What is Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness?

Warcraft II is not your ordinary sequel — there have been so many additions and improvements that it almost feels like a different game. The original Warcraft’s art was a blocky suggestion of a unit, but the new version has depictions that are much more detailed — you can see the plate mail on the footmen, the peon’s axes, and the rows of crops planted on a farm. There’s also the odd critter milling about, which really doesn’t do much but get in your way — at least they make satisfying squeals when you slaughter them.

You’ll also notice new army types, and naval and air units, too. As humans, you get paladins who can exorcise the living dead, and your mages can now turn Ores into sheep — hmm, maybe that’s where all the critters came from. Oil is a new resource to be man- aged — it fuels battleships, destroyers, transports, and submarines. Air units include bizarre flying contraptions devised by gnomish inventors and gryphon riders.

On the flip side, Orcs control Ogre-mages who can incite bloodlust in your troops, and Dark Knights who sap the life-force (health points) out of opponents. On the sea, Orcs command juggernauts and sea turtles, and in the air... oooh, dragons! And of course, all these troops have their own support buildings. At first, the sheer number of different troops to command (and counter) seems overwhelming. But as you play through the scenarios, you learn which strategies are effective against the each unit.

Blizzard didn’t just add a bunch of new units into the game — gameplay has improved, too. You no longer have to make roads for your buildings. Your units can patrol their vicinity in a loop, which means you can spread yourself a little thinner. The behavior of moving a unit from point A to point B is changed; a unit will actually try to go in a straight line, rather than hug the edge of the nearest building. This means that in going long distances, your units may get stuck, but in the short run, they get there faster. You can now give “auto-commands” to your armies by command-clicking them. This will make peasants mine, footmen attack, or just move pieces to unoccupied territory.

Tafel, Kathy. (December 1996). Warcraft II: The Tides of Darkness. MacAddict. (pg. 86).

Download Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness for Mac

Architecture

68K + PPC (FAT)

System Requirements

From Mac OS 7.5 up to Mac OS 8.1

Compatibility notes

• MC68040 or PowerPC processor
• 8 MB RAM (12 MB for 3D sound on PowerPC)
• CD-ROM drive
• System 7.5 or later

Emulating this? It could probably run under: Basilisk II