Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne

Pros

• A continuation of a fascinating plot, replete with new lore, and a mix of new and favorite characters.
• Major improvements that make the gameplay much simpler and faster.
• Flaws of the original game, including the balancing of the various factions, have been addressed.
• The RPG campaign provides a unique spin on the game's popular RTS formula and provides a fascinating preview for what would become World of Warcraft.
• The Map Editor and Blizzard.Net features have been significantly improved upon, dramatically enhancing the replayability of this game.

Cons

• The Reforged version was hyped as a massive change to the game, but it underdelivered and was largely panned by players and reviewers.
• Though extremely sharp and engaging, music and sound effects can get repetitive when players use the game for along enough period of time.
• Cutscenes - even in the Reforged version - look dated and out of touch.

Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne is an Expansion Pack to the original Warcraft 3. The game takes place immediately after the conclusion of the events of Warcraft 3.

History and Availability

Long before the success of the World of Warcraft, the Warcraft series existed as a wildly popular Real-Time Strategy game. Indeed, the original Warcraft is largely credited with the creation and popularity of the entire RTS genre. Warcraft I and Warcraft II were both released in the mid to late 90s. The third game in this trilogy, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, was released in 2002. Like the other two games before it, this one was a critical and commercial success.

The Frozen Throne came out in July 2003. It was published and developed by Blizzard and is considered to be a key piece of the overall Warcraft lore, as many of its plot points and enemies have been folded into the World of Warcraft.

Today, the game can be downloaded as part of the Warcraft III: Reforged pack, which came out earlier this year. That game is available directly for download at either $29.99 or $39.99.

However, Reforged is not without its serious problems. Many critics noted that Reforged barely added any new plot points, replete with bugs, and without any real interface upgrades. As a result, aside from a few cut scene upgrades and minimal graphical improvements, the game was largely untouched and unimproved. Many fans objected, noting the minimal work put into this game was a slap in the face to the concept of a "remaster." Blizzard has responded to these concerns by promising to provide additional upgrades over time and has since launched numerous patches designed to address these issues. Indeed, these issues were so prominent with the launch of Reforged that Blizzard offered anyone dissatisfied with their download a full refund. The hope is that the major deficits of Reforged will be addressed as time passes.

Plot

During the events of Warcraft III, the formerly imprisoned Illidan Stormrage is freed in order to fight the Scourage. Stormrage provides assistance in the battles ahead but ultimately consumes a demonic artifact and is banished from the land. He is then contacted by Kil'jaeden, a leader of the Burning Legion, who gives him the task of killing the Lich King Ner'zhul. Ner'zhul is served by Arthas Menethil, the former human paladin who is corrupted by Ner'zhul.

The Frozen Throne picks up from roughly where the main game ended. It's various plot points are all roughly connected to the effort of Arthas to capture the Frozen Throne and become the new Lich King. The game also features the introduction of new races, like the Blood Elves and the Naga. In doing so, it also introduces various new heroes with new powers, new units, new structures, and a slew of new maps.

The game also features playable four campaigns, including an Orc campaign that deviates significantly from Warcraft's RTS mechanics, operating more like a Role Playing Game.

Graphics and Audio

When Frozen Throne first premiered, it was praised for its sharp cinematics and new gameplay. The expansion had a perfect feel to it: It offered new units and options while not deviating too far from the core gameplay. The graphics and audio were largely well-received, and even almost two decades later, both hold up very well.

Players who need a laugh were encouraged to click on units multiple times: Like all Blizzard games, this would yield funny voice-overs or fourth-wall breaking characters.

Game mechanics were improved significantly over the original game. The various races game with different strengths and weaknesses, but it was noted that there was a relative balance between them. Multiple reviewers also noted that the game came with new features that improved its speed, such as the generation of health and mana runes. These runes allowed for heroes and units to be healed quickly after battles, thus improving the speed at which the game could be played.

Gameplay

From a gameplay perspective, The Frozen Throne features largely the same play style as Warcraft III. Players mine for resources, create units, build structures, and ultimately command their forces to complete a series of mission objectives. Like the original game, mission types vary.

The Frozen Throne also comes with numerous gameplay improvements over the original game. The unit limit was raised by ten to 100, allowing players to control even larger armies. Armies are rebalanced: The undead armies now have a healer unit and night elves have much stronger attacking forces.

Both the original and Reforged versions come with the ability to play with friends and a Battle.net account, enabling online play against friends or strangers. It also comes with a map editor, allowing players to design their own scenarios and play them with others. The upgraded Reforged version, Spoils of War, also comes with additional hero skins and units that can be used in the game.

Pros

• A continuation of a fascinating plot, replete with new lore, and a mix of new and favorite characters.
• Major improvements that make the gameplay much simpler and faster.
• Flaws of the original game, including the balancing of the various factions, have been addressed.
• The RPG campaign provides a unique spin on the game's popular RTS formula and provides a fascinating preview for what would become World of Warcraft.
• The Map Editor and Blizzard.Net features have been significantly improved upon, dramatically enhancing the replayability of this game.

Cons

• The Reforged version was hyped as a massive change to the game, but it underdelivered and was largely panned by players and reviewers.
• Though extremely sharp and engaging, music and sound effects can get repetitive when players use the game for along enough period of time.
• Cutscenes - even in the Reforged version - look dated and out of touch.