[BlackThornn]

I got the collectors ed. last night and have been playing since then. I must say this game even surpasses my expectations. And they were quite high.

Graphics- The Graphics on this game are outstanding.. once ya up the resolution a bit. 640x480x16 looks okay, but things are a bit jaggy. The cinematics are just absolutely unbelievable. Ten times better than even the Diablo II: LoD cine's, and even a little better than some of the FMV's from Final Fantasy X.

Gameplay- Balanced, Simple, Addictive. At first I was a bit perterbed at the whole idea of "Upkeep" (a percentage cost detracted from your gold as your army gets larger and harder to feed), but it actually balances out the game quite well. Though I believe there should be an option to turn it off in single player, as it seems a tad out of place. Besides Upkeep though, the only other changes are creeps (neutral units that populate the map in small groups.. a nice little touch) and heroes.. which are.. just wow. *chuckles* At level 1-3 they don't really do very much.. I mean, they help, but they aren't gamebreakers. But once you get past that, and rack up a couple of items (you get items by fighting creeps), then your hero will just saunter about the battlefield laying waste to all before him, quite literally. I've used a level 8 Paladin (human hero) to single handedly obliterate an Undead camp.. and he had half of his life still intact at the end of the battle.

Plot- From what I have seen so far the plot is the best concocted by the minds at Blizzard yet. In-depth and engrossing, the backdrop provided in the manual is more than enough to set up the backstory if you haven't played the first two games.. and the game takes off quickly, set up by the first cinematic and developing constantly thereafter.

Sound- The Sound quality is great.. even coming from just the speakers inside my monitor (no real bass capability, no real depth) it seems downright lifelike. Hovering over a battle the din of it seems varied and realistic, like watching Braveheart or somethin'. Voice Acting for the main characters so far is wonderful.. I swear they just pulled an absolute badass off the street to voice Thrall (Orc Warchief). He sounds like he could knock ya out by a sideways glance. Some of the bit voices seem a little overly cartoony though, take the footman for instance. Not nearly as good as the Warcraft II guy. The lines that occur if you click on the unit too many times are just as funny though. Take the orc grunt.. after a few pokes, he pipes up with "Me so horned, me hurt you long time." And that's one of the less funny ones.

Overall- If you have a computer that can handle it, I suggest you go out and get this game. Really. If you like Starcraft, Warcraft, or any fantasy environment or RTS in general, it's practically garaunteed you will love this. It's just so well done.

My prediction: Game of the Year. Most definitely.