Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal

"Despite it's title, the sequal hardly hits "beyond" the original game."

Well, this game wasn't exactly what I hoped for. It was almost redundant to go and make a sequel, because there is almost nothing to give. Either way, this review should help you decide about whether or not you would want to buy it:

Add-Ons To Original: 4/10
The only thing they added was a new plot and a couple of bug changes. What a disappointment to the name Blizzard.

Plot: 7/10
The game got a 7/10 only because they expanded the plot. Like the first, the plot was good, but was sort of difficult to follow and therefore you had to really concentrate in order to pick up every single word of the story.

Graphics: 7/10
They didn't even bother changing the graphics. There is nothing to talk about here.

Violence: 10/10
The sequel had slightly less violence than the first. I found that I was seeing less of the blood, and more of the action. Not a whole lot of change here. However, if you are the type of person who likes violence, then this score would probably be 8/10.

Compatibility: 10/10
Compatible, yes. Small, no. This game took a lot of space on my hard drive, so if you own WarCraft III but desperately need to install this game, then maybe you should just store this in your closet until you get a new computer.

Sound: 8/10
They didn't even bother to change the sound for this game. Disappointing, yes, but the cinematic sound still was worthy for the 8/10.

Difficulty: 9/10
Definitely harder than the first. I suggest practice in the original WarCraft II before you install this.

Add-Ons: 7/10
Well, it came with the Battle Chest pack, so you really can't add on much to that. However, the strategy guide that came with it was quite helpful, especially if you need a good attack force.

Overall, the game really didn't have much to talk about. If you are going to buy this game, buy it in the Battle Chest, but I would not recommend buying this off the street separate to the original.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 06/07/04