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Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Warcraft III runs on Windows 95/98/2000/NT and Mac OS. My setup was easy as pie, which was surprising since I run WinXP. And, on a side note, I was running it on a LCD screen and had no problem. Blizzard has an effective video setup that allows you to customize the game to match your hardware by changing the resolution, model detail, animation quality, texture quality, particles, and lights. This is especially helpful if you're running on an older machine and still want your game to run fast. The sound setup even allows you to have Dolby Surround!
I'm always disappointed that Blizzard's betas only let you play multiplayer, but that's life. In multiplayer mode, I found my abilities only let me get about 30 minutes into the game before I was demolished by the hard-core players. Maybe it was me, but Warcraft III seemed to have a faster pace than the previous two releases. The pace is a double-edged sword, because some players like their video games to be fast paced while others like to take their time. I think Warcraft II is somewhere in between Urban Terror and Civilization III. So, until I can take it low and play in a single player campaign mode, I'm counting the days until Blizzard releases Warcraft III 1.0.
Most important, if you're looking forward to the game, be assured: the gameplay is cool. This time you have a choice between four races: Human, Undead, Orc, or Dark Elf. Your race really doesn't matter in multiplayer mode; winning basically comes down to building everything up quickly and creating a massive army with which to crush your opponents. Or in my case, getting crushed.
This is where one of my favorite features comes into play. When enemies are attacking you (or your allies), the map flashes, letting you know that there is a throwdown and you should send in backup. Features I'm looking forward to in the upcoming release include: LAN games (five laptops, five six-packs, you know the drill), the single-player campaign, map editors, and polished cinematics. I realize that cinematics may not really be a game feature, but I can down a tub of popcorn when I'm watching Blizzard's cinematics, they're just that cool.
Warcraft III gives new meaning to strategy RPGs. If you like to play pure strategy games where your only goal is to be the last one standing, this game is for you. If you like games where you can take a character, build him up, and watch the character grow over the life of the game, this game is for you. Warcraft III is a successful cross between the two genres. You can build your basic Orc Grunts and go fight the enemy, but you can also build Heroes. Each class has different Heroes with which you can gain experience, attain new levels, and learn new skills. Warcraft III even lets you carry around an inventory!
I think the biggest improvement that Warcraft III has over its predecessors is Blizzard's ever more impressive graphics. With a decent video card, the graphics are crisp and clear. Nowadays, 3D is the name of the game, and Blizzard again comes a step closer to reality with this strategy role-playing game.
Did we already forget?
I mean really.
about Blizzard being the bad guy because they shut down bnetd, YES, it is possible to hate the messenger but enjoy the message.
Just like Louis Farrakhan [sp] and the million man march,
just like the MPAA and LOTR or the Matrix or Tron or SW or whatever,
just like the RIAA and [your favorite band here],
it's perfectly possible and not hypocritical to hate Blizzard and want to fuck them five ways from Friday and still enjoy Warcraft III.
[o]_O
Your race really doesn't matter in multiplayer mode; winning basically comes down to building everything up quickly and creating a massive army with which to crush your opponents.
IMO Blizzard has always done a good job differentiating the races. In Starcraft, for example, you could not play the Protoss and Humans in the same way. They were so different that a new strategy was required for each. I can't see them taking a step backward with their flagship product in that respect.
I'm looking forward to in the upcoming release include: LAN games (five laptops, five six-packs, you know the drill), the single-player campaign, map editors, and polished cinematics.
Hmm. So you're expecting the game to be finished? Come on now, what are the neat features that those of us who haven't been following the beta forms don't know about? What innovations has Blizzard come up with this time? Undoubtedly they have something more than a flashing map, "letting you know that there is a throwdown and you should send in backup." That feature has been in several previous RTS's. Where's the meat in this review?
"I either want less corruption, or more chance
to participate in it." -- Ashleigh Brilliant
either you support them and buy their product or you dont. In fact, it is a testimony to your principles to not play the game especially if it is good. It doesn't take much effort to stand by your ideals if the game is crap now does it? Hypocritical.
