Warcraft III

Author's Rating:

Pros: Smooth and great gaming with fantastic visuals, bring a fresh feel to the series

Cons: May run long, based around violence, fantasy genre(if you don't like that)

The Bottom Line: 
This is a good game for almost anyone who enjoys either fantasy or strategy because Blizzard brings a polished and fresh feel to the world.

Author's Review
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos has been an amazing success with me. It is very well done, running smoothly with good visuals and sounds. Warcraft has returned in style, in 3D for the first time. Still, Blizzard remains true and brings it back in the cartoonish style. In terms of single player, it has very good value for both the first time and replay. There is a set storyline with missions presented to you on each level, but if replayed you can attempt to defeat the enemy in different ways. Shops have been brought onto the scene, giving the player a chance to interact with the world a little bit more, buying from the shopkeepers. Warcraft is in its traditional landscape of forest, caverns, and wastelands, but also comes with new maps that include stone floor, implying city grounds. The visuals look painted and polished, gorgeous and vibrantly colorful down to the last detail. A time system is now present, day and nights becoming factors (limiting vision, bringing out abilities). Multiplayer is where Reign of Chaos really shines through, though.
Find any opponent almost instantly or search for special games tailored to your needs using the tools present on the free server provided by Blizzard. Online the game does not even have to be played in the strategy style, thanks to the wonderful map designer that comes with the game - it allows players to create new maps with all kinds of triggers and features, allowing the player to create even complex role playing games if they wish. The average game on multi player is traditional, being based on destroying the opponent’s armies and razing all of their buildings.
The sound elements are up to the same standards, including a brand-spanking new orchestrated soundtrack. The voice-overs are well done (and often hilarious) again. 3D audio has been included, allowing the player to really be immersed in the game and hear all the sounds of the Warcraft world, and to hear things differently depending on your camera’s relation to them.
The gameplay is based around a fantasy world with four different playable races: Humans, Orcs, Night Elves, and Undead. These races are diverse and have different pros and cons; the Undead buildings must rest on a Starcraft Zerg like ‘creep’, which limits them but regenerates any buildings that are injured; the Night Elves can be invisible while standing still at night, etc. All have unique units and advances available to them. Beautiful buildings from Blizzard’s stunning art department are back again and ready to produce the equally exquisite units. The maps that you play in vary in size and are all very detailed. Blizzard has included 'creeps' to this game, computer-controlled creatures that are just sort of hanging out on the map, but that will attack the player's units if they get too close.
Heroes have been added to the game, superheroes of sorts that fight for one side of the war or another. These supermen can sway whole battles with their presence, gaining experience by defeating enemies in an RPG like style and gaining new abilities as the progress. The Heroes are the only ones able to purchase from the stores that have been added to the game. Due to the Heroes’ overpowering qualities, they have been viewed as both blessing and curse. The opponents to the Heroes say that it takes away from the whole strategy thing; the advocates say that it is the Heroes that make the game truly unique.
Gameplay is very traditional in the strategy style, the player using buildings to create units who are then used to attack and defeat the enemy. The ‘creeps’ can be used as practice before a battle to level up your Heroes, making the game a little more in depth. The buildings can also be used to advance your units and defenses. Terrain plays a huge role in battles and strategy. Cameras are a new addition to the scene, allowing the player to zoom in or back away from whatever he or she is peering at, or to fly among the clouds to view the huge armies or take a stroll around the camp to take a closer look at the troops and buildings.
One of the very upsetting things about Reign of Chaos is that there are no more ships. No more riding the waves in search of nearly useless oil, or combating enemies in ballistic combat on the high seas. This is a downer, as the money wasting, pointless battles of Warcraft II were also a great time to be had and added some depth to the game.
Another of the few problems that I can find with it is that it tends to eat up a lot of time, as it is a strategy game. Games can last for a pretty long period of time, especially online, depending on the type of game you’re playing. All the free time we spend on it, or maybe not so free time, is very exciting and entertaining.