The storyline of WC3:RoC continues with FT, and it continues well. Illidan, who had been MIA at the end of RoC, returns, with the hope of crushing the Lich King for one of the last demon lords still around after the defeat of Archimonde. Other returning characters are Tyrande Whisperwind, Furion Stormrage, Prince (Now king) Arthas, Slyvanis Windrunner, and more. The story is great, and its more intriguing than the one in RoC, and we also get some backstory relating to the original two Warcraft games, which is great. Its amazing how Blizzard managed to integrate the stories of the three games. I haven't delved into multiplayer much, because one drawback of this game is that everyone is now a Level 1 player to start off, so, as a former Level 5 guy, I'm now playing Level 10 RoC players who have become the same level as me, which is intimidating. A couple of drawbacks are the lack of cinematics (Only two), and the sad absence of an Orc campaign, replaced by a bonus campaign designed to showcase the new advances in the map editor. While the new advances are neat, nothing can replace good old fashioned orcs. Also, some of the new multiplayer maps are terrible. They brought back boats in this game, but the only real benefits to the boats are troop transport. While there are battleships and frigates, they are really only there to protect the transports. The addition of boats was actually a more annoying thing, as now there are missions and maps that split everything into islands, and you need to get boats just to get them. Overall, this game is great, and a worthy addition to any PC game collection.
This game will go down as one of the best expansion packs ever. It has more new content, units, heroes, and other items than most games do let alone an expansion pack. You have 26 missions plus 3 missions from the Warcraft III demo. And one of the missions (called Act I) contained 15 quests that had 41 sub-quests to be completed, and though it wasn't that hard, there were a couple of challenges here. It took me (according to the game time counter) almost 2 hours to complete, but with the cut scenes, it was closer to 3 hours. The best thing (and I probably shouldn't mention this but I will) was that when you finished this bonus campaign, it said to be continued at the end. Then it informed you that you would soon be able to download Act II and Act III for free from Blizzard once it was completed. So free stuff is on the way. As for the 25 mission single player game, I found it quite challenging (unlike one of the other reviewers). These missions seemed longer and harder than Warcraft III. I think any fan of Warcraft will love it. Another cool feature is when doing melee attack and armor upgrades, you can do all available upgrades at once instead of waiting for one to finish and then have to go back to that building and start another. This expansion pack has more stuff packed in it than any other (except maybe Total Annihilation: Core Contigency) and like I said before, more than some games. If you liked Warcraft III, i suggest you get this expansion. If your like me, you will like all features of this game. I liked it better than the original.
I just finished the single user part of this game. It is a great game. I am not going to do a full review of this game since it has been done elsewhere. I am just going to record a few things I noticed while playing this game.
1. There is no new orc campaign in the main story arc. The bonus Orc campaign is not part of the main story. Also, it plays more like Diablo than Warcraft.
2. The bonus campaign only contains the first act, but with promise that 2 new episodes can be downloaded. Does this mean that future episodes are not free? I wonder if Blizzard is trying to start a subscription service.
3. This program (v.1.10) suffers from serious memory leaks. This means that eventually your computer will run out of virtual memory. If you are running an advanced operating system like Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you can just restart your program every few hours. I shudder to think what will happen if you were to be running Windows 98. However, Blizzard is very good about updates. So, if you log on to Battle Net at all, the problem will probably be fixed through a update download through Battle Net eventually.
I purchased this for a friend but when I received the game, I just had to try it out. As soon as I did, I fell in love with it.
My, Oh My! I cannot express the hatred I had for this game when it was originally released in the Summer of 2003. In November 2003, I decided to jump the bandwagon and see for myself what Blizzard has done with this expansion pack. There is no turning back now...I am in love all over again. To sum it up, Frozen Throne adds 4 heroes (1 to each race), a host of new units with new abilities, 5 new neutral heroes, player built shops, host of new maps and enhanced battle.net features. This is not your ordinary "Let's add 6 maps, a new game mode and call it an expansion pack" kinda gig. The game is much deeper than it originally seems at first glance. Players of Reign of Chaos will feel right at home with the controls. Be warned and get ready for some frustration as adjusting to the economy system of Frozen Throne will take a little getting used to. Many will tell you that cost is down in Frozen Throne, and this is true to some extent...but they neglect to tell you that nearly everything costs more lumber now. Old strategies often fail, so don't expect to win with that old Reign of Chaos strategy. Frozen Throne affords some variety on a level not seen in Reign of Chaos, that is you no longer see people getting the same units in every game. In the old days, you'd know what your opponent was getting if say, he was an orc player. Frozen Throne also exhibits a slower style of gameplay than featured in Reign of Chaos. This is not a bad thing at all. People no longer tech (upgrade) as quickly as they did in Reign of Chaos as there is more emphasis on tier 1 units (particularly melee) to survive early game. The game is balanced as can be and updates are a plenty. As the case with all Blizzard games, online play is a blast. For the hardcore strategist, Frozen Throne aims to please and boasts a surprisingly long campaign considering it is just an expansion pack. If games of this genre are your bag of tricks, don't miss out...pick this title up today!
This is the best expansion to a game possible. I thought starcraft was good but Blizzard went out of its way to design the game concept. I am at a lost of words over this. I think I'll go and play it right now.
At first I choked at the price of this product, high for an expansion, higher than many complete games are selling for, however after firing it up and playing a while I quickly realized that this wasn't just an expansion. It's a major overhaul of the game it's self - And a lot of new content to boot!
The original title was a major set up from Warcraft II, and the Frozen Throne expansion pushes the title just as much.
Obviously there is a new story based on the last title, and awesome new units and heros, but aside from the new content is the way that things work now. For the first time you can queue up upgrades, AND you can also queue up units at the same time (before one upgrade OR up to 7 units). A building Upgrade still takes over the queue, but not such a big deal.
