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behayes2's Warcraft III: Regin of Chaos (PC)
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| [August 24, 2009 12:01:18 AM]
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Gamelog entry #2:
GAMEPLAY
Warcraft III was an excellent addition to the Warcraft trilogy and culture. It has some addicting elements, none of which dealt with its generic gameplay. I was far more interested in defeating each level so that the storyline will advance, and I anxiously waited for the next cinematic sequence. The flow of the story line was very well done, and the levels matched what was happening in the story.
I was disappointed to see the repetition of objects throughout the game as well as the lack of ingenuity in level creation. That being said, Warcraft III is still a very good game. There are multiple strategies that could be used to beat the game.
I sat on the edge of my seat during the survival levels, and I haven't played a level yet that hasn't had me watching the screen intensely. Every level has something to add to the game and I never got the vibe that I was doing a "filler."
DESIGN
The game had an overall lack of innovation. It did provide some similarities to your standard RPG but did not allow for any character customization or design. I was very disappointed to see that when I equipped my hero with a different armor, his avatar remained the same. However, it is clear that the game was meant to be more of a strategy game than an RPG. I was impressed to see how well balanced the races were. This includes balance between the casters of each race, the heroes, the speed and cost for individual units, and the overall strategy that each race requires.
The levels of the game are very similar to the levels of most Blizzard games. I did appreciate how the level difficulty began at easy and increased throughout each campaign. The levels are more varied than some real time strategy games. There are times when the player simply has to survive for an amount of time and others when the player has to strategically build up a force to destroy another base. There weren’t any levels that stand out against other RTS games. Complexity does appear in this game in that you have to build up you own defenses, manage resources, and wage war against your enemies all at the same time. The use of hotkeys in this game is almost a necessity.
The tone of the game world was that of a world on the brink of destruction. Something always seemed amiss. Each race has its own major loss and struggle that they have to deal with. Before and during most levels, there is a short cut scene in which the characters set up the objective of that level. These cut scenes were very useful as an addition to the story and often go hand and hand with the gameplay.
The most frustrating part of the game was that there were some levels that were obviously designed to put the player at an extreme disadvantage. Often, the enemy base had the ability to build and create units at a faster rate than the player. Some of the things I would change about the game would be the use of sprites. A lot of the objects and buildings became very repetitive over time.
The game’s reward structure was well done. By using your hero in battle, you are able to gain experience with that character and make him stronger. The points displayed at the end of each level, however were only useful in games with more than one player. The game had a strong emphasis on rewarding each completed level with more knowledge about the Warcraft universe and another stepping stone in the intense story.
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| [August 23, 2009 11:00:39 PM]
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SUMMARY
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos is a real time strategy game with a touch of RPG elements in which the user commands a hero or two as well as a race, the humans, the undead, the orcs, or the night elves. The main goal of the game is to survive attacks from the other player/computer, manage resources, and complete the main and optional objectives. For example, the main objective of most levels is to destroy the enemy’s base. In the campaign mode, the player begins with the human race and its hero, Arthas. As the story develops, the player gains control over the undead. After the undead campaign is completed, the player plays as the orcs, and finally as the night elves.
GAMEPLAY
Warcraft III has an excellent story line, challenging campaign mode, and powerful cinematic sequences. The game began with a reminiscent view of a human and orc battling (Warcraft II and Warcraft I’s main theme), but their combat was quickly broken up by fire in the sky. The game wasn’t impossible to beat without cheats, but it was certainly a challenge. I was tempted to use a cheat to beat one particular level that was giving me a hard time just so I could find out what happens next.
I was extremely attached to the main character, Arthas. When he betrayed his father and his entire race, I too felt betrayed. But the feeling of no longer being in the mutual mindset of Arthas allowed me to really enjoy the game from a more detached perspective. I stopped worrying about what the right thing to do was and more about enjoying the evil side of things. I was very pleased to find that the creators left a number of easter eggs in the game and a bit of humor. Repeatedly clicking on characters can produce some strange responses as do the mortar team's call to combat. All are simple additions to the game that helped keep it from becoming immensely depressing.
The game was enjoyable to play, but its only innovation to real time strategy games was that it allowed the user to control a hero. The hero can pick up items and when the hero levels up, the player can select skills to learn. Aside from that, the normal archetypal RTS rules apply.
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behayes2's Warcraft III: Regin of Chaos (PC)
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Current Status: Finished playing
GameLog started on: Sunday 23 August, 2009
GameLog closed on: Sunday 4 October, 2009 |
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