E3 2001 Preshow Report: Warcraft III

Blizzard's upcoming real-time strategy game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos is a drastic departure from the previous Warcraft games in a number of ways. The game will feature an all-new 3D engine with advanced visual features such as animated water, glowing lava, and geysers. Warcraft III will also focus less on resource management and more on small tactical battles than the previous Warcraft games. It will include four playable races--the humans, the orcs, the night-elves, and the undead--each of which has a different set of four heroes, different structures, and a number of units, including at least two airborne units.

The human side's heroes will be the archmage, paladin, mountain king, and ranger, while the orc side will feature the blade master, far seer, shadow hunter, and tauren chieftain. The undead heroes are the lich, abomination, dread lord, and death knight, and the night-elf side has the keeper of the grove, the demon hunter, the priestess of the moon, and the archdruid. Each hero has a unique set of skills and abilities that will increase in power as the hero gains experience and advances in level. The demon race, which was previously intended to be a playable race, will instead be featured in the game as the ultimate villains, and the game will include six or seven demon units.

Warcraft III is still about five months from completion. At E3, Blizzard will be showing an early build that will include all four races and holding hands-on demonstrations.