Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness intro

Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness is the sequel to Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, and was a far more popular and successful game than its predecessor. Released by Blizzard Entertainment in December 1995, it quickly won rave reviews from the gaming industry and was the number 2 bestselling game in the world for 1996. It was mainly because of Warcraft II that Blizzard Entertainment became a major player in the video game industry, and during the 1990s the company developed a significant rivalry with Westwood Studios. Blizzard’s Warcraft games (and later Starcraft) went head-to-head with Westwood’s Command & Conquer franchise, creating a golden age for the real-time strategy genre. Today, of course, gaming technology is light years more advanced, but Warcraft II still very much holds up. It’s a significant upgrade from Warcraft I, with a much-improved interface and graphics along with far more military forces. Unlike in the first game, Warcraft II boasts naval and air units as well as ground forces, and each side now has several color-coded subfactions that make both campaign missions and multiplayer far more complex and more fun.
From a story perspective, we learn that the Orcs successfully defeated the Kingdom of Azeroth in the first game. However, Azeroth was only one of several major Human nations in the setting, and the surviving civilians and soldiers were able to flee to distant lands. These lands have now banded together into the “Alliance of Lordaeron”, or simply Alliance. The Alliance is a multinational coalition of seven nations, including the exiled Azeroth survivors, that has the goal of resisting Orc aggression and the dream of liberating Azeroth from their occupation. It’s led by Anduin Lothar, the player character from the first game and highest-ranking survivor from Azeroth after the royal family was killed off in the Orcish sacking of Stormwind Keep. However, as implied by its name the most powerful nation within the Alliance is the Kingdom of Lordaeron, where the Azerothian refugees have settled. In addition, the Alliance is backed by the Dwarves and Elves of this land, who recognize the Orcs as the dangerous threat that they are.
On the other side, the Orcs have undergone quite a few changes themselves. Most notably, we learn that they too operate as a coalition of various clans known as the “Orcish Horde” or simply “Horde”. The most powerful of these clans is the Blackrock clan, led by Orgrim Doomhammer. Doomhammer was the player character in the first game and now leads the Horde as a whole, but Orcish society is always cutthroat and rivalries exist. Most notably, the powerful warlock Gul’dan was the power behind the throne of sorts during Blackhand’s reign, and after Doomhammer deposed Blackhand he consolidated his rule by wiping out the Horde’s Warlocks. Gul’dan promised fealty to Doomhammer to save his skin, but the two still don’t trust each other one bit. With Gul’dan leading the Stormreaver clan, the second-most powerful clan in the Horde, the potential for a showdown is clear. Meanwhile, the Horde has recruited other “monster” races into its ranks, including Goblins, Trolls and the powerful Ogres to form a multiracial coalition much like the Alliance. Now, six years after the first game, these two grand forces are about to clash in a second major war. Only time will tell if the Horde repeats its success from the first war, or if the Alliance can drive them out of Azeroth.