Take a wander down memory lane with the History of Warcraft
by Lesley Smith 
Aug 21st 2009 at 12:00PM
It looks at everything from the original game, Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, to the failed Thrall-centric loregasm that was Warcraft Adventures right on through to Warcraft II and III. Of course, they also look in detail at World of Warcraft and its two expansions, The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King.
If you only discovered the Warcraft franchise with WoW, as I did, it's a fascinating glimpse into one of gaming's biggest franchises. World of Warcraft is not just a game or a single mythology, it's the culmination of a decade of gaming history. So if you've got an hour to kill before the fun and games today, you might want to check this out.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Wrath of the Lich King, BlizzCon, Lore, The Burning Crusade, Features, Expansions, News items, Blizzard, Odds and ends, Fan stuff, Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
yokumgang Aug 21st 2009 12:04PM
So...
Whatever happened to Patches of Yesteryear?
Komorado Aug 21st 2009 12:07PM
Probally too busy in the run up to blizzcon
Joshua Ochs Aug 21st 2009 12:49PM
Yeah, I was really enjoying that. I love seeing the background of how things developed, and given that I only first logged in at patch 1.9, there's a lot I missed.
volicio Aug 21st 2009 5:20PM
This is awesome, I sent in a tip on this, first time one of my tips made it into a post.
outlier Aug 21st 2009 12:09PM
The game is going on 5 years old now and to see the excitement in the air about what is still to come is outstanding. I played EQ and City of Heroes before wow and never did I see a game create a sub-culture all its own that is perhaps larger than I'm sure even the creator's of the game could have hoped for. Take note every MMO due to ship over the next couple years. If you create a game with quality game play, make it accesible, constantly update and balance (as much as possible), you too can be a success.
grump-e Aug 21st 2009 12:41PM
Chance that to could have been a success.
With wow in the market it seems there's no place for any other big MMO.
ZakuraX Aug 21st 2009 1:05PM
There is room, they just have to make the game better then Blizzard made WoW.
Better grapich combined with lore that is even more exiting then the one Blizz came up with. New elements to the gener that no one had thought of before.
Nossy Aug 21st 2009 12:10PM
Started playing WC2 since the Kali95 days, pre-battlenet. People, these are the days when 14.4k baud modem was the norm and 56k modems costed more than $150 (Kids these days have it so easy). God I feel like I'm too old to keep playing WOW.
If you havent had a chance to play WC3, you're missing out.
Braundo Aug 21st 2009 12:43PM
It really dates it when I realize that I started playing WC2 with the DOS version. Oy.
Cyanea Aug 21st 2009 1:11PM
I gotta admit, I was always a Command and Conquer/Red Alert fanboy growing up. I never saw the appeal in Starcraft, and never played any Warcraft until after finding WoW.
Shep Aug 21st 2009 12:21PM
Warcraft: Orcs and Humans was the first game I ever played on a PC. Looking back...it came pre-installed on the machine itself, which was bought from a shady independent store and my copy of the game was probably pirated, but still...good times.
deviationer Aug 21st 2009 12:22PM
There is also:
http://www.gametrailers.com/game/the-warcraft-retrospective/10434
sankto Aug 21st 2009 12:27PM
Yea, this series of video is outstanding. A must-view for any WoW lover :p
Knob Aug 21st 2009 12:31PM
In addition to the retrospective, have a look at http://www.gametrailers.com/video/world-of-gt-wish-list/54485
That's their wish list of what they'd like to see in the next expansion, just in time for Blizzcon 09. :)
George McBain Aug 21st 2009 12:24PM
Nice read. Gametrailers did a similar thing about a year ago in video/narration format which was pretty good.
http://www.gametrailers.com/game/the-warcraft-retrospective/10434
Sumanai Aug 21st 2009 12:53PM
still waiting for part 4... 9 months and counting.
the first 3 were very well done and left us all mouthwatering for more...
Hellgaze Aug 21st 2009 12:39PM
"Just in time for the announcement of Cataclysm?"
Lets slow down a bit there, eh?
Sumanai Aug 21st 2009 12:55PM
so... naive! :)
Croz Aug 21st 2009 12:42PM
I played the original Warcraft: Ors vs. Humans but dropped after that. I have been interested recently in playing through the original RTS series. What is the best way to go about getting my hands on these old games? Is there a battlechest out there somewhere?
frankenfield2k Aug 21st 2009 12:45PM
Good question. I'm thinking the same thing, ESPECIALLY after reading this article. There is a battle chest for WC3 but I have no idea what's out there for the earlier versions.
Anyone?