ON TechRepublic: 3 ways to flunk a job interview
CNET Networks Entertainment:
GameSpot: TGS 2008
GameFAQs
SportsGamer
MP3.com
TV.com
Metacritic

GameSpot Preview: Warcraft III Update

Page 2 of 5

The Horde Units
The orcs of Warcraft III, as we now know, are a noble people cut off from their homeworld of Draenor. Although treated as slaves and vilified by humans, they now live separately from the Alliance, thanks to the efforts of Thrall. All the races in Warcraft III will emphasize various themes or gameplay styles, and the orcs are definitely a powerful melee race, as they'll have lots of strong units that emphasize offensive capabilities. Here are the units on the orc side that we know of so far, along with their special abilities.

screenshot
Click to enlarge
Wyvern Riders: Wyverns are leonine flying creatures with ferocious temperaments. The orcs of Azeroth have managed to tame them and use them as aerial mounts, providing the Horde with an even faster means of transportation than the wolf-riding raider. However, although they can clear rough terrain quickly, they are not ranged units, like the dragons of Warcraft II. Instead, the wyvern rider is a spear-wielding orc melee unit that sits astride the flyer. When you wish to attack an enemy unit, the wyvern must swoop down to the ground and engage in melee with the enemy. Thus, it moves like a flying unit and attacks like a melee unit. The special attack of the wyvern rider will be some sort of poison attack.

screenshot
Click to enlarge
Witch Doctor: The witch doctor is a troll spellcaster who is swathed in cloth and hobbles along on his staff. His knowledge of alchemy gives him an insidious array of spells that includes Shadow Pact, a spell like Warcraft II's Unholy Armor that strips a unit of all but one hit point but makes it temporarily invulnerable; and Bloodlust, the familiar spell that makes the affected unit faster and more powerful. By giving the Bloodlust spell to a physically weak spellcaster rather than a melee unit like Warcraft II's ogre mage, Pardo feels that the spell will be more balanced than in Warcraft II. This unit can also cast the Evil Eye, which places an immobile and invisible eye on the map to act as a scout. However, if any enemy units come by, the eye will reveal itself and stun the intruder temporarily, presumably giving you time to arrive and deal with the interloper. The witch doctor can be recruited after you build a troll hunter lodge and lay down the voodoo lounge, which enables this unit. Of course, the name of the witch doctor building could change before release.

screenshot
Click to enlarge
Shaman: The shaman is an orcish spellcaster with powers over earth and lightning. He was originally intended to attack with lightning balls. However, he will now have a Chain Lightning spell that drains a small amount of mana but fires a lightning bolt that courses through multiple targets, like the Zerg Mutalisk attack from Starcraft. The shaman also has Earthquake, a spectacular-looking spell that causes the ground under an enemy's feet to rise and buckle; Earthbind, which binds an air unit to the ground temporarily; and System Shock, which causes moderate electrical damage but also removes all persistent spell effects on the target. System Shock can be cast on friendly units to remove negative spells (although it still damages them slightly), or on enemy units to rid them of enhancement spells such as Bloodlust.

screenshot
Click to enlarge
Raider: The raider, formerly known as the wolf rider, is a swift and fierce unit with great speed. Raiders act as a cavalry of sorts. The raider's special attack is to throw a net on enemies to tangle them or slow them down. We saw a demo of the raider throwing the net, a fluidly animated attack that landed on a human footman and pinned him in place. Presumably, you will then follow up with ranged attacks, a bullrush from the minotaur, or a similarly destructive attack.

screenshot
Click to enlarge
screenshot
Click to enlarge
screenshot
Click to enlarge
Minotaur: The minotaur is a large and powerful brute who hammers his enemies with a huge ball and chain. His special attack is a rushing charge that stuns the enemy.

Hunter: The troll hunter is a ranged unit that throws spears at enemies. The hunter can see heat signatures on the ground to track enemy units. You build the hunter at a building that looks like a long, hollowed-out tree trunk, called the Troll Lodge.

Grunt: The grunt is the basic orc unit that attacks with an ax. His special ability is to go berserk for a limited time, gaining a more powerful attack.







Next: Orc heroes