Also new to the game are Runes, like healing/mana potions, except that you can't pick them up. Once activated by your hero their effect is immediate. The Tomes also work that way (Strength, Agility etc).
I haven't yet been able to play all the new units and heros, but the Night Elf (first campaign) Warden is much better than I thought it would be. My biggest complaint is that there isn't an traditional Orc Campaign. What they have (called the bonus campaign) is a single ongoing scenario that is much more role playing. So far it's fun, but I would still have liked a traditional campaign. Oh, it's also only part 1 of 3, so there is at least one more expansion to come...
Pros:
? Much new content
? New interface features
? Great new units/heros
? Interesting Orc Campaign
? Works well on a machine at low end of requirements
Cons:
? Price (though still good value IMO)
? No traditional Orc Campaign
Conclusion:
This game easily overcomes the few bad points, and is still a good value, though obviously you need the original Warcraft III to play. Highly recommended, and after you install it you won't want to play the original anymore...
The best thing about this expansion pack is that it has retooled the economy of WC3: Reign of Chaos, and has placed the four races on a much more balanced playing field. On top of which, the recently released Frozen Throne 1.12 patch makes a multitude of changes to the 1.07 version, furthering the equitability of this fine game.
Building costs have been drastically reduced for starters. This leaves you with more money to spend on troops. The upkeep levels have been increased to 50/80/100 for no, low and high upkeep respectively. Larger armies hence play a larger role in the game. New heroes have been added, all of which are quite good, and modifications have been made to the attack and defence systems. For example, heroes now do 'hero' damage, which deals 100% damage to everything, except fortified buildings. Gryphon Riders, Frost Wyrms and Chimearas all do 'magic' damage, which is best against heavy armour (Orcs, Knights etc). These are just a couple of the many changes made to Reign of Chaos. Most, especially after you install the patch, you won't even notice. But combined they make the game much more exciting.
The single player game is good, if not a little easy on normal, but that's okay. Play it on hard instead! But, the multiplayer, and I know every other person who has played Warcraft 3 says this... the multiplayer is gold! Pure gold baby! I never get sick of it. Even games against the computer are very good as well. The computer is a solid, thinking competitor and often gets the better of me, so it's always a race against the clock to get all aspects of your army up and running smoothly.
If you've got Warcraft III, you must get this expansion. It improves what I already considered to be one of the best games I've ever played.
in this game, u have to actualy use your brain to win.
you have to manage your units around the ennemy to get best formation etc.
you will learn alot of this game by playing online.
This game is simply amazing. Beyond what you play in the actual game, there is free online play with thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands of other people. The graphic quality is good and the game oportunities are without limit.
I got this game the day it came out and I have to say I'm impressed! The story line continues from War3 but there are a lot of differences (some good some bad).
The campain gives you control of more than 3 heros sometimes. The campian also lets you control a new race once (naga). There is no orc campain and in the human campaign you control blood elves.
I think there should be some minor tweaking for multi-player but I'm sure a Blizzard patch will fix that. *cough* orc bat-rider *cough*
u bet it is. warcraft is one of the best rts ive played. first, the graphics are wonderfull, lush forests, powerdery snow covered terrains, wet jungles, all are so beautiful its a joy to watch. the expansion not only added extra units, but a slew of extra features, includeing a brand new single player campaign. there were also many changes in the multi player part. that is the meat of this game. playin with and against other people is so addictive im up late into the night. balance is somewhat of an issue *cough* undead, but if ur not obsessive over winning every single time, u will have a blast just soakin into the atmosphere. music is epic, characters have great voices, which can become down right hilarious if clicked enough. the interface of the game is typical of rts, so its very functional, though the hotkeys on the KEYBOARD are used much more frequently since speed is a necesity, it feels like wasted space in the screen. if u want a hard, supremely complicated rts with bland graphics, get anything else, if u want entertaining, simple to learn yet impossible to master, beautiful looking, addictive rts made by the makers of diablo and starcraft, and lost vikings :),*inhale* get warcraft.hazaaaaa.
Blizzard has delivered again!! For an expansion, this is an incredible value! Each race has new units, new heros and new buildings to add to the mix. In the single player campaign, they've created a very complex storyline where you are using many more new and unique heros than those that are available in the multiplayer format -- and that aren't really advertised (Naga Witch, Undead Ranger, Dark Knight). You also get two additional races - the Naga and the Dranaei -- to play as well in the course of the single player campaign. There are some very challenging, very unique missions to go through -- makes for some great game play!!
In addition to the single player storyline, there is a separate Orc campaign that shows off their world editor tools and some new features built into the game that make it a little more RPG-ish or maybe Diablo-ish. The normal rules for hero development aren't a factor here as your heroes gain experience (no level 10 cap) and new and different items (even different from the regular campaign items). The Orc campaign is in 3 Acts. The first one is on the disc and Blizzard will make available at a later date the other 2 acts for FREE.
Way Cool Game -- especially the Neutral Hero Pandaran Brewmaster : ) This came out of an April Fool's page on Blizzard's website a few years back - its a riot!! I wish they had included more of Pandaran Empire. : D
If you already have Warcraft III, get this expansion - you won't be dissapointed. If you're looking to buy a game, buy both of these for some intense and enjoyable gaming.
This is the best computer game I have ever played. For anyone who liked Diablo and Starcraft, you will love this.
Although the expansion game is totally sweet, you need to be prepared to start playing a completely different game than WarCraft 3. The new units and systems make everything much different. I love the game and have been playing it for a couple months now, but its really different, so don't think your going to play the same race and think you'll do just fine, because you won't.
