Rexxar – Rao Dao Zao

Every time I play “the Rexxar campaign”, or as it’s properly called, “OrcX”– uh, I mean, The Founding of Durotar, I want to write about it. It is the about most exquisite implementation of the Warcraft III RPG format you’ll ever see — perhaps not as inventive or bombastic or narratively compelling as anything the community ever produced, but compensating for any deficiencies with production values that are completely off the charts. This is by far the best thing Blizzard ever made, a sumptuous tour-de-force that exercises the full breadth of the engine in a way the base melee game never dares.

Today: The Founding of Durotar, by Blizzard Entertainment

Continue reading “Blog 782: The SPRPG Diaries: The Founding of Durotar” →

A couple of weeks ago, the sun was shining (oh my, such a rare occurrence).

This took me back to the Warcraft III OrcX campaign. Or, as it’s more commonly known (most people don’t know things by their internal labels, it’s true), The Founding of Durotar. The Rexxar campaign. This is the only one of the campaigns that I actually enjoy, because, well, it’s not a shitty RTS campaign. Have I told you that WC3 is a terrible RTS? Surely.

When The Frozen Throne came out, it came with only part one of this three-part campaign. We played it and loved it, a deliciously large slice of action-adventure, and then we languished in development hell waiting for the next two episodes to come.

Unlike almost every episodic game since, they actually did come.

Continue reading “Blog 445: Rexxar, Oh Rexxar” →