Reviewing Warcraft II -- Tides of Darkness seems redundant: if you haven't heard of Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft II, you probably think Doom is a CD-ROM about Revelations and MYST is misspelled. If, on the other hand, you have heard of it then you've likely noticed the dozens of reviews and awards it's received, and you've probably already experienced this extraordinary game for yourself. Warcraft II is a high-water mark in computer gaming and will be remembered as one of the most engrossing, well designed titles ever produced.

For those of you who may have been busy with Marathon (a forgivable offense), Warcraft II is a real-time tactical war game set in a fantasy world where orcs and humans battle for supremacy. Two armies clash as they're directed by up to eight players, either human or computer, and vie for control of land, sea and air. Players manage three simple resources and develop towns which in turn produce army units; these units range from simple grunts and peons to dragons, dwarven demolition squads, and Death Knights. While players struggle to mine gold, harvest wood, build lumber mills, construct smithies, and research magic spells, their opponents are sure to be sending raiding parties into their territories, wreaking havoc with the best laid plans of Sim-mayors.

Once a player has exhausted the two single-player campaigns -- with unique story lines and fourteen scenarios each -- he or she may connect to a multi-player game via direct link, modem, or network. A multi-player game is far more challenging than the somewhat sluggish computer player and is Warcraft at its best. One of the most exciting features of the game is that it supports TCP/IP access -- in English that means it can be played across the Internet. Now you're no longer restricted to demolishing the armies of friends and co-workers: find a willing victim online and send your Horde to New Zealand.

Blizzard has managed to balance solid network connectivity with great game play and stellar graphics. There are just enough resources in Warcraft II to make building towns interesting without miring players in tedious complexity; each army unit has just enough commands to give the game flexibility but maintain real-time control. To win, you'll need to be a fast mouser, but the game depends most on good planning and solid battle tactics. Blizzard's tactics certainly were on the mark when they designed Warcraft II.

-- Scott
November 4, 1996.

"Scott's Addictions" are postings about the games I play as I play them. When a game captures my interest and becomes a front-burner favorite, I'll post a tidbit or two here for you fellow gamers to enjoy. I'll only post the best games of my crop. No ratings, just ravings. And I'm semi-agnostic: I love the Mac, tolerate my PC, and split time on the PlayStation and Nintendo 64.

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