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I
want my Warcraft III!
By
Lee Cieniawa
I knew eating those four Taco Bell Chalupas at 2 in the morning would be
a bad idea.
Gearing up for an insomniac's session of heavy late night online gaming,
I needed an energizing food-boost that only Taco Bell could provide.
Into the microwave went the four leftover Chalupas. Two minutes of
heating and five minutes of eating later, I was in front of the monitor
and keyboard with mouse in hand, ready to hit the online gaming road at
full force.
But the four Chalupas had a side effect that only an overindulgence of
imitation Mexican food could induce.
My head spinning and stomach churning all of a sudden, I somehow found
myself playing Warcraft III, the long-anticipated game from Blizzard
Entertainment.
Yes! Warcraft III! Glorious skies of Azeroth!
How could it be, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos wasn't this supposed to
come out until December. Was it Christmas already?
Magnificent in all it's new 3D glory, combating Orcs, the army of the
Undead, and allied with the Night Elves, my Human army battled fiercely
on the bloody fields of war. This is what Valhalla must be like.
Unfortunately, the hallucinatory effects of the food wore off all too
soon. I wasn’t actually playing Warcraft III. In my Chalupa-induced
state, I had surfed my way onto the Blizzard Web site and had clicked
onto a demo movie of the game.
Warcraft III isn't even coming out in December. On July 23, Blizzard
announced that the highly and long anticipated RTS game would not be in
stores for its scheduled Christmas season release date. It was being
delayed until 2002. The announcement
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Warcraft captured the gamers and gaming community by storm when it was
released back in 1994 by Blizzard, creators of three of the best
real-time universes ever: Warcraft, Diablo, and Starcraft. Suspiciously
similar in its looks and play to the popular Dune II, the original
Warcraft had all the elements that it took to make it a hit: fantasy
storyline, real-time strategy, crisp graphics, and modem play. It was
where I gained my first appreciation for PC gameplay over a modem
connection.
Blizzard spoiled us even more with the vastly improved Warcraft II just
a mere 10 months later.
Battle.net was Blizzard’s great contribution to online gaming. The
free service started with Warcraft II allowed players to experience
superior online play. Diablo and Starcraft both continued as Battle.net
games too, giving Blizzard three of the greatest onliners in history.
The delay of Warcraft III’s release is disappointing, but based on the
history of Blizzard releases, not a totally unexpected shock. Starcraft
was shelved for almost two years as Blizzard totally revamped the
original build of the game after it was deemed too closely resembling
Warcraft II instead of the final product that gamers got their hands on.
Unlike other titles who have their release dates pass with nary a
appearance on the store shelves, though, Reign of Chaos won't turn into
vaporware, joining the multitude of
missing-never-to-be-seen-or-heard-of-again software.
This game WILL be released. (Isn’t that right, Blizzard? I don’t
have to bring up Warcraft Adventures, do I?)
At least Blizzard has been releasing new screenshots and movie clips of
both Warcraft III gameplay and the wide array of Azeroth’s citizens on
their Web site www.blizzard.com. All in an effort to make the gaming
world salivate in anticipation of the game’s 2002 release and make the
delayed release news a little bit of a softer blow.
Have you seen this eye-candy yet? One word can describe it: WOW! This
game doesn’t look just good. It looks REAL good. Angelina Jolie-as-Lara
Croft good-looking. It also plays at least as good as its predecessor
and both Diablo II and Starcraft.
Taking advantage of the capabilities of today’s computers versus the
systems available when the Warcraft III project started, the game is
unbelievably detailed in its graphics. It seizes a classic title and
takes it in a new direction that fans have been asking for: a 3D battle
realm that you need to see to believe. The fluid animation that Blizzard
has thrown into the game makes it a sure-fire bet to be one of the
best-looking titles of 2002.
There will also be improved multiplayer options over Battle.net,
increasing the number of players able to join in one game and a quest
and team play option.
Instantaneously the look and gameplay of Warcraft III will be both
familiar and totally fresh to gamers. Set 15 years after the wars that
ended in Warcraft II, Reign of Chaos pits the races of Azeroth against
not only each other, but also the looming apocalyptic return of the
Burning Legion.
Players will have no direct control over the Legion. It will be totally
interactive race, but free of the player’s influence. The biggest
problem delaying the game at this point is the functioning of the
Burning Legion. Blizzard is devouring tons of development hours making
sure the Burning Legion facet of gameplay interacts smoothly with the
rest of the Azeroth universe.
Blizzard had originally set out to make the Burning Legion a playable
race, but thought that gameplay could be compromised by allowing players
to affect the game’s outcome by controlling the game’s strongest
race.
Speaking of Azeroth’s races, you don’t just have Orcs and Humans to
select from. Two new races are available in the land of Azeroth: The
Night Elves and the Undead.
Night Elves are considered an honorable but reclusive race, the first to
use magic in Azeroth. However, because of their carelessness with the
power of magic, these immortal beings inadvertently gave the Burning
Legion opportunity to gain access to Azeroth, nearly destroying the
Night Elves’ race during the war between the two. After narrowly
beating off the Legion, the Night Elves, whose members include Demon
Hunters, Sentinels, and the Keeper of the Grove, are leery of continuing
the use of magic and generally are mistrusting of Azeroth’s other
citizenry.
And then there is the abhorrent army of the Undead, the Scourge. Ruled
by Ner’zhul, the Lich King, the army of walking corpses and other
damned creatures and spirits such as the Lich, Abomination, and Ghouls,
was designed by the Burning Legion to wreak terror across the world.
Of course there are still the heart and soul of the Warcraft races, the
Humans and the Orcs. The Human army has used the holy Light to fight the
Orcish hordes. Humanity has suffered heavy losses in the war against
their Orcish enemy. The human forces under the rule of the mountain king
include the Dwarven Riflemen, Blademaster, and Footmen.
The Orcish hordes are the bad boys of Azeroth again. Corrupted by the
Burning Legion, the Tauren Chieftain again leads his green-skinned
vicious forces including the grunts, Blade Master, and the Witch Doctor.
Originally a noble race, the brutal Orcs are slowly returning to their
ancient roots.
Everything about the game—the look, the storyline, and improved online
play—is shaping up to make Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos THE title to
look for in 2002.
Warcraft III is set to join the list of legendary Blizzard products.
They have always been known for waiting until the product is A+ quality
before it hits the retail level. That’s why it is easier to wait a
little longer for the game. I know that the reason they are not sticking
to the December release is to assure that what comes out of the box is top-notch.
That’s the one thing you can always count on from a Blizzard
game—quality. So go ahead, Blizzard, tweak that Warcraft gameplay to
the max. Nothing’s too good for your fans. I can wait. I can be
patient. Just sooner than later, okay Blizzard? There’s only so many
Chalupas one man can eat.
-
Lee Cieniawa
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