Warexp Review

"Why do you keep touching me?"

WarCraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal is an expansion set, and you need to have the original WarCraft II in order to play it. If you are unfamiliar with the game, please click on the word WarCraft II for a full review.

Beyond the Dark Portal has 24 new scenarios for your enjoyment. For those of you who found the old campaigns too easy, these are more difficult. Also you can step through the dark portal and visit the orc homelands! The Orc world is darker, muddier, and has vines crawling all over everything, including your buildings. This is the biggest difference between the expansion and the original.

There are no new units, which is disappointing, but there are new heroes. These legendary heroes, both orcish and human, are there to assist you on many of the campaigns. While you can order Kargath Bladefist and Alleria around like normal units, these heroes have strength and powers beyond those of normal soldiers.

There are also about 50 new maps (PUD's) that you can use for your own amusement, or for individual battles or network play. You also have access to the orc homelands terrain types if you are creating your own maps with the WarCraft Editor.

On the whole, this is a good expansion set. Although it took six months longer for the Mac version to come out, and it doesn't have quite enough new stuff to really satisfy, it's still a new dose of WarCraft!