Blizzard Crafts expansion
Update: Could be a cold summer, now with screenshots
WarCraft III was our favourite PC game of 2002, so the news that Blizzard is (of course) working on an expansion - called "The Frozen Throne" - was met with much delight and anticipation around here. Even more so when we learnt that it's due out this summer, "worldwide".
Set a few months after the climactic scenes of WarCraft III, The Frozen Throne focuses on events on the arctic continent of Azeroth, called Northrend (which appeared briefly in the human campaign). Ner'zhul, lich king, is buried deep within the Icecrown glacier, and yearns to escape his frosty Bastille - all the while night elf renegade Ilidan and treacherous former prince Arthas are trying to unlock the glacier's powers for their own use.
Apart from a collection of fantastic new cut sequences and another gripping yarn though, in gameplay terms we can expect a new hero for each race ("each possessing powerful spells and magical abilities specifically designed to enhance each race"), as well as a host of new units (details sadly absent) and three new tilesets (with numerous creeps and critters to wage war on, the poor little fellas).
Other highlights: player-built shops, unique for each race, "equipped with items carefully designed to improve and aid the units of every race", neutral buildings, neutral heroes, and the usual assortment of new world building tools, multiplayer and skirmish maps and, apparently, "new game types, clan and tournament support" via Battle.net.
Update: Vivendi Universal Games has sent out six screenshots this afternoon - take a look here.
