The game is gorgeous and sounds awesome. Gameplay wise, it feels like "Jack of all trades, master of none."
User Rating: 7.5 | WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos PC
Warcraft 3 is usually called a real-time strategy game with some RPG elements. I found that the game combines a lot of elements, but in a mediocre way. The strategy in the game ends up being kind of simple and shallow, and so do the RPG aspects. It’s hard to not recommend this game though, since it is still fun to play, thanks in large part to all of the eye candy. Still, I couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed in the game that I heard so many great things about. Make no mistake about it. This game looks and sounds awesome. Each map is beautiful to look at and sports all sorts of bright colors and features. The various units in the game are animated brilliantly and in stunning detail. No two look alike, and that is saying a lot. Watching your groups move across the screen is, by itself, a treat. The human Gyrocopter spins and buzzes around, the undead Abomination slowly lumbers, and mounted warriors gallop with their horses. Buildings share the same attention to detail. The real experience, however, comes when there is a battle. Watching the units bash on each other while spells spray fire and lightning back and forth is a delight. The great sound has a lot to do with this. All of the bashing and crushing sounds and explosions give you the feeling that there is World War 3 in your living room. The game’s voice samples range from chilling (for the undead Banshee) to very amusing (for the orc Peon), but they are all great. There aren't any C+ voice acting performances in this game. The single-player campaign leaves a lot to be desired when you get past the production values though. The campaign crosses all four of the game’s races and takes you through a bunch of small missions that last about 40 minutes, on average. It's kind of hard to get into the story, since you aren't playing from the same side the whole time. I like the heroes being the centerpiece in the game, but you get no freedom in choosing them, and not much freedom in developing them. When you advance a level, you upgrade one special ability. Each hero has only three or four special abilities or spells to choose from. There isn’t much thinking or planning for you to do. The whole concept of gaining levels in the game seems kind of pointless. So do all of the aspects that spoil the game’s strategy, like the way that your army, resources, and advancements disappear when you begin each short scenario. You start off on a map, build all of the available upgrades, and then go complete your objective in about 35 minutes. Then, you go to the next map, and you have to “research” all of your advancements again and repeat the process. The addictiveness that you get from gradually becoming more powerful isn’t there. It just doesn’t seems like there is much to do in this game. You build up your “army”, which is more like a platoon since it is limited to a small size, and then direct it to a spot on the map. I found it impossible to get wrapped up in this game, since the usual strategy game flow is nonexistent. The size of the game makes it more like a tactics game (ala “Commandos” or “Freedom Force”), but the inability to slow or pause the game limits how much you can micromanage your units in battle. So, what you end up with in the end, is a combination of strategy, tactics, and role-playing that is simple and shallow in all of them. That is why I never felt compelled to play this game for more than an hour or so before playing something else. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, because I did, but it wasn’t the addictive time-sucker that I wanted it to be. I don’t really agree with all of the accolades that are being heaped upon this game.
