Warcraft III: Reforged is the World's Worst User-Reviewed Videogame

[Raevenlord]

Blizzard Entertainment recently released Warcraft III: Reforged, their remastered version of the original Warcraft III. The new game saw the inclusion of the original Reign of Chaos campaign and its expansion, the Frozen Throne. This delivered a game with some 60 campaign missions, all with reworked graphics, four hours of updated in-game cutscenes and re-recorded voice-overs, alongside rebalanced online play and the addition of social and matchmaking capabilities. But paint the feature list as one can, the game's Metacritic score definitely isn't what Blizzard drawed it up to be.

The game sits with an aggregate review score of 63/100, which is already on the... very low side for such a game, I'd say. However, that score pales in comparison with the aggregate user review score, which places the game in an almost unfathomable 0.5/10... With close to 22,000 users reviewing the game already. Now, we all know that people are most critical of the things they love the most (and thus expect the most of). Bugs and a feeling of betrayal regarding the games' graphical and cutscene presentation seem to be high on the list of qualms users have with the remastered version, but I think a 0.5 score really is undeserved... I'd say most games with user scores lesser than 8/10 are actually worse experiences than this game, but who am I to judge. There's a comparison video after the break for you to check with critical eyes.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Wyverex]

The people I know who were hyped about W3 Reforged are mostly pissed at the EULA changes, as they were more interested in mods than the base game. Modders will not touch the new game because of it

 

[ZoneDymo]

imagine buying a Blizzard/Activision game in 2020... or 2019..... or 2018.... who in their right minds still supports these companies?

 

[BArms]

The people I know who were hyped about W3 Reforged are mostly pissed at the EULA changes, as they were more interested in mods than the base game. Modders will not touch the new game because of it

Yeah that EULA is pure evil. It's funny seeing media reviews for 75 or so, makes me wonder what they got paid under the table, or whether they're just willing to smear mud over their name to get it to the top of some awful list.

 

[Chomiq]

Jim Sterling is having a laugh.

 

[steve360]

This is what happens when gaming companies are overrun by business hacks with overrated MBAs who either have no damn clue how the gaming industry works or don't care. All that matters to these people are the glorified numbers on a spreadsheet that they can use to appease their shareholders in order to buy their next Ferrari.

EA, Bethesda, Epic Games, Take 2, Activision Blizzard - they are as disgusting as each other. It's a race to the bottom to see who is the worst. Blizzard destroying one of their all time classics is just one of many symptoms of just how rotten this industry has become.

For LOLs, the original classics Reign of Chaos and Frozen Throne are both on 9.2 which so happens to be one of the top scores; a complete opposite to WC3 Reforged which has the lowest score. Just goes to show how far Bli$$ard has fallen.

 

[okidna]

Congratulations you have been BlizzCON-NED !!!!

 

[Disparia]

After a very pleasing StarCraft Remastered experience I almost pre-ordered Reforged last year; glad I didn't. Will be waiting on patches and a price drop.

 

[Vayra86]

The people I know who were hyped about W3 Reforged are mostly pissed at the EULA changes, as they were more interested in mods than the base game. Modders will not touch the new game because of it

But why on earth would you even touch this game when it looks the same as vanilla with an upscale? OK, the skybox doesn't clip anymore when you pan and tilt the camera... is that the profit here then?

This is like reinventing the wheel and then coming up with a brick, all while saying 'Look, it's probably better than what you had!'

Ten foot pole applies here, and me not touching it in the very same way.

This is what happens when gaming companies are overrun by business hacks with overrated MBAs who either have no damn clue how the gaming industry works or don't care. All that matters to these people are the glorified numbers on a spreadsheet that they can use to appease their shareholders in order to buy their next Ferrari.

EA, Bethesda, Epic Games, Take 2, Activision Blizzard - they are as disgusting as each other. It's a race to the bottom to see who is the worst. Blizzard destroying one of their all time classics is just one of many symptoms of just how rotten this industry has become.

