For fans of the real-time strategy genre, the likes of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans and, of course, Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness are amongst the best you can experience back in the day. Sadly, the genre, the entire series, and Blizzard Entertainment have seen better days, but there has been some positive movement as part of the festivities at the Warcraft 30th Anniversary Direct. Not only have the remasters of the first two games been confirmed, but they are available now.
The “fully remastered” versions of both games boast “brand-new, hand-drawn visuals that capture the original art style from each game, and you’ll be able to swap between the original graphics and the remastered versions in real time.” Furthermore, the first game will get updated controls to bring it in line with its modern counterparts, with right-click move, bandbox select, and a faster game speed being added.
Both games also have UI and UX improvements to improve the experience, such as “tooltips and health bars, mission select screens, and increased unit selection.” Brad Chan, the senior manager for the Warcraft RTS team, also shared that “Warcraft II will still have multiplayer functionality and all legacy custom maps will still be fully compatible and playable.”
If that’s not enough to excite you, then perhaps the news of proper fixes for Warcraft 3: Reforged will do the trick. The game, which was released in 2020 as a remaster of the third game and The Frozen Throne expansion, will be getting a substantial 2.0 update.
“When something is broken, you fix it. When something is wrong, you make it right. And if things aren’t good enough, you make them better,” Chan added. He further said that Warcraft 3: Reforged’s 2.0 update will overhaul the game’s environments and lighting, revamp the user interface, and enhances all classic assets to HD. This 2.0 update will also include new quality-of-life tweaks and more.
All of the titles can be purchased individually, or if you prefer to relive the heyday of the RTS genre in its full glory, the new Warcraft Battle Chest bundle is available at Battle.net for US$39.99.
