Much like the air troops, they don't add much tactically but are a welcome and most importantly, fun inclusion. They are resource intensive too, but nevertheless are necessary to complete certain levels. Each side can muscle up to five different types of vessels, all of which require a crew to sail. Attacks are again much the same as land battles with no need to change tactics because you can float. The naval units only serve to add variety too.
They add little strategically but damn, do they look cool. Air soldiers are used in much the same way as land units but are unhindered by trees, rivers or lakes. Vehicles or sometimes creatures can explore these new terrains to scout enemy bases, uncover hidden areas or change the tactics of how you attack. There is another nice addition in the form of sea and air units. Like the first game, each unit has a re-skinned doppelganger on the other side with the exception of magic users like Paladins, Mages or Death Knights whose spells differ depending on their race. Humans now have Elves Dwarves and Gnomes to aid them on their quest while the Orcs have recruited the support of Ogres Trolls and Goblins. There's even a larger roster of allies, each with their own set of abilities. More would've been nice but I accept that it was possibly down to the limitations of the time. You can now select up to nine minions at a time, making the manipulation of larger armies less frustrating. Apparently, that's what happens if you abuse the hand of a god. Beware, though, as one click too many will cause him to explode. I wouldn't be surprised if you clicked on that peon several times just to hear all he has to say. In the first game, there were so few dialogue responses that hearing 'OK' on every click became annoying quickly. The resulting art style is one that is cartoony, bright and detailed - an aesthetic that really draws you into the world as well as the quirky humour found throughout. The sprites were created by first rendering them in 3D, then given to Blizzard's talented art team to draw over. Instead, everything has been expanded upon or refined and the result is a game that surprisingly stands the test of time. The truth is that when you get down to it, nothing really has changed. It's all very familiar, except possibly that last part. You still use these resources to build various structures which will better your army and when your army is good enough, you still attack the enemy. You still breed peasants or peons to collect gold and lumber as well as the new addition of oil.
On the surface, nothing has really changed. Much like the first game, it continues to be ignored by Blizzard, yet the inferior (though still good) third entry has been made available. Even now it regularly crops up every now and again on various best-of lists.
It garnered 90% plus review scores across the board and topped many publications best of lists from that year. WarCraft 2 was a massively successful release back in December 1995. Does this once game-changing title still hold up? If you read my thoughts on the first game last week, you probably know the answer but let's talk about it anyway.
I've already written about one of them - Diplomacy Is Not An Option - and the other is Age Of Darkness: Final Stand, a game with the most boring name imaginable, but is secretly very good.The movie may be wowing/disappointing cinemagoers (delete as applicable) in all territories now, but that hasn't stopped me getting my retro RTS kick by playing WarCraft II again. Fortunately, I've happened upon a couple of games in recent weeks that have really scratched that old Warcraft 2 itch of mine. *gestures to all their ongoing harassment lawsuits*. I'd also like a version that isn't, somehow, made by Activision Blizzard because. I know there's version of it on GOG, but I'd also just quite like, you know, a newer, shinier version with a more up to date UI and all that jazz, and one whose map didn't whizz over to the other side of the screen with a single tap of the arrow key. It is something I wish I could play again now with all my heart. I loved building up my fort and endlessly poking the peasants and peons until they shouted back at me in annoyance, and man alive, there is nothing sweeter than ordering a tooled-up army across the map and absolutely wrecking the enemy in one fell swoop of doom and destruction.
As one of the few PC games I had growing up, I ended up playing the campaign over and over again - or at least starting it over and over again - for what felt like actual years. When I think back to the games of my childhood, nothing puts a warm, fuzzy smile on my face like Warcraft 2.