09-05-2003, 08:43 PM
I agree that Warcraft 3 was extremely cliched, especially in the beginning it was like a pastiche of typical fantasy themes that will seem very familiar. It doesn't help that you end up playing characters that the plot forces to do things that seem totally ridiculous.
Most of Warcraft 3 single player was simply too easy as well, even when playing on hard (this from an experienced RTS perspective) most of them are still pretty easy. There are a couple of quite challenging ones thrown in though, so it isn't a total walkover.
The Frozen Throne has a much more original storyline that draws on the Warcraft universe rather than random pulp literature - even if it wasn't fantastic it at least didn't make me cringe like the first one did.
The single player missions on Normal difficulty are much more reasonable, but generally just a little bit too easy. A lot of thought has gone into making the Frozen Throne maps different, and I no longer cringe if I have to play a limited unit dungeon crawl style map. On Hard difficulty, however, they're just not much fun (imho). The computer gets to cheat a ridiculous amount - it can build troops in a fifth of the time that you can and gets infinite money. This means that fighting in an enemy base is nigh on suicidal because the computer can trickle in infinite reserves during the battle. I played through the first of the three campaigns (except the last mission) and stopped because it just wasn't fun. I may go back and try again though.
The custom maps are great fun, I particularly like the Aeon of Strife ones, where you have two computer controlled armies that attack each other in endless waves and you have to turn the tide of battle with your one hero.
Overall it's probably worth giving it a try, but don't build up your hopes too much if you play mostly for the single player. And do try seeking out some of the better custom maps out there, they can significantly prolong the life of the game.
Strom
Most of Warcraft 3 single player was simply too easy as well, even when playing on hard (this from an experienced RTS perspective) most of them are still pretty easy. There are a couple of quite challenging ones thrown in though, so it isn't a total walkover.
The Frozen Throne has a much more original storyline that draws on the Warcraft universe rather than random pulp literature - even if it wasn't fantastic it at least didn't make me cringe like the first one did.
The single player missions on Normal difficulty are much more reasonable, but generally just a little bit too easy. A lot of thought has gone into making the Frozen Throne maps different, and I no longer cringe if I have to play a limited unit dungeon crawl style map. On Hard difficulty, however, they're just not much fun (imho). The computer gets to cheat a ridiculous amount - it can build troops in a fifth of the time that you can and gets infinite money. This means that fighting in an enemy base is nigh on suicidal because the computer can trickle in infinite reserves during the battle. I played through the first of the three campaigns (except the last mission) and stopped because it just wasn't fun. I may go back and try again though.
The custom maps are great fun, I particularly like the Aeon of Strife ones, where you have two computer controlled armies that attack each other in endless waves and you have to turn the tide of battle with your one hero.
Overall it's probably worth giving it a try, but don't build up your hopes too much if you play mostly for the single player. And do try seeking out some of the better custom maps out there, they can significantly prolong the life of the game.
Strom