How we know is more important than what we know.
I dont think this 'Windows XP' is so insecure is really a valid statement these days.. dont get me wrong, as much as I love Linux, but a default (or even minimal) install of a common Linux distro like Red Hat needs to have around 20+ packages download to make it secure.. otherwise you are just as vulnerable. And these are, as you say, default features.
Again.. dont get me wrong.. I like Linux a lot, and have always argued against Windows, but the 'this is more secure than that' argument doesnt really hold too much water IMHO.
"Hey! Unless this is a nude love-in, get the hell off my property!!"
Kohan already does this (and, better than that, it does it under Linux as well as Windows). Company-level management, an economy that isn't based on 'search and gather', and mondo-fun game play.
Incorrect,
WC3 actually uses Direct3D 8... Not OpenGL.. WineX CVS and upcomming versions have this support..
So please dont spread incorrect information - WineX has full support for Direct3D 8 - thats why WC3 works in it.
But, I myself have played the Warcraft III beta, and I don't think I've ever been so disappointed. I was expecting very large innovations in gameplay, and a whole lot more from the graphics, for the amount of time they spent developing it. What I essentially feel I got was Warcraft II with a few minor changes.
Perhaps I'm just bitter. My friends and I spent many many hours playing Warcraft II, and while an updated Warcraft II is nice, I was still expecting more.
some sort od scripting that allows me to assign priorities would be nice. Shooting at a building and somebody shows up to fix it? shoot that guy. that sort of thing would be nice, even better then the new graphics.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
The races do matter, and have enourmous differences. Undead have pretty easy expansion (without requiring a town hall). Sure, you can rush with all races, but if you get past the rushing stage with a counter-rush, then the strategy comes into play.
If it is purely rushing out quick units, then I definatly should've won some games. In one game, I maxed out the food supply with huntresses. And I got killed by a small human army, thanks to stupid blizzard spells and the like. The focus is on micromanagement more than ever, not rushing.
And by your reasoning, isn't FPS dead as well? Quake 3 is merely an upgrade of Quake 2. Its all about the 1337 D00D who memorizes item placement and map layout, right?
You (the Slashdot "editors") just gave me the biggest laugh of the day. After all the hype about Blizzard's attacks on Battle.net clones, you guys come out with a fanboy, suck-up article for Warcraft III. Not unexpected, but definitely a sign that Slashdot is losing its relevance.
This article leaves a bad taste in my mouth, like a Jon Katz polemic. So much for Slashdot's "reputation" as a "defender of freedom." I wonder if Katz will write an article about how people let fanboyism get in the way of their putative idealism?
As for me: I'm donating the purchase price of a Warcraft III to the EFF, and I'll find other fine games to play. Morrowind looks terrific; Heroes of Might and Magic 4 should be fine, too.
Until now, I've bought and played heavily every game Blizzard has produced. But no more; I don't need Blizzard, and I won't support their misuse of copyright. In my book, Blizzard is no better than the Scientologists, in that both breed cults of ill-manner folk, and then get their dander up when anyone dissents.
All about me
Well yeah, if you oversimplify anything, it sounds uninteresting doesn't it?
The problem with most genres is that few companies seek to truely innovate. "We need the next Quake Killer!! Okay, we'll Quake, add 2 more new features, it'll drastically change the game!" -- the market suffers from that. Westwood's Command and Conquer series somewhat suffers from 'cookiecutter-itis' where they rehash the game a few times too often.
It's easy to say "well, I guess the genre is dead because it's all more of the same", but when you do that, you're forgetting about games like StarCraft and Age of Empires. Those weren't just subtle upates to the theme, but drastically different strategies can be used in those games.
I would agree with you that RTS is basically dead when all the companies make 'me-too' products, but when Blizzard comes along and reinvents the genre, I wouldn't be willing to call it dead yet. If anything, it'll inject fresh life into it. From what I've read so far, Blizzard has been hard at work making this into a new type of game. It will be really disappointing if they prove me wrong.
