An unoffical, though entertaining, expansion pack to Warcraft 3.
This is a completely unofficial expansion pack to that great game, Warcraft III. It's made by the german game-developer X-Media - who hasn't made anything since or before.
I want to say this before I go any further; at the time of my writing this, I have not yet finished it, and have only played a few levels. Got it memorised? Good; now, onwards!
BETTER THAN IT LOOKS...
Don't be fooled by it's shoddy appearance; it's a better game than it looks. Not as great as the original, sure, but with it's interesting twists and turns it manages to keep me playing it.
But. It has not been made as a "real" game. It is simply a few levels, approx. 15 in all, divided into three campaigns and a few new skirmish modes, made with the same editor as everyone who owns Warcraft 3 has.
It has been made by german developers, and therefore comes with both german as well as english translations. Though problems still exists with this; but more about this later.
The game also features some adequate voice-overs, in both german and english.
...THOUGH NOT THAT GOOD
A downside of it is its lengthy cutscenes. They can go on for a good five minutes, with no way of skipping or even pausing them. They haven't been made with the same care and excellence as the original game's developer - unsurprisingly enough - and get quite boring, with lengthy conversations and a camera that might make a few turns and panorama-shots every one-in-a-while but seldom moves anywhere else than whoever's talking.
There are also problems with several of the labels, the descriptions of objects in the game. Since the game comes in both german as well as english, a few mistranslations have slipped through, and german descriptions of the levels and objects in the game exists.
THE STORY
The story, in the campaign which I have played, starts with the soldier Whatshisname, who must journey to the town of Asteroth. He has just witnessed the destruction of his hometown of Erlingen by a vicious orc army, led by a shaman of considerable power. He escapes, wearing nothing but his armour, his sword, and a talisman that he has had ever since he was a young boy.
He arrives at Asteroth to warn the mayor of the impending attack, and meets a paladin named Ghourry Gabriev. He also meets the dwarf Eiric Somethingbeard, and together they prepare the city's defences.
The orc shaman is looking for a artifact, which is said to be found in Asteroth. Whatshisname fights this shaman and his army, and almost manages to defeat him. But, just as he is to deal the killing blow, the shaman strikes with a dagger coated with poison, and Whatshisname falls. The shaman is about to kill him, when Eiric shows up, and manages to scare the shaman away.
When Whatshisname wakes up the day after inside the city-walls of Asteroth, he notices that his talisman has been stolen...
WORTH A CHEAP PRIZE
All in all, it's entertaining. The original game is better, but the developers have done their best. If you can find it for a cheap sum, and you really like Warcraft, and you don't have anything else to play, you might want to pick this up.
What Blizzard Interactive has to say about it, remains unknown...
See ya next time!
/Lunne89