This review originally appeared on IGN Middle East
The original Warcraft 3 was – and is – one hell of a game. Blizzard’s decision to breathe new life into the game and release a remastered edition this year was something that both fans and new players were looking forward to with great expectations. After all, it’s not every day that one of your favorite games gets a swanky new overhaul, right?
Warcraft 3: Reforged was a perfect opportunity for Blizzard to bring one of its most-loved RTS titles to a 2020 audience, but in reality the delivered game falls far from expectations. Reforged feels like a rushed attempt, and while there are certainly noticeable updates to the visuals, it doesn’t feel like the game that Blizzard promised its fans.
For previous players of Warcraft 3, the sheer joy you experience when watching the redone opening cinematic cannot be described. The original cinematic itself was a masterpiece at its time, but this version paints a much more detailed image, especially when the massive Infernal crawls out of its fiery pit to easily take on its puny orc and human enemies.
The menus also have a fresh look to it, and at first glance Reforged looks like it’s going to be a real treat to play. Sadly, that feeling wears off quickly, as once you actually start playing the game you begin to wonder why exactly this game was remastered in the first place.
Blizzard have said that character models have been improved upon, and this absolutely shines through. Character animations are much more fluid, and the models themselves are more expressive than previous ones. The only slight downside to this is that you rarely get to see these improved models up close – Warcraft 3’s camera angle is far away so you can view the entire battlefield, so most of the time you’ll miss out on how well the models all look now. It would be comical to try and play the game from a zoomed-in level, so it’s a shame that you can’t truly appreciate the time and effort that’s gone into making these models look as good.
Oddly enough, despite units and buildings coming with new animations, they still play a little – slow. Whether it’s units walking or attacking, animations just seem a little sluggish, even with the game running at the smoothest framerates. The other frustrating thing is that in initial videos that Blizzard showcased, the game featured much more dynamic camera angles during in-game cutscenes, giving weight to crucial moments in the game as well as showing off the new character models. However this isn’t the case with the game now, which sticks with wide camera angles to tell story plots. The reason for this omission is a mystery – possibly because of the time it would take for all the in-game scenes, but it’s a true shame regardless.
While the opening cinematic has been built from the ground up, the rest of the cinematics have been remastered to adjust for better resolution displays. They still look decent, but effects such as shadows, light blooms, and fabric creases appear slightly dated compared to that stunning opening cinematic. Blizzard have said that eventually the team wanted to “preserve the true spirit of Warcraft 3” and that redoing all of the cinematics would take away from this spirit.
The problems continue with the fact that Warcraft 3: Reforged and the classic Warcraft 3 are now baked into each other. You can toggle between each version through the options menu, but the merging means that previous owners of classic Warcraft 3 will have to make do with the problems with Reforged, such as the lack of LAN multiplayer. Another sticking point is the new license agreement that relates to custom maps. Warcraft 3 bundled with an excellent map editor that gave rise to incredible mini-games and map challenges, but this time around Blizzard clearly states that anything you create in the map editor is the property of Blizzard. So if you end up creating a fantastic map or game mode, Blizzard have every right to pluck that from you and claim it as their own.
Despite all of this, at its core, Reforged is Warcraft 3 in all its glory. The game is as good as fans remember, with an excellent story campaign spread across four very different playable races. For those who haven’t played the game in years, Reforged is an excellent trip down memory lane and will get you excited all over again to relive the paths of some of the game’s most iconic characters. New players who’ve never played Warcraft 3 before can sink their teeth into a spectacular RTS game with hours of campaign missions.
Multiplayer is a throwback to the glory days of online matchmaking, and the myriad of maps and game options will certainly keep you busy. There were a few times where matches randomly froze up due to connectivity problems, but otherwise it’s a fairly smooth experience to duel against other human or AI players.
Warcraft 3: Reforged is a disappointing result by Blizzard, and will certainly not appeal to current Warcraft 3 players who have to make do with all the quirks that come with Reforged. There have been plenty of things that have changed since Reforged was announced, and unfortunately those changes have resulted in a less than perfect game. While Blizzard has promised future patches to address game issues, it’s going to take a lot more than that to appease fans. New players can still enjoy a fantastic game with a brilliant story, but veteran players are going to be furious with this less than credible treatment of one of Blizzard’s most iconic games.