[ANYTHING GOES] [GAMES] WARCRAFT III: Eternity's End
For those of your familiar with World of Warcraft but not the original games, here is what makes WCIII so different from WCI and WCII: while the first two games were all about why Orcs and Humans hate each other, WCIII is why everyone hates each other. It's also about why they shouldn't because, really, considering all the shit the various races went through together in this game, everyone should be BFF by now
This game is also relentlessly sad. Even more so, since it ends on a note of hope that is quickly quashed out by subsequent entires in the series. But all in all it is a challenging game with a beautiful story and a ridiculously engaging cast. Even if nothing good ever happens to any of them.
1. The Dream [Galadriel's Mirror - David Arkenstone]
Young leader of the Orcish Horde, Warchief Thrall, awakens from a dream of death and destruction. Following the words of a mysterious prophet in the form of a Raven, he agrees to lead his people West over the sea to the strange and savage continent of Kalimdor.
2. Pride Cometh Before the Fall [Fallen's Grave - Altered Beast OC Remix]
The human King of Lordaeran receives the same warning but in their arrogance, the humans refuse to heed the Prophet's words.
3. Prince Arthas Menethil [Titans - Vangelis]
This guy is ostensibly our hero for the first stretch of the game. He is handsome, brave and clever. He has a bright future ahead of him and all that. Watch him as he destroys his soul and becomes one of the most evil beings in the history of Azeroth.
4. The Plague [Resurrection - Koh Otani]
Arthas and his men discover a horrible plague that turns the living into shambling, rotting, mindless monsters tearing through the countryside. Desperate to protect his people, the young Prince rushes from town to town attempting to stop the spread of the disease.
5. The Culling of Stratholme [La Foire - Angelo Badalamenti]
Defeated at every turn and determined to make things "right", Arthas orders the city of Stratholme burned and its citizens killed- whether they are infected by the Plague or not.
6. Betrayer of the Light [Cathedral - Ragnarok Online]
"Betrayer of the Light!" is something Arthas shouts in battle if you make his unit attack something directly. He continues to shout this during his journey into the cold, dead land of Northrend where he intends to take "revenge" on the Dreadlord Mal'Gainas for the fate of Stratholme (yeah, okay, Arthas. As if that mission wasn't a race to see which one of you could slaughter villagers faster). This is ironic considering that while he is in Northrend...
7. The Path of the Righteous [Unintentional Descension - Fabian del Priore]
... Arthas (indirectly) murders one of his mentors- Muradin Bronzebeard (adorkable younger brother of the Dwarven King)- then betrays his own men and sells his soul to kill Mal'Gainas. Soulless and brought down to his lowest...
8. Arthas, Servant of the Lich King [This Moment is Eternity - Nightwish]
Day possesses no key here
Where moon sheds the cold twilight
This moment is eternity
... Arthas becomes a Death Knight under the control of the Lich King. Unfettered by the weight of his crown, he goes home and murders his father in a really pretty cutscence.
9. The March of the Scourge [The Greatest Trick - John Ottoman]
And so the Kingdom of Lordaeron begins it's decay at the hands of the undead.
10. Sylvanas Windrunner [The Secrecy of Deep Affection - Gustaf Grefberg]
Sylvanas is in charge of the elven offensive against the Scourge. Like most people who try to be heroic in Warcraft, she meets a pretty terrible end: murdered at the hands of the undead, she is turned into one of them. Don't worry! She gets her sentience back eventually and emerges as the leader of the Forsaken! Though that in itself isn't exactly a pleasant fate either.
11. The Defense of Silvermoon [Knight's March - Hans Zimmer]
SPOILER: it fails.
12. Fall of Lordaeran [The Battle of Dragons - Erdenstern]
And the Prophet is all: WHY. DIDN'T. YOU. LISTEN. TO. ME. Arthas murders his other mentor, Uther the Lightbringer.
13. The Northern Kingdoms Burn [Unknown Track - Unknown Artst]
As it turns out, the Scourge Invasion was set into motion in order to pave the way for the Burning Legion: millennia old demons who destroy worlds to return the universe to a state of chaos. Arthas is all: "If I had a soul, this revelation might have caused me to totally freak out."
And seriously, I have no clue what this song is or what it is from. I downloaded in in eighth grade under the description of "Cloud's Theme", but I can tell you: this is NOT from Final Fantasy VII. If any of you could identify the track, that would be so awesome I don't even know where to begin.