For LOLs, the original classics Reign of Chaos and Frozen Throne are both on 9.2 which so happens to be one of the top scores; a complete opposite to WC3 Reforged which has the lowest score. Just goes to show how far Bli$$ard has fallen.

Be careful with the blanket statement though.. EA, Activision, yes. Those are shareholders' companies first and gaming second, to them the games are a means to an end more than with most others. There is an agenda we don't really want to hear.

But for Ubisoft, Bethesda, Epic, Take Two.... not quite so sure. These companies DO get the memo that they need true gamer's games from time to time to keep hold of a fanbase. The problem with Blizzard is that it got torn up in China as well and there is a market ripe for the taking over there (they think), and Activision's push in this company probably puts the weight on China before catering the crowded EU/US markets, because greater profit margin and due to the type of games and scope (mobile) much lower risk.

Luckily, there is a slew of new talented devs and companies ready to take over serious gaming. Because that is for sure; there are no EA or Activision releases you can really take seriously and if you still do, the penny just hasn't dropped yet. Those CoDs and BFs... its reskin fodder and easy money, the game is irrelevant, what matters is keeping the crowd entertained and tied to franchises to milk them for more.

Ubisoft is a bit of an odd one out, sometimes you see them inch towards Acti/EA business models and then shortly after they come back on it and do a 180 towards catering gamer needs and wants. The Division, for example, but also Assassins' Creed. That franchise was dying, now its back, and people apparently love it again. Ubisoft is also very subtle with its B2P and MTX systems, they are present but they're also really easy to ignore. I think they're finding a pretty good balance like that as they go. What is clear though, very much so, is that they have a very good ear in the community and act upon it.

A very BIG thing to keep in mind when it comes to good business is this: The best business model is one where everyone feels like they win. Those are also the best deals, and the best games online when it comes to managing communities, matchmaking, etc etc. If that principle permeates a company and its games, then its almost a self fulfilling prophecy like that. Now think of cosmetic MTX and Season Passes. Everyone wins, really. Company gets to sell low-barrier of entry MTX (easy, steady and controllable income flow with continuity), or secures money up front for a Season Pass, funding dev of a new project. Consumer gets freedom of choice and lower cost of entry (F2P + MTX / Season Pass, very common, or free content updates, more choice in DLC) and his game keeps getting development time = nurturing post purchase.

 

[Totally]

The people I know who were hyped about W3 Reforged are mostly pissed at the EULA changes, as they were more interested in mods than the base game. Modders will not touch the new game because of it

That's just a small part of it. The majority myself included didn't have 2 $hits to care about that bit considering all the other bs. They GUTTED multiplayer and some parts of the game, and if you don't want to play this objectively inferior version tough it outright replaces vanilla w3 and will even overwrite or update existing w3 installs to reforged. How could people even begin to care about mods with that mountainous pile of crap in the doorway?

 

[Deleted member 158293]

A few flop releases like this is good to bring game studio management back to why they are making video games in the first place... Unless lots of people bought it, then it won't change...

 

[somethinggeneric]

I would say the .05 score is more than deserved considering how much of a MASSIVE disappointment and failure the game is, how many promised features were never delivered upon, and the ones that were, are straight up downgrades from the original which is almost 20 years old at this point.

The graphics, the main selling point of any "remaster" are very mediocre, and in a lot of cases (such as the tileset) a downgrade in quality.

Add in the new EULA which decimated the custom games scene which is what WC3 is known for by forbidding copyrighted content, so no Helms deep maps, no Dota (lmao), no Naruto maps, etc. The EULA also says that if you make a game, it belongs to Blizzard period, no compensation, no warnings, nothing. Not only that but the censorship is so terrible and stupid that even the WC3 map Booty Bay is censored, and classic voice lines like the dreadlord saying "I'm a dreadlord, not a druglord!" all gone.

You also have some bizarre things such as the menu being a Chrome webapp that ends up using more resources than the game itself.

