"Warcraft 3: Reforged" spins a tale of many competing factions fighting endlessly through several campaigns and in multiplayer battles and skirmishes, a conflict that spans 2002 to 2020. Some parts are classic RTS, such as elaborate faction design, memorable campaigns, and clever RPG-style direction, while others are "reforged" parts. This is an attempt to bring this game into the modern era, but it feels half-baked. This is not the remastering "Warcraft 3" deserves.

Blizzard does not do a good job of conveying what "Warcraft 3: Reforged" actually is. Initially, it was somewhere between a remaster and a complete remake; Blizzard not only added tons of new art and modern graphics, but also revisited and improved the campaign, paced it, and made the lore and storyline more in line with World of Warcraft We wanted to add new cutscenes, a new UI, and much more. New cutscenes and a new UI were also going to be added. With the exception of graphical improvements, Blizzard withdrew most of these changes.

This may be good news for purists. It's still the Warcraft 3 you remember, but it looks a little better. What's impressive is that it hasn't diminished at all after 20 years, helped along by the fact that real-time strategy hasn't made much of a leap forward since 2002. While it has most of the traditional elements of the genre - base building, resource gathering, maps shrouded in the fog of war - what really drives it are the heroes. These supercharged units are flashy specialists with powerful abilities that can be upgraded as they level up and can be purchased in stores or enhanced with items dropped by enemies. They are essentially RPG characters, and you build a small army around them.

Only 12 units can be selected at a time, so it's all about managing a small group in detail; you don't have to worry about 100 faceless warriors, which gives you more time to unleash recovery spells, set ambushes, and build specialized troops. Each faction (Horde, Alliance, Scourge, and Night Elves) has unique and exotic units that can be upgraded. They are not as powerful as heroes, but even the most basic units have tricks up their sleeves. Ghouls, for example, are undead beastmen who can harvest lumber, but they are also soldiers who can be used in armies and have amazing staying power, thanks to their ability to munch on corpses and regain strength.

I have once again fallen down the rabbit hole of sticking to building orders, hastily taking notes, and streaming the experiments and combat of many talented players, something I did not do in 2002. I want to get good at it again. I want to make my orc friends proud. With so many factions, monsters, and armies, there are countless ways to build up our forces. And that's before we bring in mercenaries, who can be recruited from neutral buildings, usually after the battle. Also, if you already have a tried and true build order, you can jump into "reforged" with that build order and not fail.

There is no need to change these. The core of "Warcraft 3" is as formidable as ever. The most noticeable difference between the original and the "reforged" version is, of course, the art and graphics. The unit models and buildings in particular benefit from the upgrades. Units are much more detailed and have an aesthetic that reflects the style of later games such as "World of Warcraft" and "Heroes of the Storm" Reforged still has its own look and feel, while the newer games have a more modern look and feel.

On the other hand, the same attention is not paid to unit animations, but what makes the units look a bit odd is the low frame rate. Indeed, "Warcraft 3" can be enjoyed at 200 fps, but looking at your own troops, they look like they are in stop motion. Even in cutscenes, there is considerably less animation than previously reported. In 2018, Blizzard showed off in-game cutscenes from the "Culling of Stratholme" mission, featuring lots of close-ups and characters engaging in very animated bickering, but very little of that is present today. With a few exceptions, most of the cutscenes lack the emotion and cinematic flair that we saw just a year ago. On the other hand, the cinematic cutscenes that close the campaign are identical to those in the original game. In fact, while they have aged well, they are nowhere near the standard for which Blizzard has since become famous.

Blizzard also plays it a little safe with the maps. Some places, like Dalaran and Stratholme, have been updated more dramatically, but for the most part they are very close to the originals. Whether created with story and pacing in mind or a massive online free-for-all, the design remains generally excellent. Veteran players will notice a few tweaks, such as moving camps and mines, but few meaningful changes. Nevertheless, aesthetically, the design is quite inferior. Despite the improved quality of the textures, it feels as if you are playing a WoW classic with modern character models. This juxtaposition only makes the map look more dated.

All of the campaigns and expansions for "Warcraft 3" are playable, but I would love to see what Blizzard can still do with a fantasy RTS nearly 20 years later. While the dialogue and voice acting varies, this is still the best RTS story ever told. Sorry Starcraft fans. With the recent Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition, Microsoft added three new campaigns and actually tried something new and quite successful. With that release still fresh in our minds, Blizzard's work on "Reforged" seems rather conservative. Still, it is a real treat to recreate the downfall of Arthas, devour Azeroth as Scourge, and unite the factions to fight Archimonde. While there are few changes to the campaign, this is by far the best one yet.

Even those in the camp that wants everything but the graphics to remain the same may be disappointed by other omissions. The huge UI and text covering the screen are two major pains, and there is no UI scaling option at all. It looks ridiculously huge; the size of the UI makes the zoom-in feature even more pointless, and you can't zoom out far enough to really see your surroundings. Even weirder is the inability to rebind keys without an external control. This is a serious oversight since this is a hotkey-intensive game, and it is a bit puzzling that they would produce a remaster in 2020 and skip the accessibility option, let alone a new "story" difficulty mode.

"Reforged" ran a beta for a while before release, allowing many players to try out the multiplayer. Perhaps a little more time would have been nice. At launch, players began reporting a number of problems, including authentication issues and the inability to create custom games. Some of these seem to have been resolved, but others remain, such as micro-stuttering, which has been present for the past year, occasionally reaching unbearable levels.

And then there are the non-bug-related issues: while Blizzard has already introduced competitive ladders in "Warcraft 3," they have yet to do so in "Reforged," which is not a good start for an RTS looking to revive the esport scene This is not a good start for an RTS that aims to revive the esport scene. Clans and automated tournaments are also missing. Perhaps not wanting to miss out on the next Dota, Blizzard has also changed its custom game policy. Now if you make a custom game in Warcraft 3, it belongs to Blizzard. The copyright belongs to Blizzard, and Blizzard can do with it what they want, which may restrict creators from making standalone games based on it, like Dota 2. For players who have finished the campaign, these are the things that keep them playing.

Unfortunately, if these things are causing you to shy away, you can't simply go back to Warcraft 3 Classic and forget about it. The original was added to the new client, so connection problems, lack of competitive ladder, and other issues were shared between the two. This may be the first time a remaster has made the previous one worse.

There is a long list of disappointments, some of which may be addressed in time, but others seem out of control. However, I can't shake the feeling that I still want to play with it. Real-time strategy is really scarce these days, and despite its problems, the core of "Warcraft 3: Reforged" is still exceptional. I've been playing MOBAs for a few years now, and it's just not the same; Dota 2 may have surpassed it, but I never got over losing all my units and buildings.

If you are only interested in the campaign, as most RTS players are, you will be happy with what Blizzard has released. But this is not a comeback of any kind, and with the rough launch and the community seemingly turning against Blizzard after very quietly withdrawing improvements, I am not at all confident about the future of this game.