PC World - USA (2020-03)

MARCH 2020 PCWorld 37

the Rings games,
serviceable
hack-and-slashes
that attempted
to capture the
scope of the
films on
PlayStation 2-era
hardware—and
did an okay job,
by 2002
standards.
Warcraft III
felt more
grandiose
though. It had
the eye-in-the-
sky viewpoint
that only a strategy game could give. The
armies were larger, the battles more chaotic
and unpredictable.
The Battle of Helm’s Deep became a
particular favorite, and for good reason. There
are so many unique elements. There’s the
curved bridge leading up to the walls, archers
peppering the oncoming orcs with arrows.
Behind the door, elven swords arrayed a dozen
ranks deep defending a narrow chokepoint.
Gimli and Legolas competing for kills.
And of course, the two pivotal moments:
The Uruk-hai blasting a hole through the
fortress walls and streaming into the
courtyard, and then the last-minute rescue by
Gandalf and the Rohirrim at dawn.

Those touchstones made Helm’s Deep a

perfect fit for modders. They gave the conflict a

structure: An asymmetrical hold-out mission,

with a fixed number of defenders fighting back

an unlimited orc army. The battle evolved—first

a fortress siege, then a chaotic scrum after the

walls are breached, and then a desperate final

stand in the keep itself. A timer counted down

the minutes to Gandalf’s arrival, forcing the

orcs to play aggressively and giving the

defenders some small measure of hope.

It felt...well, maybe not real, but

cinematic. Dynamic, in a way that most

Warcraft III maps were not. Modders

competed, creating ever-larger and more

sophisticated simulations of the battle. I

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.