| Warcraft: Orcs & Humans | |
|---|---|
 The cover art for Warcraft: Orcs & Humans'' | |
| Developer(s) | Blizzard Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) |
US - Blizzard Entertainment EU - Interplay Entertainment |
| Platforms | MS-DOS, Mac OS, PC-98 |
| Release |
MS-DOS - 1994 |
| Latest release | 1.22h (MS-DOS) / 1.06 (Mac) |
| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy |
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans (or Warcraft I) is the first video game in the Warcraft series. It was released in 1994 and quickly became a best seller.[1] The game features two races, the humans of the Kingdom of Azeroth and the invading orcs of the Orcish Horde. Currently, the game is out of print and the demo that was once available on Blizzard Entertainment's site is no more.
Overview
The official box for Warcraft: Orcs & Humans
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans has not only became a classic, winning many awards, but has also set new standards for multiplayer games. Set in the mythic Kingdom of Azeroth, players are given the task of maintaining a thriving economy while building a war machine with which to destroy the enemy.
By playing either as a Human or as an Orc in this saga, two separate story lines evolve with 12 missions per side, each telling a different tale in the battle for Azeroth. From swords to sorcery, all the elements of classic fantasy are here to explore; rich forests, dark dungeons and bubbling swamps await the stalwart troops amassed to fight for dominance.
The multiplayer aspects of the game bring Warcraft to a new level of excitement. A player can challenge another one on over 20 custom maps and determine who is the supreme warlord. Head to head play is supported over modem, serial link, and IPX networks, and works cross-platform with both the IBM-PC and Macintosh versions.[1]
History
The Kingdom of Azeroth
- Main article: First War
Before the start of the First War, the orcs, originating from the world of Draenor, were corrupted by the Burning Legion to form the mighty Horde. They slaughtered the other races of their planet, but their desire for bloodlust remained insatiable. Their leader Gul'dan joined forces with the Last Guardian Medivh, who was corrupted by the demon lord Sargeras, to open a portal to another world called Azeroth.
From that point on, the orc campaign involves the orcish Horde's attacks on the humans and other forces of this world. After many battles and through a war of attrition, the Horde eventually overwhelms the human kingdom of Azeroth, and later chooses to pursue the survivors across the seas to the north. The city of Stormwind is destroyed in the final battle of the campaign.
The human campaign is an alternate history in which the humans successfully defend their kingdom against the Horde and pushes the orcs back to their main fortress at Blackrock Spire. Its destruction signals the end of the human campaign.
Later games consider that the result of the First War was an orcish victory (the orc campaign end), but with several plot points taken from the human campaign. As a result, a great part of the history was retconned with later games; for a full list of changes, see here.
In-game map of Azeroth
Requirements
In the Age of Chaos...
No one knew where these creatures came from...
MS-DOS System Requirements
- Computer:
- Warcraft requires at least an IBM 386 - 20 Mhz (or 100% compatible) and at least 4 MB RAM.
- Controls:
- You will need a Mouse (100% Microsoft compatible) and Keyboard to play Warcraft.
- Display:
- Warcraft requires a colour monitor with a VGA graphics system. If you are using a compatible graphics card/monitor, it must be 100% compatible with VGA systems.
- Disk Drives:
- CD-ROM Version: A CD-ROM drive and a Hard Disk are required for installation and play.
- Diskette Version: A 3.5″ Disk Drive and a Hard Disk are required for installation and play.
- DOS:
- You must have MS-DOS version 3.2 or higher.
- Sound:
- Warcraft supports General Midi, Soundblaster, Adlib, Pro Audio Spectrum and Compatibles.[2]
Mac OS System Requirements
- Computer:
- Warcraft requires at least a Macintosh 68030 processor (68040 recommended) and at least 8 MB RAM. Warcraft is also accelerated for Power Macintosh.
- Controls:
- You will need a Mouse and Keyboard to play Warcraft.
- Display:
- Warcraft requires a 13" colour monitor with 256 colours and Quicktime 2.0 or greater.
- Disk Drives:
- A CD-ROM drive and a Hard Disk are required for installation and play.
- System:
- You must have System 7.0 or greater (7.1 or greater recommended).
- Sound:
- Sound Manager 3.1 or greater.
- Two-Player Support:
- Warcraft requires Communication Toolbox tools for 2-player mode.[3]
Awards
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans has received the following awards:[4]
- 1995 Premier finalist - Computer Gaming World
- Editors' Choice Award - PC Gamer
- Strategy Game of the Year runner-up - PC Gamer
- Critics' Pick - Computer Life
- 1995 Best Strategy finalist - Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
- 1995 Innovations Award - Consumer Electronics Show, Winter 1995
- Four out of five rating - Computer Gaming World
- 92-percent rating - PC Gamer
- Four out of five rating - Computer Life
See also
Template:WCI SeeAlso
Gallery
- Screenshots
A screenshot from the orc campaign.
A screenshot from the human campaign.
- Wallpapers
The official Warcraft: Orcs & Humans wallpaper.
- Compact disk design
The game's CD
Videos
External links
[1] Legacy Games (US) [2] Legacy Games (Europe)
Wayback Machine An archive of the game's official site
[3] Warcraft: Orcs & Humans on WikipediaReferences
- ^ a b Warcraft: Orcs and Humans. Retrieved on 1996-10-19.
- ^ Entertainment, Blizzard. "Getting Started", Warcraft: Orcs & Humans Manual (DOS version), 1.
- ^ Entertainment, Blizzard. "Getting Started", Warcraft: Orcs & Humans Manual (Mac version), 1.
- ^ Blizzard Entertainment Company Profile. Retrieved on 1999-01-17.
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