Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition (PC Game)

Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition (PC Game)

Reviewed by Brian Schell

I know what you're gonna say, Warcraft II is four years old. But wait- it's Back!

Warcraft II was one of the first "successful" real-time strategy(RTS) games, and was the first game that hooked me (and many others) on the genre. With its great characters and voices, serious strategic elements, one of the best soundtracks to ever be included with a game and multiplayer capability, it led the way for most of the RTS games that have followed. The story basically involves the battles between the Humans and Orcs around the Dark Portal, which connects the lands of the Humans with the realm of the Orcs. You usually start our with a few Human peasants or Orc peons, and must mine gold, chop down trees and refine oil. New "technologies" are available for research, and new unit types become available as new buildings are constructed.

The original Warcraft II had some shortcomings, at least by modern standards. The game was released before most people were on the Internet, and even though IPX and modem connections were supported, there was no Internet TCP/IP option. It was also a DOS based game, while it was playable under Windows 95/98, it did NOT work with the newer WinModem type modems.

The latest version, now called Warcraft II Battle.net edition fixes these problems and adds many new features. The game has now been completely rewritten to take advantage of Windows 95/98 and even works on Windows 2000 and NT. Up to 8 players can compete through modem, serial link, IPX/Lan, and of course, the Internet. The system also uses Battle.net, the very easy to use chatroom/matchup service offered by Blizzard software at no additional charge. This is the same system used by the immensely popular Diablo and StarCraft games.

One feature I didn't miss a few years ago, but have come to rely on in newer games is "Group Assignment." This is where you select several units and hit CTRL and a Number key to assign a group number to those units. You can also assign hotkeys to building and locations. When you want to see the group or location, you just hit the number key that you previously assigned. This is pretty much standard with all games now, but it was a noticeable omission from the original version.

The graphics and sound are identical- nothing has been changed whatsoever. A few units, such as skeletons, that had no sounds earlier do have them now, but the familiar "Now What?", "Argh?", and "Daboo" are still there. As well as all the great multi-click "irritation" sounds. Just click any unit repeatedly to get a bunch of great responses.

Many completely new options have been added including ladder matches, shared vision among allies, and many other little modifications. The Battle.net Edition includes the complete original single player campaigns as well as the Beyond The Dark Portal expansion campaigns for both the Humans and Orcs. Over 100 additional multiplayer maps have been included as well.

This game requires much more cautious use of resources than many other RTS games such as Tiberian Sun or Age of Empires. I have played several campaigns where I more or less defeated the enemy, but could not win due to the lack of resources to build some crucial unit. It's very easy to use up ALL the gold on a map, and since there is no way to convert one type of resource to another, you are basically out of luck if this happens. It's quite possible to lose due to a "draw" condition if you aren't careful.

The units on each side are essentially identical- the Grunts on the Orc side are equal to the Human Footman. The Human's Elven archers are about the same as the Orcish Trolls. The only differences are in the magic spells available- the Human spells are geared more toward defense, while the Orcish spells are more offense. For example, the Paladin can heal his troops, while the Ogre Mage can increase the attack strength of units with the Bloodlust spell.

If you've never played this classic, now is your chance. If you were hooked on the original, as I was, this is a welcome update.  The game is close to four years old, and the graphics do show some age, but's it's still every bit as entertaining as the newer RTS games

Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition By Blizzard Software http://www.blizzard.com