Finally, this cancerous disaster is not just contained to its own mess, if you own the classic WC3 the game forces you to use the refunded edition client which is a massive downgrade in terms of quality and features (bear in mind the client is from 2002) things like chat commands (whispering, party chat, etc) all gone. Clans? All gone.

This disaster of a game honestly makes Fallout 76 look like a well handled bug-free and controversy free game, and it hasn't even been a week.

 

[Sithaer]

imagine buying a Blizzard/Activision game in 2020... or 2019..... or 2018.... who in their right minds still supports these companies?

I will pre order Diablo 4 box version as soon as its possible in my country.

I don't care about their other games/drama or whatever happens to them,I only play Diablo serie from Blizzard since thats still fun to me.

 

[BArms]

One thing I haven't really seen discussed much by commentators on Youtube and elsewhere is just how draconian that EULA really is.

Imagine for a moment if a game like Stardew Valley started out as a WC3 mod (with the current EULA in effect) years before the full game came out, but it didnt' really gain any noteriety for the developer Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone. The mod doesn't ever get popular beyond a few of his friends but it was a good learning experience anyway. Then, he creates the full game Stardew Valley like he did using the same name and other story features the mod had in this scenario.

In this case, what would stop Blizzard from claiming copyright on Stardew Valley the full game, after it's got a million sales, and essentially take all of the game's profits if they felt like it?

 

[Cheeseball]

Thankfully I didn't pre-order this game last year. This is a big shitshow right here.

It's sad because Starcraft: Remastered, Starcraft: Cartooned and COD: Modern Warfare were pretty good releases.

 

[Assimilator]

Blizz's fate was sealed the moment their shareholders decided to merge them with Activision. Sad, but such is capitalism; where those who can, do, and those who can't, get MBAs and run companies into the ground.

 

[dirtyferret]

Blizz's fate was sealed the moment their shareholders decided to merge them with Activision. Sad, but such is capitalism; where those who can, do, and those who can't, get MBAs and run companies into the ground.

...but they are not running it into the ground. Regardless of which date you use for the launch of Activision/Blizzard (2008 when Vivendi was the holding company or 2013 when Activision bought them out whole) the stock was trading around $14-18. Right now it's at $58 from a recent high of $80 just a few years back. Therein lies the problem, those MBA are giving the masses what they want. Unfortunately for us the masses taste in games sucks and they want something "new" but just like the old one.

 

[Fourstaff]

The Innovator's Dilemma - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Blizzard is right at the top of the S-Curve with this game. Lets see if they manage to dig themselves out.

 

[Minus Infinity]

I'd say the OP is in the minority. Look no further than the Ars Technica run down on why this release is a steaming POS and deserves contempt. To claim most games under 8/10 are worse than this garbage is a pathetic response. I wonder how on the earth the average review gives it 63/100. Blizzard really are a joke these days.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Normally I would say judge a game on it's own merits. However, Blizzard has done this to themselves. Whoever is making these latest string of very bad decisions needs to be shown the door, like FAST!

 

[timta2]

Are these articles being written by a robot (AI) using Google Translate? Isn't someone supposed to be overseeing this, like a copy editor?

 

[lexluthermiester]

Are these articles being written by a robot (AI) using Google Translate? Isn't someone supposed to be overseeing this, like a copy editor?

Would you like to elaborate in more detail? What, exactly, do you have a problem with?

 

[Axaion]

What are you on about?, its completly deserved.

 

[Ruru]

imagine buying a Blizzard/Activision game in 2020... or 2019..... or 2018.... who in their right minds still supports these companies?

Well I've liked Overwatch at least from their recent games.

 

[Frick]

Yeah that EULA is pure evil. It's funny seeing media reviews for 75 or so, makes me wonder what they got paid under the table, or whether they're just willing to smear mud over their name to get it to the top of some awful list.

One could argue that the EULA isn't part of the game I guess.

edit: I wouldn't though, but otoh I rarely care for those things.