"Derp de derp."
The focus is on micromanagement more than ever, not rushing.
That's just as bad. Micromanagement means the person that knows the hotkeys better, and is quicker with the mouse wins. That isn't strategy.
And by your reasoning, isn't FPS dead as well? Quake 3 is merely an upgrade of Quake 2. Its all about the 1337 D00D who memorizes item placement and map layout, right?
I haven't played Quake since Quake1. I play games like Halflife mod Day of Defeat (and Halflife itself), and System Shock2, Thief, and Deus Ex. There are innovations in FPS.
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
Do I really want to ruin this AC's day by telling him/her that Slashdot is a diverse group of people, each with their own principles and opinions ?
Slashdot's editors are free to post whatever they think is worthy. If that means CmdrTaco and Hemos post a review of WC3 while Michael reports on the crushing of bnetd, so be it. Face it, it's better this way. If it were just Rob & Jeff's Droolworthy Games, or Michael's Anti-Microsoft Rant of the Month, the site would have gotten stuffed a long time ago.
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The real twist on WarIII that breathe life into a dying RTS genre are the Heros ,the addition of Neutral units (in that they hate all players equally), and Upkeep.
So what you're saying is that Warcraft III offers no real advancements over Kohan which came out over a year ago?
... which seem like "selling out"
/. tries to help them sell the WarCraft III product.
We totally trash Blizzard for, well being assholes and shutting down a project like BNETD which people use for legitimate purposes using the DMCA, then
You seem to be under the impression that Slashdot is some kind of crusade or political pressure group. It's not, it's a forum, a site where people submit things that others might be interested in and then comment on them.
Guess what? Some of those people are interested in Warcraft III. Some of them don't care or even agree with Blizzard's actions over Bnetd.
You assumed that the posting of a previous story was some sort of editorial stand, when in fact it was just another story.
If you want to give money to a 'cause' give it to the EFF or GNU or someone like that.
Grunt rush? China. What people don't seem to understand is that in combat, the definition of 'fair' is 'anything your opponent cannot stop you from doing.' Is offshore bombardment, stealth technology, and not even bothering to send in actual ground troops until it's time to mop up 'fair' to Iraq of Afghanistan? Of course. Why? It works. If an opponent 'rushes' you and you cannot stop it because the game has an imbalance issue, fine. That's a problem. If an opponent' rushes' you and you cannot stop it because you're too busy building the perfect economy, then you lost of your own accord.
Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
Thanks to Microsoft, we know that use of the acronym "PC" is synonymous with "runs Windows*".
Thats TACTICS!!!!!
Strategy is in building, planning, and managing resources
If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
So when Sony admitted that they had invented a fake reviewer to generate favorable quotes for movie ads, did you write a venomous missive to your local newspaper, calling them hypocrites for a good review of "Black Hawk Down"? Because that is real journalistic integrity. They didn't let the misconduct of Sony's marketroids alter their opinion of the film. (Hypothetically speaking. For all I know, your local rag hated "Black Hawk Down".)
I don't seem to recall a post stating that all the editors got together and agreed that Vivendi/Blizzard are a bunch of soulless corporate bastards, and shall never get good press from Slashdot again. (Come to think of it, I don't seem to recall a post stating that all the editors got together for any reason. Unless a lan party at CowboyNeal's place went horribly wrong, and they're all sworn to secrecy. <g>)
Slashdot has no collective editorial opinion. It's quite possible that, while Michael loathes Blizzard for daring invoke the DMCA to squelch an Open Source project, Rob may agree with Blizzard that bnetd will let punks war3z them out of business. I don't know that for sure, but it illustrates the point that the editors are individuals. Each one posts what he thinks is important, and let's the reader make his or her own judgements.
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In simpler terms, Sun Tzu wrote:
"Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy."
(Oh, now I remember where I first saw this...)
Become a FSF associate member before the low #s are used