Warcraft III Battle Chest

I have been playing RTS games since Herzog Zwei on the Sega Genesis. I have played just about every major RTS since. WC3 is my favorite online game of all time. It is simple to learn with a lot of depth and nuances that can only be mastered by playing hundreds/thousands of hours. Online matches usually last from 10-30 minutes and longer if you choose to play on a large map, perfect for a quick game before bed or work. There are several melee game types 1v1,2v2,3v3, and ffa and both random/arranged team games. The auto-matchmaker is very good at finding an appropriate level opponent for you after a dozen or so matches.
The game is different than most RTS games in that it is more focused on small scale battles. Unlike AoE that focus heavily on macro/economies, this game makes you feel like your on the battle field. In many ways it's a throwback to Herzog Zwei in that every unit counts and every move you make could change the tide of war.
If you don't like competitive play you can always play thru the excellent single player campaign which is hands done one of the best I've ever played for an rts. You can also play any of the hundred or so custom maps that come out and are very popular(DoTA All-Stars).
This is a classic, and will be remembered along with Starcraft and Age of Empires 2 as one of the all-time best RTS games ever created. Without a doubt this is best money I've spent on a game, considering I've been playing it a lot the last 5 years and hopefully 5 more.

Nothing can beat this game. Ive played many games around the time I bought this game (5 years ago) but I always find myself running back to this game. Its so fun building your hero and creating this unkillable army/hero and demolish your opponent. Don't get me wrong this game is very hard starting out you will suffer alot of losing streaks online. I suggest playing the computer(not easy) and actually beating him five times before playing guys online. Because you will be completely owned. Ok now its time to talk about the game.

GRAPHICS: Around this time the graphics are great its kinda cartoonish but hey its blizzard what you expect.

GAMEPLAY: Its a RTS so you basically do the same thing like typical RTS games do build an army and destroy your opponent. But there Is one thing that makes this so different and more fun than ordinary RTS games. Its the heroes. You can level up your hero up to level 5 by killing monsters all around the map and you occasionally get items that will boost your hero's attributes. This also makes this game difficult to some players because It takes alot of multi tasking to create an army and level up your hero (two heroes) to level 5. The good side of this is that there Is always action in this game. There is no seize fire. Due to all the creep jackings(when another player attacks you from behind while you're trying to level up your hero) and expansion harrasing(when flying creatures or heros harras your gold miners in your expansion.) Its so addicting that you will be up for nights trying to think of a strategy to defend expansion harrasing. The Game is wonderfully balanced. Don't listen to the people saying NIGHT ELVES ARE IMBALANCED!! ORC ENSNARE IS IMBALANCED!! Its not, Its probably the most balanced RTS since Starcraft, Age of Empires II. They're four races each race has its own advantages and disadvantages.
The four races are:
Human: (my favorite race) A good and versitle race. Has the best casters. Has the best towers. Has the best tri hero combination, but its less mobile than other races making them easy to ambush, and it takes alot of multitasking with this race because it almost need all of thier buildings. And that hero 'the Archmage' is way to dependent on.

Orc: (my least favorite race) A strong and durable race. Has the best anti -air. Has the best melee units in the game. Has the best immobilization units in the game. Has The most balanced heroes. Has the best siege units. They run faster than other races. And its the easiest race to learn, but their casters suck donkey nuts, their base defense is one of the easiest to kill. and other races' heroes are generally stonger than orc heroes. And they look ugly.

Undead: A powerful race but the most vulnerable in the beginning. They look cool. Its fun controlling the evil guys. Has the strongest Heroes but over time they get weaker. Has the best regeneration /healing ability. Has the hardest base to destroy. And probably have the most powerful endgame units in the game. But getting to the endgame is tuff, they have the most vulnerable melee units (except abominations), thier workers are easy to kill, and their heroes are waaay to dependent on, Orcs tend to be hard to beat with this race because orcs always rushes.

Night Elves: The most versitle and complete race. Has the best ranged units. Has the coolest looking hero in the game 'The Demon Hunter'. Their endgame units are powerful but not the best. They have a good healing ability. Their units are the cheapest. But this race is hardest to learn(its not as easy as everyone says it is) they get owned by siege units due to their "unarmored units"(takes double damage from siege) is essential to the army. Their base is one of the easiest to kill, and the only good hero they have is the demon hunter.

Also another drawback of this game is that it feels more like a RPG/tactics game than a RTS because of the cost of the units being 120-420 gold and 10-80 lumber instead of the typical RTS cost of 20-40 gold and 10 lumber. so most of the time you want your units to live as long as possible due to the horrendous cost. plus you have to kill creeps(monsters around the map) because if you dont you will get beatdown by a level 5 hero. no matter how many towers you have or how many times you upgraded you units. You will lose.

STORY: Somebody said that this is a ripoff from starcraft and it is. The story is horrible and the campaign is boring. The fun part is when you play online.

Overall this game is very fun, Ive played it for over 4 years. There is even tournaments for good players like me, but this game is very difficult but if you be patient with it. You will be hooked to it for a lifetime. Also don't judge me over my bad grammar. I try hard to correct my mistakes. So I dont want a grammar nerd thrust a spear into my mouth because I forgot a period. If you can read it thats fine with me.

I am over 30, been playing for 5 years, and still love this game...
WHAT MORE CAN I SAY?!

If I have to choose one of the best gaems in the current world,
I will choose this game.
There's a lot of ways and methods to defeat your enemies.
You can play with your creativity.

You can't stop playing this game if you start.

If you aren't still warcraft player, Be the one.

If you like the old Warcraft games, World of Warcraft, or fantasy RTS in general, you'll love this battlechest. The guides are less than useful and printed in incredibly small font on pocket sized books, but the games are top notch.

Working your way through the two games' campaign modes will take a goodly deal of time, and it also leads right into the story of World of Warcraft (including explaining the mysterious Blood Elves from WoW's new expansion). Even after you've conquered campaign mode Blizzard's Battlenet is available to play custom and standard games with players all over the world.

There was nothing surprising here, I liked Warcraft III, so I bought the battle chest to get it and the expansion. Two solid games, and as long as they are so cheap together, you might as well get both. ^^