by

Blizzard (1995)

Warcraft 2 is about the battle for survival between Humans and Orcs. The game takes place after Warcraft I. The survivors of Azeroth arrived upon the shores of Lordaeron. Here they hoped to escape from the evil orcs. After telling the people of Lordaeron about the atrocities of the Orcish Hordes, they agreed to form an allinace to defeat the Orcs. It wasn't long however, before the Orcs found their way to Lordaeron and attempted to begin their takeover of the entire planet, and the ultimate subjugation of the human race.

At this point, you can take over as a member of either race. The Human campaign follows a sequence of battles which leads to the eventual destruction of the Orcish Hordes. The Orcs on the other hand have a campaing designed around destroying the Humans.

As I am sure just about everyone in the universe has discovered, this is one of the greatest games ever released. In fact, this game helped to create an entire genre. As with many of my favorite games, I find myself repeatedly playing it over and over agin (which is synonymous with repeatedly), and Warcraft 2 is no exception. The graphics are pretty good for how old this game is, as well as the style of game. Although the graphics could be better (especially by today's standards), the graphics are good enough and do not detract at all from the overall experience of the game. Another excellent feature about Warcraft II is the gameplay/interface. Although there is a learning curve when it comes to controlling all of your characters, once you master the technique, it is quite effective. For the most part, the AI is pretty good too. Occasionally however, you will get a peasent just roaming off into an enemy base. So you do have to pay attentntion to all of your units. Finally, the plot/storyline is also pretty good. Although it is your typical good humans vs. evil monsters there are enough twists in the plot line to give it a unique feeling. And besides, do you ever really get tired of destroying the forces of darkness (or the forces of light)?

Just like many other games that have been made in recent years, Warcraft 2 supports multiplayer. Which I might add is probably its greatest strength. I still remember going online and matching my armies against those of friends, roomates, and strangers over the internet. It was always a good time, and Warcraft 2 does work well over the internet. Although I have noticed the game will occassionally crash when played over the internet when the operating system is Windows 95.


Ratings

Graphics 8.3
Gameplay 9.1
Plot 8.5
Overall 9.5


Bottom Line: This is definitely a great game and one that everyone should have in their collection. One of the few games that becomes an instant classic. I have enjoyed hours of gameplay form Warcraft 2.

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