Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness

Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness is a fantasy-themed real-time strategy (RTS) game published by Blizzard Entertainment and first released for DOS in 1995 and for Mac OS in 1996. The main game, Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, earned enthusiastic reviews, won most of the major PC gaming awards in 1996, and sold over 2 million copies.

Later in 1996 Blizzard released an expansion pack Warcraft II: Beyond The Dark Portal for DOS and Mac OS, and a compilation Warcraft II: The Dark Saga for the Sony Playstation and Sega Saturn. The Battle.net Edition, released in 1999, provided Blizzard's online gaming service, Battle.net, and replaced the MS-DOS version with a Windows one.

Players must collect resources, and produce buildings and units in order to defeat an opponent in combat on the ground, in the air and in some maps at sea. The more advanced combat units are produced at the same buildings as the basic units but also need the assistance of other buildings, or must be produced at buildings that have prerequisite buildings. The majority of the main screen shows the part of the territory on which the player is currently operating, and the mini map can select another location to appear in the larger display. The fog of war completely hides all territory which the player has not explored. Terrain is always visible once revealed, but enemy units remain visible only so long as they stay within a friendly unit's visual radius.

Warcraft II 's predecessor Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, released in 1994, gained good reviews, collected three awards and was a finalist for three others, and achieved solid commercial success. The game was the first typical RTS to be presented in a medieval setting and, by bringing multiplayer facilities to a wider audience, made this mode essential for future RTS titles. Warcraft: Orcs & Humans laid the ground for Blizzard's style of RTS, which emphasized personality and storyline. Although Blizzard's very successful Starcraft, first released in 1998, was set in a different universe, it was very similar to Warcraft II in gameplay and in attention to personality and storyline. In 1996 Blizzard announced Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans, an adventure game in the Warcraft universe, but canceled the game in 1998. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, released in 2002, used parts of Warcraft Adventures characters and storyline and extended the gameplay used in Warcraft II.

The Second War
The First War brought the Fall of Azeroth, following the Orc campaign in Warcraft: Orcs and Humans. The survivors of Azeroth have fled by sea to the Human kingdom of Lordaeron, and the Orcs have decided to conquer Lordaeron, in what is known as the Second War. Both sides have acquired allies and new capabilities, including naval and air units, and more powerful spellcasters.

In the Second War the Orcs are successful at first, but the Humans and allies take the initiative, helped by a rebellion initiated by warlock Gul'dan, after he raises the sunken Tomb of Sargeras. Eventually, the Alliance forces push the Horde to Blackrock Spire, but Anduin Lothar, commander of the Alliance, is slain. At the final battle around the Dark Portal in Azeroth, the Alliance exterminates one Orc clan and captures the Orc supreme commander and the remnants of his forces. Hoping to avoid further invasions, the Alliance destroys the Portal.

Through the Portal
After the Second War the Alliance lost the allegiance of the Elves, who thought the Alliance had not done enough to defend the Elves' home, and of two Human kingdoms, which advocated exterminating the remaining Orcs rather than keeping them in captivity. One Orc clan that had fought in the Second War's final battle was unaccounted for. Although the Dark Portal had been destroyed, a tear in reality hovered over the ruin. A few years later, the Portal and rift were hidden by a strange darkness, and there were the sounds of hundreds warriors rushing away through the rift, followed by shrieking Dragons, and finally by the repeating phrase, "We will return..." When the darkness lifted, Alliance scouts found the ground around the Portal trampled to mud – apparently the elusive Orc clan had escaped to their race's homeworld, Draenor.

The greatest Orc shaman led an army from Draenor into Azeroth, apparently hoping to steal magical artifacts with which to create further Portals. The Alliance, expecting an attack, sent through the Portal an army led by the Alliance's supreme commander, its greatest heroes and the mage who had destroyed the Azeroth Portal. It seems they destroyed the counterpart of the Azeroth Portal, but it was not known whether the force escaped from Draenor.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Awesome storyline.
 * 2) Cool graphics.
 * 3) Amazing characters.
 * 4) You can use Warcraft II map editor to create your own level.
 * 5) You can use funny cheats.
 * 1) You can use funny cheats.