Warcraft 1

The Original

Review

This is the game that started it all.  For those of you who like to be nostalgic, this is still a fun game.

You can download it from these links:

Warcraft: Orcs & Humans from DosGamesArchives.com

Warcraft: Orcs & Humans from Abandonia.com

Warcraft: Orcs & Humans is the real-time fantasy strategy game from Blizzard Entertainment that quickly became a best seller. Warcraft has not only become a classic, winning many awards, but it has set new standards for multiplayer games. Set in the mythic kingdom of Azeroth, players are given the task of maintaining a thriving economy while building a war machine with which to destroy the enemy.

By playing either the Humans or the Orcs in this saga, two separate story lines evolve with 12 scenarios per side telling the tale of the battle for Azeroth. From swords to sorcery, all the elements of classic fantasy are here to explore: rich forests, dark dungeons and bubbling swamps await the stalwart troops amassed to fight for dominance. Command many unique armies and creatures including Knights, Archers, Clerics, Warlocks, Daemons, Elementals, and the Dead.

The multiplayer aspects of the game bring Warcraft to a new level of excitement.Challenge another player on over 20 custom maps and determine who among you is the supreme warlord. Head to head play is supported over modem, serial link, and IPX networks, and works cross-platform with both the IBM-PC and Macintosh versions.

This is where it all started. This is what helped shape the RTS genre into what it is today. This is where Blizzard started. This is where the Warcraft saga began.

Warcraft: Orcs and Humans.

Released in 1994, Warcraft was quite a different kind of strategy game. One of the first games in the RTS(Real-Time Strategy) genre, it helped launched the genre as we know it today. It also paved the way for Blizzard's ascension into one of the best game developers ever.

But how does this classic stand up to today's newer RTS games? Quite well, I should say.

Story - 9/10
A fine point in Warcraft is the story surrounding the beginning of the conflict. The story begins in the land of Azeroth, a great and prosperous kingdom ruled by Humans. The land is at peace...until the arrival of the dark ones - The Orcish Hordes. From there on, the story branches into two paths, depending on which side you choose to play - the Human and the Orcish Campaigns.

This might have just been your generic plotline for a fantasy game, but the mission briefings help add detail to the story. Plus, it was here in this rich and fertile background that the epic saga of the Warcraft universe would be born, continuing on to Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness, the expansion - Beyond the Dark Portal, and Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos.

Graphics - 9/10
Now, considering the fact that this is an 8 year old game, don't expect killer 3D graphics or flashy CG scenes. But in its day, Warcraft had great graphics that certainly rivaled many other games. The CG scenes, however primitive they look today, explains the story well and helps progress the plot.

The world, as viewed from a bird's eye view, gives you good detail of what you are to control. The terrain varies from pleasant green meadows to charred, barren wasteland. The environment looks fine, with the trees ready to be harvested for lumber, and the gold mines which dot the map. Bodies of water shimmer and move, giving you the impression that this is a moving, living world.

The units you control have good detail in their animations, as you can see the units as they move around, carrying resources, attacking the enemy, and dying...their bodies rotting slowly to the ground.

Music/Sound Effects - 7/10
The game's music succeeds well in adding to the atmosphere. There are various musics in the game, although not as much variety as, Command & Conquer. Sound effects are pretty good, and this is where the whole ''Keep-on-clicking-unit-until-they-get-annoyed'' concept began. A slight weakness here is the lack of variety in the unit responses, as all units sound the same and say the same thing.

However, a big plus goes to the Mission Briefings that you receive before each mission. They are finely narrated, and adds well to the story of the game, giving you added awareness to the situation you are to encounter.

Gameplay - 7/10
From today's perspective, Warcraft's gameplay is rather boring and repetitive. Most missions go this way - Destroy everything and slaughter anyone that gets in your way. However, the RTS genre was still in its infancy in Warcraft's days, so this fault can be forgiven.

There are some interesting variations that keep the objectives from getting repetitive, and the story really helps in inspiring you to complete the missions. The Orcs and the Humans have units that are pretty much alike, with some minor changes. For one Orc Peon, there is a Human Peasant. The counterpart to the Human Footman is the Orcish Grunt. And so on...

The enemy AI, although not very hard, can be quite a challenge early on in the game. Resources are abundant in the game...too abundant though, as they are placed in positions that are easily accessible. The enemy also does not utilize its resources well, as they only seem to attack the same type and number of units all the time. Add to the fact that the AI can be easily lured into following you into a pre-planned ambush.

Controls are something that will be quite a challenge to those new to the game. Features that RTS gamers value - Selecting multiple units and assigning a number to a group of units, are lacking here. You can only select up to 4 units at the same time, and there is no number-grouping. While this might make the game hard and undesirable to play, it also improves it well, forcing the player to pay good attention in order to coordinate an effective attack. You can't rush here, as there are some pathfinding issues, and the costs of the units are high, making your units more valuable.

However, it is fun to play, despite the flaws. After all, this is a 8 year old game...

Overall Rating - 9/10
Personally, I've rarely had this much fun with an old game. It might be old, but it still is a heck of a lot of fun. However, this will not be for everyone, especially for those who would rather put graphics over gameplay in determining the true worth of a game.

Availability of this game is very limited today...in a physical sense, at least. It's very hard to find original copies of Warcraft today. Ebay rarely has it, and very few online shop sell it. However, finding this game for download is very easy, since many Abandonware sites have this for download. So, if you want to play this game, start searching through Google.

Warcraft is a testament to Blizzard's unparalleled success in making good games. This is where they started, and now we have seen the other games they have created all rise in success, the Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo sagas. This is where it all began.