E3 Showcase Title - Warcraft 3
At the Electronic Entertainment Expo starting today, Blizzard EntertainmentÒ previewed the latest design and interface enhancements for WarcraftÒ III, the next game in the company's best-selling Warcraft series. For the first time, the company unveiled the game's new isometric camera angle, which now allows for scrolling, free-form building and the ability to control individual units independently without hero characters.
Building on the success of the Warcraft and Starcraft series, Blizzard hopes to elevate the current definition of strategy games by including more role-playing elements such as hero characters, fewer units, less concentration on resource management and more interactive environments. In Warcraft III, players control smaller, more powerful forces as they complete quests and interact with non-player characters, while simultaneously devising strategies to succeed in the overarching mission of defeating opponents. Heroes serve as special units with the ability to advance levels, collect items in a small inventory and confer special benefits on units near them.
Key features in the game include:
Five different races to command including Orcs, Humans, Demons and Undead, each possessing unique units, magical abilities and weapons of war.
Legendary heroes lead powerful forces while completing quests, gaining experience and acquiring special items.
Fully interactive 3D world that incorporates non-player characters; wandering monsters; neutral towns, strongholds and temples; and environmental effects.
Skeletal and skinning animation process allows infinite frames of animation resulting in true fluid movement of 3D models.
Campaign editor allow players to create custom 3D maps and complete missions with scripts for units, spells and event triggers.
Expanded multiplayer options over Battle.netÔ including a larger number of players per game and multiple game types including team play and questing.
The company's number-one selling Warcraft series has won industry acclaim and has shattered sales records. Since the original Warcraft: Orcs and Humans released in the 1994, the series has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide. Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness won multiple Game of the Year awards, as well as Best Multiplayer Game.
Warcraft III is expected to release during the first half of 2001 in Windows 95/98/2000/NT formats. The game will be available for about $55 (USD) at retailers nationwide and through the company's webpage at www.blizzard.com.
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