. Each faction has its own uniquely fitting musical accompaniment, though the undead's and night elves' music sounds the best. The heavy-hitting sounds of battle are simply perfect, and the various units' personalities really come across from their voices, though units do have a pretty limited number of speaking lines. In proud Blizzard tradition, if you keep clicking on a unit, it will begin to make outrageous comments that are often hysterically funny.

Warcraft III is a must-have game, and you don't need a game review to tell you so to know it's true. The fact that so many people will have already put money down for the game by the time you read this demonstrates how much faith gamers all across the world have in Blizzard's products. And Warcraft III once again suggests that this is faith well placed. So if you've ever enjoyed a real-time strategy game from Blizzard, then you'll undoubtedly enjoy Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. And even if you're skeptical and approach it with extreme caution, wondering whether mere mob mentality is what makes people flock to this particular product, you'll still eventually find that the reasons for Warcraft III's popularity are pretty straightforward. It's just an outstanding game, filled with all the charm, all the detail, and all the lasting appeal that characterizes all of the finest games ever made.

Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos 4yj7st2