One major problem with Real Time Strategy games is that balance usually lends itself to the creation of a massive army of one type of unit. However, Warcraft III was designed to break that mold. By the clever crafting of designers, no two games are the same onslaught of one type of unit. Also, Blizzard, being the dedicated company that they are, releases patches that alter balance issues as well as fix bugs. In addition to this, Warcraft III includes the addition of hero units who become more adept and can carry an arsenal of items to compliment their skills and the skills of other units.

The single player storyline is absolutely stupendous. The voice-acting, mixed with the utilization of 3D-in-game cutscenes, creates an encompassing atmosphere that makes the player become more engrossed with the story with every mission. Even better is the diverse types of missions (from total conquest to covert rescue operations). To top of each campaign off, Blizzard gives the player a beautiful 3D-rendered movie that caps the events of the campaign and opens the door for the next one.

Not much needs to be said about the multiplayer segment of Warcraft III. Blizzard's Battle.net has always been known to be high quality. Warcraft III is no exception on Battle.net. With the addition of clans and spectators (with a patch available online), multiplayer play on Battle.net is exciting and fast paced, giving gamers all they need to lose hours of their lives playing a game.

I suppose a little should be said about the extra features of the collector's edition. The included DVD is a nice extra, providing a DVD-quality representation of the 3D cutscenes as well as many other Blizzard trailers and trivia. The soundtrack for the game contains examples of the awesome musical score made for Warcraft III, and The Art of Warcraft opens the world behind Warcraft's art, showing the depth and aesthetic beauty of the series. The added prints for each of the races are a nice addition to any hard-core player's collection.

Indeed, Warcraft III is an awesome game that has added to the Real Time Strategy game genre, showing that even this aging game style can adapt. Leave it to Blizzard to do this; they did it with Warcraft I and II as well as with Starcraft. This is a highly recommended buy for any computer gamer.

"An outstanding game"
I have long since been a fan of Warcraft, ever since the first game hit PCs well over ten years ago. Back then, Warcraft was nothing but a simple RTS game with bland, flat graphics and generally average gameplay. Yet there was something about it that just pulled you in. When Warcraft II hit a few years later, it revolutionized strategy gaming, and spawned the still immensely popular Starcraft. But Warcraft III finally hit with a bang...and its quite possibly one of the best games I've ever played.

Taking a giant leap into uncharted territory, Warcraft III does away with Orcs vs. Humans and expands the story to encompass 2 new races, in addition to the Humans and Orcs:

Night Elves, which are blue-skinned, nature-loving distant cousins of the Elves that joined the Alliance in Warcraft 2. Consisting mainly of archers and ranged weapons, the Night Elves are a formidable force with unique abilities.

Undead, which are gruesome, evil creatures spawned from the demonic Burning Legion wash over the world like an unstoppable plague. Consisting of ghouls, arachnid-like Crypt Fiends and other grisly monsters, fans of Starcraft will immediately see similarities between the Undead and the Zerg. In fact, there is almost zero difference between the Zerg and the Undead, other than the units.

All sides have an array of unique buildings, abilities and units. The story in Warcraft III is vast and is told through excellent in-game cut-scenes using the game's new, sophisticated 3-d engine. The graphics are outstanding and the sound is excellent. Tons of voice-over bring the units and characters to life.

Most notably different in Warcraft III, other than the 2 new races, is the inclusion of Hero units, which are now the central focus of the game. Hero units gain levels and experience, getting new abilities as they progress through the game, adding a genuine role-play experience. Abilities and expereience carry with the hero from mission to mission, and the story mostly revolves around these few, key characters. These heroes can also collect items, which enhance abilities. There are also new NPC creatures called 'Creeps' which serve as fodder for your hero characters to gain experience.

The game gets progressively harder as you go, and novice Warcraft players will definitely find some missions so overwhelmingly difficult that they will either resort to cheats or stop playing the game all together. Otherwise, seasoned Warcraft Veterans will find the game to be quite challenging and fun.

As usual, Blizzard does not disappoint with its amazing cinematics, which are truly awe-inspiring. These cinematics convey the story brilliantly and are great rewards for completing each campaign.

This collector's edition comes packaged with an art book, which is a great insight into the development of the characters and serves as a great companion piece to the game. A word of advice: DO NOT look at the art book until after you complete the game! The art book is full of story and character spoilers that will ruin the gameplay experience for you.

Other bonuses include the Warcraft 3 dvd, full of special features and cinematics from the game(which, again, is recommended you do not watch until after you complete the game.) You also get the game soundtrack. These extras are well worth the money.

