In my view all 3 versions of warcraft have their good and bad points. Warcraft 1 is an excellent and very fun game, but has some major flaws. The first one is the interface (but then again Dune 2's interface is even worse), but the one that bugs me most is the Daemons and Elementals. These units cost no resources and are far stronger than any other unit in the game. Once players get the Conjurers and Warlocks needed to summon them the game becomes a race to see who can summon more of these in the lesat time. The only other important unit once you reach this stage is the Catapult. All the Archers, knights etc. become irelevant. Also, the hunams get better spells - healing for example is far superior to raise dead. Still, a good grasp of strategy is needed to win the game, especially if you agree not to use Daemons/Elementals, and this is what I like in a stratgy game. Warcraft I is simple, fun and rewards intelligent tactics.
My main problem with II and III is the change in the story. I really prefer the classic evil orcs vs. good humans medieval matchup. Already in warcraft 2 we have elves, trolls, goblins, gnomes, dwarves and who knows what, none of which is mentioned in the first game (the third game moves on to add Vampires, Night elves etc. - in fact very similar to the standard fantasy fare - I liked how Warcraft 1 could just take 2 simple races and make a good story and fun game). The rapid increase in gunpowder weapons, torpedoes and similar bugs me (if the ships use heavy cannons, why do the infantry still use swords and catapults) - and in warcraft 3 it gets worse - mortars and riflemen! What's next - apache helicopters and lasers?!? Also what annoys me is the change in the orc's mentality from game to game: in I they're just purely cruel and evil, in II they're cruel, but wacky and stupid, and in III they suddenly change to some sort of honourable warriors (really, you expext me to believe these are the same critters?). Oh yes, and in Warcraft II the units move much faster than in Warcraft I and the archers have a ridiculously short range, removing any sort of tactics when fighting with non-magic using land units like Footmen, Knights, Archers etc.
--End of rant--
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