Best real time strategy game EVER. Keep up the good work blizzard.
Warcraft 3 is an amazing game and the frozen throne is an amazing expansion. This simply brings real time strategy games to a whole new level.
Warcraft 3 continues where warcraft 2 left off, and likewise, the frozen throne continues where warcraft 3 left off. The story of warcraft is a long and complicated one. And a very good one. However, you don't need to play previous games in the series to understand the basics of the plot, the story presented in-game, via videos, in-game cinematics or just the gameplay itself is enough to both understand and really get into.
The graphics in warcraft 3 aren't perfect, but they are entirely like-able and much better than the 2D sprites in previous games. Most of the time, (since you can only have 12 units selected at a time) you will focus on small-ish forces of powerful units and not large groups of weaker units like in games such as the age of empires series or starcraft.
Warcraft 3 also introduced a gameplay system that was very unique for its time (It was so successful several other games have adopted simialer systems including rise of legends and the lord of the rings) which made use of unique heroes that could level up, leran abilities and even had inventories for items you picked up like in RPGs (which made it easy to make RPG mods in the level editer as well) You may be thinking that this would ruin the whole idea of a strategy game - but it doesn't. It changes it, but does not ruin it.
There are 2 entirely new races but the 2 old ones (orcs and humans) are so different that they might as well be new anyhow. The other 2 are undead and night elves, and they both fit into the plot perfectly. All 4 races (of course) have their own ups-and-downs and it's only a matter of preferance which one you play. In the campaign, you play each race one at a time (like in starcraft). The plot isn't so simple as good vs evil, in fact, you don't know who to root for sometimes, especially in the frozen throne. All the characters in the campaign are unique and all have their own personalities as well, but none of them are very like-able (like gamespot said). (although I find Malfurion the most like-able)
Blizzard went all-out with warcraft 3. hey releases a fantastic level designer, one the world has never seen the likes of before. This editor is capable of doing amazing things and bending the rules of regular warcraft to make all kinds of games as long as you know what you're doing. The capabilities of the editor are almost limitless, you can use custom models, music, units, terrain, doodads, cinematics, icons... You name it.
You can then play regular games or even games you made online with up to 11 different players (12 total)
To summarize, Warcraft 3 is an amazing game that blizzard took a long time to perfect and if you like real time strategy games, previous warcraft games, other blizzard games or just want to buy a really good game ten GET THIS GAME!