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| Category | Strategy |
| Players | 1-8 |
| Difficulty | Medium |
| Available | Now |
| Developer | Blizzard Entertainment |
| Publisher | Blizzard Entertainment |
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| 486 -- 33 MHz |
| 8 MB RAM |
| Double speed CD-ROM |
| MS DOS 5.0, Windows 3.1 or '95 |
| VESA Compatible SVGA |
WarCraft II is a real-time
strategy game, played much like the first installment. It may not have the constant
mayhem of an action-shooter, but it keeps you on your toes. With game play that
actually makes you think, and astonishing depth and attention that sucks you
in, there are no problems with playability.
There are two sides in this conflict, the evil orcish axis (orcs, ogres, trolls and a horde of nasties), and the good human alliance (humans, elves, the church, gnomes and other nice guys). There are 28 complete scenarios to play, 14 for the humans and 14 for the orcs. For the novice player, no worries. The first scenarios are much easier, and will help you to learn the game.
WarCraft II is a war
game. Squeamish people beware. War is very violent, and WarCraft makes no excuses
. You must plunder the land for gold, clear-cut whole forests and fill the oceans
with oil derricks. With the resources you gain, you must kill the enemy, raze
buildings and burn farms. There is no surrender, there is no mercy. Soldiers,
civilians and animals scream when they die. They also bleed and leave corpses
behind to rot.
"Like an elemental force of havoc and destruction we thundered through the lands of the Draenei, devastating all that we beheld. Not one life was spared. The only traces of their existence were the blood-soaked fields they had worked for nearly five thousand years; and the rank, acrid smell of the huge victory fires that consumed the bodies of their young."
Many new units have been added
since the first WarCraft. Water is no longer an obstacle. You can now build
several different kinds of boats and even a submarine! Beware of the skies now,
as well. They can fill up with flying machines, zeppelins, dragons and griffins.
Many of the spells have also changed.
The graphics and sound are both improved. All the units and buildings have a 'cartoonish' quality to them. The SVGA graphics are crisp and clean, and the movements well animated. Even the movies in between some of scenarios are worth watching. The designers also spent a lot of time working with the sound effects. Each kind of army unit is given a different voice, and they acknowledge commands with dozens of randomly picked phrases. They even get angry at you if you click on them too many times in a row. One flaw is the lackluster background music; this is easily fixed, however. The game lets you insert and play any music CD you wish. This is war, so I must recommend either Carmina Burana or nearly any Wagner piece to set the scene.
Another good addition to this sequel
is the 'fog of war'. This covers most of the map in a gray area that obscures
everything outside of the line of sight of your units and buildings. While buildings
and geographical features are still visible, you can no longer magically watch
enemy troop movements from afar. No more 'medieval radar'.
There are a few minor problems. Many of the scenarios require the total obliteration
of the enemy, down to the last peon or peasant. When you've spent hours defeating
a difficult map and have already burnt down all the enemy buildings, having to
scour the map for the last enemy submarine just isn't much fun (Its easier if
you turn off the fog of war for a short period, but turn it back on afterwards.
Cheaters never prosper.) Also, the units
that have spells available to them are sometimes difficult to operate. You have
to cast all of the spells yourself. Their AI should be a little smarter.
Look for WarCraft II: Beyond the dark portal coming in May '96. This expansion disk should be chock-full of new campaigns. Also, for you Macintosh users, WarCraft II should be out in the fall of '96.
Revolution Report Card |
A- |
| A game so addictive it should come in a syringe. Awkward spells. Play game instead of getting work done. Not quite revolutionary, but a damn good game. Highly recommended. |
