WarCraft III Expansion: The Frozen Throne

The expansion adds a new hero to each side- the Shadow Hunter for the Orcs, Blood Mage for the Humans, Crypt Lord for the Undead, and Warden for the Night Elves. The Shadow Hunter is probably the most notable addition here, since previously Orcs had no good way to heal their units early in the game. The Warden is also a good Night Elf pick if you want to try assassinating someone else's hero. Additionally, you can hire mercenary heroes at a Tavern. These are just as good as the ones you get normally, save that they don't take any time to train. They include the Naga Sea Witch, Pandaren Brewmaster, Beastmaster, Dark Ranger, and Pit Lord.

New units and upgrades are also added for each side. Some of the old units, including the Ballista and Catapult, have been changed and renamed. The Orc units are the Batrider (anti-air flyer) and Spirit Walker (Tauren support caster). Upgrades include the Troll Berserker- a throwback to Warcraft 2 and Reinforced Defenses, which makes defensive buildings tougher. The Humans get the Spell Breaker (a caster-killer) and Dragonhawk Rider (another anti-air unit) as well the Arcane Tower- which could save you from a one-hero rush. Upgrades include Barrage and Flak Cannons, which make Siege Tanks and Flying Machines into very serious anti-air units.

The Undead receive the Obsidian Statue, which can either heal nearby enemies or restore their mana. It can also be turned into the Destroyer, a deadly magic-immune air unit. The Nerubian Tower is also added, which does less damage than Spirit Towers but slows enemies. Upgrades include Exhume Corpses, which lets Meat Wagons generate corpses on their own. The Night Elves gain the Mountain Giant, now the most powerful melee unit, and the Faerie Dragon, an anti-caster air unit. Upgrades include Mark of the Claw, which allows Druids in bear form to cast Roar.

In addition to these units, every side can now build a shop that sells items geared toward that side's strategy. For example, the Undead shop sells an item that can make a patch of blight anywhere it's deployed, which allows them to build defenses outside their home base. There's also a host of new creeps to find and fight, some of which are incredibly powerful.

The new units and upgrades do change the way the game is played. For one, it's now quite risky to make an all-caster army, since there's no less than three new units that are completely immune to magic. Needless to say, the new hero choices and the presence of Taverns also results in new potential strategies. Despite the changes, however, it's generally true that what worked in Reign of Chaos still works in Frozen Throne- you just might need to make some alterations to your army makeup.

The single play campaign is great. It includes two new cinematics (as is the norm for Blizzard productions, quite eye-popping) and introduces quite a few new characters as well as some old. The story focuses on rivals Illidan and Arthas, but supporting cast is also involved, including a rather interesting bit from Sylvanus Windrunner. There's even a new semi-playable side added- the Naga. I wish there were a way to play them in custom games or multiplayer, even though they aren't fully fleshed-out as a race. In all there's a Night Elf, Alliance (humans and blood elves), and Undead campaign. The Orcs don't figure heavily into this part of the plot, but there's a bonus Orc campaign that continues the story where it left off and includes guest appearances by Thrall, Jaina, and Cairne (download it by connecting to Battle.net). One of the best things about playing these campaigns is you get quite familiar with some of the new available heroes, which will help when it comes time to make your choices in multiplay. In some missions you'll also see something notably missing from the game- naval units. These can be built by way of a goblin shipyard, though as yet they aren't available in custom games or multiplay. There's also a lot of new magic items to be seen, some of which are downright godly.

For mapmakers, there are also new doodads and tilesets for the editor, including sunken ruins and Dalaran ruins. Some of the new placeable objects are quite impressive. The editor has also been revamped, allowing more control over characters and spells. If you know what you're doing, it can now change pretty much every aspect of the game.

Frozen Throne is about as good as an expansion can get, and is especially excellent for an RTS expansion. If you like Warcraft III, you shouldn't hesitate to get it. The bonus campaign in particular shows that Warcraft really can be a combination RTS/RPG, and I don't doubt that there will soon be many player-generated scenarios like it.