30 Year Anniversary of WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness
2 days ago
- #RTS
- #Blizzard
- #WarCraft II
- WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness was released 30 years ago, on December 9, 1995.
- The game improved upon its predecessor with features like right-click commands, naval/aerial combat, unit upgrades, and Fog of War.
- Humans and Orcs were balanced with functionally equivalent units, though Orcs had an advantage with the powerful Bloodlust spell.
- Blizzard initially experimented with blending modern and fantasy elements during development.
- Multiple versions of WarCraft II were released, including expansions, console ports, and a 2024 remaster.
- The game received critical acclaim, winning PC Gamer US's 'Best Game of 1995' and fueling the RTS boom.
- Third-party utilities like War2xEd and Wardraft enabled extensive modding, influencing Blizzard's future map editors.
- Modding projects like DeathCraft and War of the Ring gained popularity, shaping Blizzard's approach to user-generated content.
- The author shares personal memories of discovering the game and being fascinated by its map editor.