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Warcraft

Warcraft was originally produced in 1994 by Blizzard Entertainment and since then has been one of my favorite games. The Warcraft universe is set upon the magical world of Azeroth that now has thousands of years of history as the story lines between the other Warcraft games begin to mingle. Throughout the games you learn about the twisted and evil history of the abused and mislead Orcs from their red world of Dreanor to the humans trying to forge their own nations.

For an official history visit Blizzard's History of Warcraft page.

The original Warcraft set the two races of orcs and humans at each others throats, fighting for control of the lands, then known only as Azeroth. Both races had their own campaign detailing the rise of your race and the eventual defeat of the other, however the history goes far beyond that. Going off the rest of the series the Orcs actually defeated the humans causing them to flee their nation of Azeroth and sail north to the shores of another human kingdom called Loderaan.

"The once mighty armies of Azeroth lay among the blackened and charred remains of Stormwind Keep. The humans that escaped across the Great Sea brought the tales of suffering the had faced a the hands of Orcish Hords.

Eager to engage in battle once again the Orcs constructed ships of war to bear the across the Great Sea, looking to the far horizon for new blood to spill..."

This starts out the second game in the series which deals with the Orcish invasion of Lorderaan after their victory over the Kingdom of Azeroth. Released in 1995, a year after the first Warcraft, Tides of Darkness was actually the first version of Warcraft that I played. Warcraft II also supported better graphics then the original as well as better gameplay, allowing you to group 9 units together as opposed to the 4 from the first game.

The campaign for this game, if I remember correctly, follows the humans pushing the Orcs back towards Blackrock Spire and the defeat of the orcs throughout the world, the Orc's side is quite different as you lead your horde against the capital of Lorderaan and defeat the humans again.

History's version details that the humans won the second war and ultimately closed the Dark Portal linking Azeroth to the Orc's world of Dreanor. The orcs that remained were rounded up and placed in concentration camps.

Several years after the humans declared their victory over the Orcish hordes the Dark Portal re-opened allowing another horde of orcs into the world of Azeroth. This time however they are not bent on conquest but the theft of several magical items. Determined to stop attacks once and for all the human nations put together a task force including Khadgar the Mage, Turalyon the Paladin, Danath the mercenary, Kurdran the Dwarf, and Alleria the Ranger. The task force marches across the surface the Orc's world of Dreanor heading for the fortress of Nher'zhul, the leader of the Orc Shadow Council.

While the actual happenings as to what happened are open to speculation it is known that the Dark Portal was once again sealed enough to prevent the world of Azeroth being torn apart. The Alliance task force was presumed to have been completely lost.

Warcraft Adventures was a failed game that Blizzard cancelled shortly after the game reached its alpha stages. The game was supposed to follow certain Orcs that had escaped the Alliance patrols. Other appearences included Orgrim Doomhammer, the last Warchief of the Orcish Horde, Grommish Hellscream, one of the heroes from Dreanor as well as the young Thrall.

Several years after the Orcs had been pacified a mysterious prophet warned about an imposing threat that was looming on the horizon. The third installment of the Warcraft series bring up an ancient threat called the Burning Legion. Their once leader Sargeras was mentioned in Warcraft and Warcraft II. As various new threats arise so do new factions and allies.

The human forces maintain their ties with the Dwarves of Khaz Modan and the Mages of the Kirin Tor, while the Orcish Horde gathers new allies. The Horde's alliance with the Forest Trolls, Ogres and Goblins has come to an end but now free from their demonic holds the Orcs, while fleeing the Eastern Continent, encounter a group of Island Trolls called the Darkspear Tribe. Once on the shores of Kalimdor the new, growing Horde manages to enlist the help of another race called the Taruan. The reclusive Night Elves and their allies of Dryads, Giants and other intelligant creatures also make an apperance to aid in the fight against the Burning Legion. The fourth faction is called the Scourge, a group of Undead minions following the cold will of the Lich King.

The Frozen Throne takes place not to long after the defeat of the Burning Legion in Warcraft III. With the world still reeling from the terrible battles against the Burning Legion, the once noble Prince Arthas, now the right hand of the Lich King began his final purgings throughout the once glorious kingdom of Lorderan. Meanwhile Illidan the Betrayer called upon the ancient race of Naga, Azshara's own High-Borne, to aid him in the destruction of Arthas and the Lich King's Frozen Throne.

Meanwhile the Orcs new home of Durotar is threatened by an armada of ships led by Admiral Proudmore of Kul Tiras. Proudmore, a hero of the second war, usurped his daughter's, Jaina's, authority over the new human city of Theramore and began new attacks against the Horde. Threatening the delicate Alliance that Jaina and Thrall had made, the Horde launched a new assault on Admiral Proudmore's forces. Unfortunately Admiral Proudmoore died in battle before Jaina could reconcile with him or prove that orcs were no longer bloodthirsty monsters. For her loyalty, the orcs allowed Jaina's forces to return home safely to Theramore.

Set four years after the end of the Frozen Throne the world seems to have settled into a boiling quagmiere of hostility. Illidan's forces of Naga and Blood Elves have gone into hiding, Arthas now sits on the Frozen Throne, unrivalled as the terrifying Lich King, the armies of the Horde and Eastern Kingdoms battle against each other on various battlefronts while local problems threaten the stability of all the factions.

The factions in World of Warcraft have boiled down to two factions, the Horde and the Alliance. The Horde consists of four playable races including, the Trolls of the Darkspear Tribe, the Orcs under Thrall's leadership, the once nomadic Tauran of the Bloodhoof Clan and the new Forsaken, a group of Undead that have rebelled against the Lich King and his Scourge. The Alliance consists of the reclusive Night Elves, the Humans of Stormwind, the stalwart Dwarves of Ironforge and the tinkering Gnomes of the fallen city of Gnomeragon.

For more on World of Warcraft visit Blizzard's World of Warcraft site, or my own World of Warcraft page