Score
Gameplay:	9
Graphics:	9
Sound:	9
FunFactor:	9
PlasmaFactor:	9
Overall:	9

WarCraft III: The Frozen Throne Review
March 24, 2004 by Ryan Newcomb

by ryann - March 24, 2004

In the aftermath of the Archimonde's defeat, who controls the chaos which still plagues Azeroth but the Lich King on his Frozen Throne?

A long time ago in a ... shit, wrong game.

If you like the Warcraft series, then picking up a copy of WCIII: The Frozen Throne isn't a bad idea. Blizzard has always done well with their expansions, and the Frozen Throne is not an exception. It is an excellent package, with new buildings, units, and heroes for balanced gameplay, as well as new maps and an exciting storyline-driven campaign.

The story of The Frozen Throne picks up in the aftermath of the Legion's defeat at Mount Hyjal, where Archimonde of the Burning Legion was defeated by the united front of the Humans, Orcs, and Night Elves.

The story of The Frozen Throne picks up in the aftermath of the Legion's defeat at Mount Hyjal, where Archimonde of the Burning Legion was defeated by the alliance of humans, orcs, and night elves. With Scourge's plague of Lordaeron, the human survivors have colonized the eastern coast of Kalimdor. The Orcish Horde has founded a new home on Kalimdor which they call Durotar, and the night elves continue to defend the Ashenvale Forest from outsiders.

Illidan, the traitorious Demon Hunter, is still free and preparing to stir up a lot of trouble for the world of Azeroth by raising an ancient race of warriors known as the Naga. Will he use these powerful creatures to get revenge on the night elves, or will Illidan redeem himself and join forces to fight the Undead?

Prince Arthas has been crowned King of Lordaeron. Those who have yet to fall victim to the Undead plague in Arthas' kingdom are continuing to wage war against Arthas and the Lich King's minions. Among these survivors include the Blood Elves (a new race introduced into the game's single-player campaign) led by Kael'thas, that will stop at nothing to get revenge on those who destroyed their magical kingdom of Quel'thalas.

In TFT, like it's mothergame, you follow the story by playing as each race until the game is completed. You begin with the Night Elf campaign, then the Human Alliance (or Blood Elves), and finally the Undead. The Orcs are left out of the story that links the other two races, but they are given a seperate campaign which plays more like an RPG than a strategy game... this would seem like a 'no no' because you are generally only controlling one unit instead of many, but the story itself makes the Orc campaign actually worth playing.

Everyone wants a log, come on and get your log!

The graphics are a little outdated when compared to newer strategy games. This doesn't take away from the gameplay by any means, it's just a petpeeve of mine. For example, when a worker is collecting wood... how exactly is he picking up logs from a tree that he hasn't chopped down yet? Maybe I'm just spoiled from the Age of Empires series, but I just can't stand the damn lumberjacks in this game!

One of the coolest special effects in the game comes from a simple sheep or a pig. Try clicking about 30 times on an animal that is wandering around the map, and tell me the explosion of blood and guts doesn't look totally sweet!

Who said Blizzard games don't have bugs?

The sounds are of high quality and with the usual Blizzard humor. Click on a unit several times to hear them speak some very cheesy lines (which seem to reflect the game developer's favorite movies, such as Star Wars). I just wish the Faerie Dragons, a new Night Elf unit, weren't so annoying.

Dorks, they just wanna have fun

While I don't see WCIII:TFT lasting the test of time like StarCraft and it's expansion, it is still very fun and worth the buy. If you don't mind being rushed early on by so-called "Gosu" players, then you are in for a hell of a time because this game will keep you glued to your computer for hours. Even if you get tired of the campaign and standard multiplayer action, create your own maps or campaigns with the map editor included in the game, or play the countless player-created maps already on the internet.

The good, bad, and the ugly

Good- Anubarak!!!

Bad- TFT could have used some graphics/animation upgrades.

Ugly- looking at Anubarak and thinking of what he's feces would look like. "Now thats one big pile of shit!"

 

A future?

The only major fault with this exceptional expansion pack is with the launch of World of Warcraft, I bet there will be less people playing TFT, and a release of a Warcraft IV is unlikely or very far off.