Orcs! Orcs! Orcs! Orcs! Warcraft 3: Reign of Terror is, predictably, the third instalment in the acclaimed fantasy based RTS series. Warcraft 3 represents a significant change in direction for the series. Two new races, the undead and night elves, have joined the fray, complementing the righteous humans and brutish orcs. Those who remember the previous outings, will likely recall that the orcish and human units were largely identical in nature. The orcs weren't really orcs, just men who got their kicks from dressing up as orcs and raising hell. Because of this, the emphasis in Warcraft I and II was on building the strongest economy and as a result, fielding the largest army. In Warcraft III, each race has its own fully developed identity. Their are subtle differences between how the races harvest the game's two resources, gold and lumber, and how the races construct their buildings. Click here to read more.

Visually, each race's units tend towards a distinct theme; however, the most pronounced racial differences manifest in the units, which are unique statistically and in terms of the abilities they possess. This helps to move the emphasis from macro (such economy and recruitment) to micro (managing individual units in battle) and means that players are able to choose a race which suits the way they play. The humans, for example, have good all-round capabilities, whereas the night elves specialise in ranged warfare.

The assorted heroes' rights union (AHRU) have finally come to a wage agreement with the powers that be, and the heroes have donned their tights in anticipation of battle. Whereas heroes were available in previous outings, they were limited to certain missions. Now heroes are of central importance (as is befitting a hero) to a player's war effort, they level up, gain new abilities, and have an inventory. Each race has three different heroes available for recruitment; each hero has three basic skills and an ultimate skill, which requires the hero to have reached level six. The human paladin's basic skills include healing and a protective field. The paladin's ultimate skill allows him to resurrect up to six units which have been slain nearby.

Uther the Lightbringer falls to undead forces.

As is typical with RTS titles, Warcraft III has a campaign and a skirmish/multi-player mode. The basic story of the campaign is that the human realm of Lordaeron is under attack from orcs, and to make matters worse there are rumours of a plague ravaging rural outposts. The campaign spans four chapters, one for each race starting with the humans. New units and abilities are gradually introduced so as not to overwhelm the player. Story-telling has always played a key part in Blizzard's games and Warcraft III is no exception. Although common plot devices such as the fall of a great character through some personal flaw and the return of an ancient evil are employed, the story is fairly compelling. Blizzard have done an especially good job of weaving the different faction's narratives together, progressing the story with each mission. In terms of longevity, there are around 30 missions in total and each one takes around 30 minutes.

Prince Arthas and his followers attack a group of computer-controlled creeps.

All the staples of the RTS genre are present. Players start with a single structure which allows for the recruitment of a builder unit and serves as a collection point for the game's two resources, gold and lumber. The main building can be upgraded twice which increases its ability and unlocks new units, structures, and abilities. Each race has around twelve units; most of these units have special abilities which, if used correctly, can quickly turn the tide of battle. In skirmish/multi-player maps, Blizzard have introduced neutral, computer-controlled creatures (A.K.A creeps) who attack any nearby units on sight; killing these creatures allows players to level up their heroes and gain a little gold in the earlier parts of the game. The most serious flaw in Warcraft III is unit pathfinding. Units refuse to budge to let others past and sometimes melee units spend more time trying to get to their target than they do attacking it. This is problem which also plague's Blizzard's Starcraft and presumably something they will resolve in upcoming titles.

Warcraft III is now seven years old; so by today's standard it is basic in terms of graphics, except for the cinematics, which could have been created yesterday (Unfortunately I couldn't get any screenshots of these). Sadly the cinematics are few and far between, as most of the cut-scenes use the game engine. The music in Warcraft III is comparable to that of any other fantasy game with high production values. Plenty of flutes and rousing themes but nothing truly exceptional.

The cutscenes use the in-game engine. Shame there aren't more cinematics.

Warcraft III is one of the most heavily modded games which has ever been developed. There are mods to suit all tastes, ranging from the humble map to tower defence and RPG mods; many of these mods are quite good and vastly increase the amount of time and enjoyment that can be teased out of Warcraft III. If you missed Warcraft III first time round and happen to be a fan of fantasy RTS (with a splash of RPG) Warcraft III may well be worth a look.