Warcraft: Orcs & Humans

"The often-overshadowed classic that started it all"

First of all, in writing this review I must first admit to my own bias: this was the first computer game I ever played. Our family had bought our first computer around 1993 or so- an old (then new) Packard Bell PC. We were satisfied with it for a few years, mostly using it for work. Sometime in 1996, we were introduced by a family friend to a computer game called "Warcraft". After installing it on our computer, he showed us what this game was all about. It was an amazing game; I had never seen anything like it. When he said it wasn't even that new, we were even more enthralled. So yes, Warcraft brings back a ton of nostalgia for me, but now that I've gone back and replayed it all these years later, I can write a hopefully less-biased review. Now that the backstory is over with, let's get to the review.

GRAPHICS: 8/10

When scoring graphics, I took into account both how they looked back in '96 (game was actually released a few years before that though), and how they hold up today. I was pleasantly surprised at how well-done the animation and graphics hold up today. The graphics are certainly better than most of Warcraft's contemporary RTS games (like Dune II), and today, although they do look dated, this is by no means a flaw. In fact, it gives the game a sort of retro charm to it. Unlike even some modern RTS games, you can clearly tell where your troops are and it's easy to tell them apart. The graphics are just simply well-done graphics for '94. Anyone who appreciates classic games doesn't usually care about awesome graphics anyway so the graphics factor is more a visual style rating than a pure graphical power test.

SOUND/MUSIC: 9/10

It's funny, because as I was playing it, I could remember every song from back when I used to play WC all the time. The soundtrack has a dark, medieval tone. It uses weaker sound technology (it's a 13-year old game, people) than today's symphonic game soundtracks, but if you can get past the less real-sounding instruments, the soundtrack fits a medieval warfare mood perfectly. The sound effects are purely classic. Hearing a Footman say "Why do you keep touching me?" after clicking on him too many times is just as entertaining as ever, and the voice acting in the mission briefings and such is cheesy and over-the-top, but in a righteous kind of way.

CONTROL: 7/10

RTS gamers spoiled on modern-day amenities like waypoint systems, large unit grouping functions and rally points will probably be scared off by Warcraft's outdated interface. Right-clicking somewhere on the screen centers your camera to where you clicked- it doesn't move units. That's right, you have to move units by clicking on the "move unit" button when you have a unit selected, or remember hotkeys. Also, four, that's right, four units can be selected at once. The horror!!! Really though, you get used to it quickly and since the battles in Warcraft are highly tactical (you cannot lump your troops together, throw them at the enemy and expect to win), this isn't too much of a problem. What I usually do is play the game on "Fastest" speed for the most part, and when a battle is imminent, switch to "Normal" or slower speed so you can focus on the small tactics of the battle. Warcraft, like any RTS, is all about micromanagement, so there's always enough stress on you so that it's a challenging experience but not enough difficulty to make you want to smash your monitor with a hammer.
GAMEPLAY: 10/10

Here we are, the only part of the review that matters; the gameplay. Warcraft: Orcs and Humans is a great, addictive game all around. It's a Real-Time Strategy game (RTS), meaning you'll control small groups of troops and small outposts rather than a huge map like in a turn-based or 4x game. You've got two sides to choose from: the brutal Orcs or the Human defenders. Both sides are very balanced, as only a few units are more than just cosmetically different. Most of the units (your troops) correspond to a unit on your opponent's side. Human Footmen are the same as Orc Grunts. Human Archers are equal to Orc Spearmen. Human Knights are akin to Orc Raiders, and Human Peasants are equal to Orc Peons. Both sides also use a Catapult, a powerful siege weapon which can dish out one-hit splash kills like no tomorrow. Both sides have some unique units as well. The Orcs get the Necrolytes (who can raise the dead, among other spells), and the Warlocks (they can summon Spiders and Daemons, the single best unit in the game). The Humans get the Clerics (spells include healing your troops), and the Conjurers (who can summon Scorpions and Water Elementals, among other spells). All of these units look totally different, but the four unique ones I mentioned above are the only ones that play differently. Your town is built along a cobbled road, which you can build onward to extend the reaches of your base. In some scenarios, including all custom maps, you can also build walls. Your goal in the nicely paced single-player campaign is to complete each mission until you reach the game's climactic battle. There are two campaigns; the Orc campaign and Human campaign, of which there are a good amount of missions in each. I've found the Human campaign to be much easier, so beginners should start there first. The missions aren't extremely varied; most of them involve building up your base and taking out all the enemies, but there are a few dungeon-crawling (more like cave-crawling) missions too, and in one of them you get a hero unit (hero units were a big deal back then). There are also a handful of ways to play against a human opponent, including Network play, Modem and more. The multiplayer mode is a lot of fun. Essentially, you and a friend go at it in a standard skirmish-type game. Not too varied, but again, the base game is so enjoyable that you don't need a slew of multiplayer modes to make MP a fun experience.
The core game is just alot of fun, and the enemy AI is surprisingly competent for 1994 (although your troop AI is exquisitely terrible, forcing you to micro-manage more than you'd probably like).

STORY: 8/10

The story isn't the overblown mess that was Reign of Chaos (don't get me wrong, WCIII is a great game, but the story wasn't as satisfying or conclusive as the original). The story is pretty simple. Unknown creatures called Orcs have invaded the Human Kingdom of Azeroth and they're not friendly invaders. King Llane has tasked you with defending various hamlets, towns and regions in Azeroth from these brutish monsters. You'll also need to take the fight to the Orcs and attack Orc-controlled swamps and finally, their stronghold of Blackrock Spire. On the flip side, if you're playing as the Orcs (the storyline-true, canonical ending), Blackhand has assigned you to command his troops and bases in order to take over Azeroth, sack the Humans' Stormwind Keep, and drive the humans into Lordaeron. The story is greatly enhanced by the voice-acted mission briefings, and the game makes you want to carry out the tasks in your campaign through it's intriguing story. Each side definitely has a unique flavor as well.

OVERALL: 10/10

Warcraft: Orcs and Humans is an excellent classic game. Oftentimes, modern RTS games are so excessively gimmicky and rehashed that once in a while I just go back to ye old Warcraft. It's not the most user-friendly of games, but it's great for what it is.

Rent, Buy or Skip?

Well, sadly, this game is now Abandonware, meaning you can get it for free, which is the upside to this. It's available for download on Abandonia.com, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend this, as it hosts the floppy version of the game and not the cd version. The difference is that I'm pretty sure the floppy version doesn't let you hear the voice-acted mission briefings and the cinematic are more like sideshows in this version. I'd recommend downloading the official game demo first from Blizzard. The best case scenario is getting the actual CD version of the game. I imagine you can get it for pretty cheap anyway, and it's the best way to play it. You're going to need to download a program called DOSbox if you're running it on a newer computer, as it simulates DOS. If you don't run it in DOSbox, you'll get a horrible General Midi soundtrack when playing the game instead of the original soundtrack, and the sound effects may not work. So, I'd recommend buying it. It's worth every penny.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/29/07