PC Gamer - UK 2020-04)

Warcraft III at 200fps, but if you’re
looking at your army, it looks more
like stop-motion. In cutscenes,
they’re a lot less animated than
previously advertised, too. In 2018,
Blizzard showed off an in-game
cutscene from the Culling of
Stratholme mission, featuring lots of
close ups and characters gesturing
and arguing, but little of that is
present now. The cinematic
cutscenes that bookend the
campaigns, meanwhile, are the exact
same ones from the original game.
They’ve actually aged really well, but
they’re not nearly at the standard that
Blizzard has since become known for.
The developer’s also played it a bit
safe with the maps. Some locations,
like Dalaran and Strathholme, have
seen a more dramatic update, but for
the most part they stick very close to
the originals. Their design largely
remains excellent, whether they have
been built with story and pace in
mind, or just a big free-for-all online
fight. Veteran players will notice
some tweaks, like camps, mines and
other things being moved around, but
meaningful changes are few and far
between. Aesthetically, though, they
are pretty unappealing. Despite the
higher quality textures, it feels like
playing WoW Classic with modern
character models. The juxtaposition
just makes the maps look more dated.

CRAFT WORK
All the Warcraft III campaigns and
expansions are available, but after
nearly 20 years I’d really like to see
what Blizzard can still do with its
fantasy RTS. The dialogue and voice
acting can be uneven, but this is still
the best RTS story out there – sorry,
StarCraft fans. It’s also one I already
know by heart. With the recent Age
of Empires 2: Definitive Edition,
Microsoft added three new
campaigns that actually tried new
things, with much success. With that
release still fresh in my mind,
Blizzard’s work on Reforged feels a lot
more conservative. Still, replaying
Arthas’ fall from grace, devouring
Azeroth as the Scourge, and uniting
the factions to fight Archimonde is a
real treat. While the changes to the
campaigns are few and far between,
this is the best they’ve ever been.
Even if you’re in the camp who
wants everything apart from the
graphics to stay the same, you might
still be disappointed by other
omissions. The massive UI and text
that covers the screen are two big

pains in the arse, and there are no UI

scaling options at all. It looks

comically huge. The ability to zoom

in is rendered more pointless because

of the size of the UI, and you can’t

zoom out far enough to really see

your surroundings. More bizarre is

the inability to rebind keys without

some external faffing around. This is

a hotkey heavy game, so it’s a huge

oversight. Making a remaster in 2020

and skipping the accessibility options,

aside from a new ‘story’ difficulty

mode, is just a bit baffling.

Reforged was in beta for a while

before launch, letting a large number

of players test the multiplayer, and it

was delayed to give the developers

more time to polish it.

It could have probably

done with a bit more

time. At launch, players

started reporting

authentication

problems, not being

able to make custom

games, and plenty of

other issues. Some of

them seem to have been resolved,

while others that have been around

since last year remain, like micro-

stuttering that can occasionally reach

unbearable levels.

Then there are the issues that

aren’t bug-related. Despite Warcraft

III already featuring competitive

ladders, Blizzard has yet to introduce

them in Reforged at time of writing,

which isn’t an auspicious start for an

RTS looking to revive its esport

scene. Clans and automated

tournaments are missing, too.

Perhaps because it doesn’t want the

next Dota to slip through its grasp,

Blizzard has also changed its custom

game policy. If you make a custom

game in Warcraft III now, it belongs

to Blizzard. It owns the copyright and

can do what it wants with it, a policy

that looks set to prevent any real

resurgence of the original game’s

thriving map editor community.

Unfortunately, if these things are

putting you off, you can’t simply

return to Warcraft III Classic and

forget about them. The original has

been added to the new client, so the

connection problems, lack of

competitive ladders, and other issues

are now shared between them. This

might be the first time a remaster has

made its predecessor worse.

There’s a long list of

disappointments, some of which may

be sorted in time, but others we’re

seemingly stuck with. I still can’t

shake the itch to play more, though.

There’s a real dearth of

real-time strategy these

days, and even with its

issues, the core of

Warcraft III: Reforged

is exceptional. For

years now, I’ve been

dipping into MOBAs to

get my fix, but it’s not

the same. Dota 2 might

have dwarfed it, but I never got over

the loss of all my units and buildings.

If you’re just interested in the

campaigns, which tends to be the

case with most RTS players, then you

may be more content with what

Blizzard has released, even though

you’ll still encounter some rough

edges. This isn’t anything like a

comeback, however, and with the

rough launch and the community

seeming to turn against Blizzard after

it walked back improvements, I’m not

atallconfidentaboutitsfuture.

59

Warcraft III: Reforged

is an exceptional RTS

that is unfortunately

let down by this very

disappointing remaster.

VERDICT

If youmake a

custom game in

Warcraft III

now, it belongs

to Blizzard

ROLL CALL Get to know Warcraft III’s factions

HORDE

The orcs, trolls, and

tauren faction is

full of melee

bruisers backed up

by shamanistic

magic powers.

SCOURGE

The undead

Scourge is fuelled

by necromantic

magic and enjoys a

bit of cannibalism

now and again.

NIGHT ELVES

The Night Elves

love shooting and

magic. It’s a ranged

faction but can also

field huge giants as

a tanky frontline.

ALLIANCE

Made up of

humans, dwarves,

and elves, the

Alliance are the all-

rounders with tech,

magic, and knights.

Warcraft III: Reforged

REVIEW