The bottomline is this: Warcraft 3 is probably one of the best RTS games out there. It improved on previous games in leaps and bounds and is a memorable gaming experience. Fans will probably love using the level editor, which is simple enough to learn, though it may take 2-4 weeks of dedicated learning to do so. The level editor enhances the game experience by allowing you to make your own levels, make your own events in these levels, and even create entire campaigns! WC3 has tons of replay value and is definitely well worth the long, long wait that Warcraft fans experienced these past few years.

BUY IT if you are a Warcraft fan...that goes without saying. You can't even dare call yourself a diehard fan of Warcraft unless you buy the Collector's Edition! This game will keep you playing for weeks on end, whether it is creating your own levels with the editor or facing other players worldwide on Battle.net!

"A wonderful strategy game to revolutionize computer gaming."
I purchased this game, Warcraft III: The Reign of Chaos on July 3rd, the day it was released. I expected it to be wonderful like other Blizzard games, however I was pleasantly surprised at the attention to detail that Blizzard has put into it. If you are new to the World of Warcraft, the game is about a medieval-themed fantasy world in which several races exist battling for domination. The game-play is that of a real-time strategy game, one has to think quickly and in advance to slaughter the competition. This game appeals to a large age group, however is generally geared toward players from their teens up. (due to some animated violence and the complex thought involved in playing). Warcraft III has two main elements, a rich, bold, and exciting single player campaign filled with an intricate plot and stunning cinematics as well as a free online multi-player strategy network second to none. The highlight, in my opinion is the online aspect of Warcraft III, dubbed "Battle.net" which accurately describes the premise of the online gameplay. On Battle.net there are also several types of games to choose from, single player mêlée games (facing anonymous players world-wide), multiplayer team games (fighting exciting battles with friends) and custom games. (In the custom games the sky is the limit, there is such a plethora of diversity among custom game types that one could play forever.) Many games have exciting action and enjoyable gameplay, however Warcraft III is unique in the computer-gaming world, it has a tremendous replay value, it is hard (at least for me and all the players I know) to ever stop playing. The online element of Warcraft III is a secure, anonymous network in which the player creates a special alias to play warcraft, this protects the computer of the user as well as the user's privacy. As I mentioned earlier, there are different races involved in the wonder of Warcraft III. Four Unique Races armed with distinctive units, magical abilities, and weapons of war face each other in brutal and extremely fun combat. Each race is carefully balanced to have equal advantages and disadvantages when playing other adversaries. In addition, the 3D engine is wonderful, it shows a vivid, third-person vantage point which looks marvelous. Unlike some similar games, Warcraft III does not require a supercomputer to run, although it does look better with a good video card. The requirements are as follows:

-- 400 MHz Pentium II or equivalent
-- 128 MB of RAM
-- 8 MB 3D video card (TNT, i810, Voodoo 3, Rage 128 equivalent or better) with DirectX® 8.1 support
-- 700 MB HD space
-- 4X CD-ROM drive

Something I neglected to mention is the awesome map editor included with Warcraft III. The feature-packed editor allows the users to create their own adventures and games to play solo or online with friends. Blizzard entertainment also provides excellent customer support, should the need for it ever arise from such a well-designed game. So all-in-all, Warcraft III is a genre-defining game. With it's stunning graphics, never-ending gameplay, fast-paced strategy, and unique theme, it is a must-have for avid gamers or computer newcomers alike. Have fun! :-D

"3 words: This game rocks.... alot!"
If you like Real Time Strategy games you will love this game. If you like RPGs you will love this game. If you like action games you with love this game. Ya its got all those genre's all rolled into one game. How is this possible you may ask? Custom Maps! Yes that is right, anyone who gets their hands on this game can easily make their own map with triggers and all the goodies. There are rpgs, action, paintball, just about any game you can think of has a custom map for it. The regular meleeing is great too with new features for b.net such as anonymous match making and arranged teams. This is by far THE BEST RTS I have ever played. It has great graphics(first TRUE 3d RTS I've seen), great sound(I have 5.1 speakers sounds awesome), and awesome gameplay that changes every time you play. The expansion is coming out in late June so that will make the game even better!

"good game, bad comp"
I bought the warcraft game and was expecting a lot. (since it is made by blizzard) Blizzard made the #1 stragety game (Starcraft) in 1999 and with the expansion to the wc series, i was hooked. The first to gameplays were good, but then it began to get slow and junky. I have an imac dv comp(which i got for christmas in 2000) but it still worked but was really slow. Im only 12 but i think its my graphics card. So get an updated graphics card to play this.
p.s-old power macintoshes are not conpatible with this game.