Quote:Warcraft III expansion revealed
Blizzard's upcoming expansion to last year's best-selling real-time strategy game will be called "The Frozen Throne."

According to a press release published on Computer Games Online, Blizzard has officially announced Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Some fans may be surprised to hear that the expansion may be released release as soon as this summer.

The expansion is set a few months after Warcraft III's final battle, and it focuses on events that take place on the arctic continent of Northrend, which was seen in a few missions at the end of Warcraft III's human campaign. The lich king Ner'zhul is imprisoned deep within the Icecrown glacier, and while this powerful undead foe is attempting to escape his prison, both the night elf renegade Ilidan and the traitorous former prince Arthus are trying to discover the powers that lie within the glacier.

As expected, much of The Frozen Throne's new content will come in the form of many new units and one new hero per race. A unique part of Warcraft III's multiplayer gameplay were the neutral buildings where units could be recruited and hero items could be purchased, and there'll also be plenty that's new here. The expansion will not only have additional neutral buildings to provide new upgrades, items, and abilities, but it will also have neutral heroes who can be recruited by players to supplement their forces with unique spells and abilities.

The Frozen Throne's single-player missions will take place in new environments, so it's natural that the multiplayer maps will also feature three new tilesets, which will come complete with new creeps and critters. Many new multiplayer maps are promised for the expansion, as are multiple new game types. The accompanying upgrade to Blizzard's Battle.net service will include clan and tournament support.

Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos has sold 2 million units worldwide since its release last summer, and it was named GameSpot's Best PC Game of 2002. For more details, check out our previous coverage of the game.

Quote: Many of the stoic high elves, reeling from the loss of their ancient homeland, Quel'Thalas, have given in to their hatred and despair and embraced the dark side of their magical natures. Calling themselves 'blood elves' - these cold hearted refugees seek to expand their remaining magical powers at any cost - even if it means courting the infernal powers of the Burning Legion! Though still loyal to the Alliance, the blood elves' passions will lead them not only to the highest pinnacles of power, but to the darkest depths of madness.

Quote: The campaign starts with the Night Elves, progresses to the Human Alliance, and ends with the Undead Scourge. The Orcs will have their own unique Orc-specific campaign that serves a stand-alone story

Quote:one of the new Human units is the Blood Elf Spell Breaker. The Spell Breaker is a sort of magical thief: his innate ability is spell immunity, and his learned spell is spell steal - an autocast spell that removes positive buffs from enemy units (such as bloodlust and inner fire) and transfers them to friendly units.

Quote:Those who are in love with Blizzard's trademark cinematics are in for a treat as two more are in the works for the expansion

Quote:The Pandaeran Brewmaster is a fascinating unit, and at first glance, is in for comic relief. It is literally a giant panda with a huge cask under its arm. Pardo said the abilities of this drunken hero are still in flux, but all of them will be related in some way to drinking, such as breath of fire or drunken brawler.

Quote:Originally posted by A Black Falcon
Plus, any sane strategy games fan should have bought SC four or five years ago.

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Quote: It'd be like being a Nintendo fan and not getting OoT until now with the bonus disk...