14. The Reign of the Burning Legion [Deciever of Fools - Within Temptation]
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15. Exodus [Musa Venit Carmine - Medieval Baebes]
Because orcs are apparently much smarter than humans (seriously?), they cross the ocean hoping to find themselves a real home at last.
16. Kalimdor [Cantara - Dead Can Dance]
Kalimdor is... different than the Eastern Kingdoms. Wild, expansive and untamed. It's also very pretty and filled with red rock, tropical plants and glowing forests.
17. Thrall, son of Durotan [Where My Heart Is - Knights of Honor]
Look, there's a reason that Thrall is pretty much the only faction leader in WoW that players will put themselves on the line to defend from raids with the kind of devoted fervor Blizzard likely expected when they instituted the mechanic. I admit to slight Alliance preference, but if given the chance, I would elect Thrall PRESIDENT OF AZEROTH. Mostly, he's incredibly awesome. I guess you could say in the context of WCIII, Thrall is the narrative juxtaposition to Arthas: the young Prince's life of privilege and exposure to goodness and kindness could not prevent him from walking a dark path, whereas the cruelty Thrall faced in his life taught him mercy and all his hardships have made him noble and a measured leader.
18. The Tauren [The Sun Circle - David Arkenstone]
While it sucks to be pretty much anyone on Azeroth, it especially sucks to be the Tauren. It seems that every other race on the continent of Kalimdor wants them dead and all they want to do is live in peace and be at one with the Earth Mother. Thrall meets the elderly Tauren Chief, Cairne Bloodhoof (who says adorable old man things when you click on him in battle ♥) and helps him defend his tribe. The two forge a deep friendship that eventually leads to the Tauren joining the Horde.
19. Bloodlust [Varekai - Cirque de Soleil]
On Kalimdor and close to the returned Dreadlords of the Burning Legion, Grom Hellscream- mentor and surrogate brother to Thrall- begins to feel his old Orcish bloodlust returning and does some foolish things. Like...
20. To Slay a Demigod [Drums of Gaugamela - Vangelis]
... killing the Night Elf God Cenarius. This alone might explain why the Night Elves sided specifically with the Alliance after this war even though they were pretty much on equal standing with the humans and the orcs by the end of this game. (Maybe I'm alone in this, but I tend to think that the Night Elves have quite a bit in common with the Horde, especially the Tauren. But since the addition of Blood Elves to WoW, that makes a nice contrast: the Horde gets the elves that seem to fit more naturally culture wise into the Alliance while the Alliance gets the wild, feral elves who might have- under different circumstances- been at home with the Horde. Blah blah, I'll shut up now. The point is, Thrall's BFF killed their God so that wasn't happening).
21. The Oracle at Stonetalon [Demon's Castle - Wild ARMS]
Cairne Bloodhoof takes Thrall up to Stonetalon Peak to see the Oracle there. They have to fight their way through human forces and in the depths of the dead, forgotten cave they meet...
22. Jaina Proudmoore [Sur Le Fil - Yann Tiersan]
... this lovely sorceress, who was the only member of the Lordaeron nobility smart enough to listen to the Prophet and pay attention to the decimation the Scourge were bringing to the land. She decided to take her people across the sea and, like, not become a zombie. She is initially hostile to the Orc and Tauren leaders, but the Prophet shows up and bades them work together because like the rest of the fandom, he totes ships Thrall/Jaina without each other, they will fall.
23. Mammaroth's Curse [Do You Think I'm Saxon? - Hans Zimmer]
It turns out that Grom has given his soul to the Dreadlord who originally turned the Orcs into killing machines. Jaina helps Thrall save his best friend's soul but then Grom dies killing the monstrous Mammaroth. Thrall is all: D:, but considering EVERYTHING HE LOVES DIES he should have seen this coming.
24. The Night Elves' Distrust [Riders from the East - Erdenstern]
So Thrall and Jaina forge a happy alliance and for the first time ever, Orcs and Humans join hands in the clear cutting of a really pretty forest. The Night Elves like their forest with all its trees in it so they begin attacking the "outlanders".
25. Tyrande Whisperwind [Avarice - Hans Zimmer]
The High Priestess of the Night Elves is generally a tempered, reasonable person but her people have been hidden for tens of thousands of years. She knows that Burning Legion is back, she knows that her forest is being harmed and she knows that the outlanders killed her people's Gods. Tyrande will do what it takes to protect Azeroth as her people have done in the past.
26. Waking the Druids [Miracula Aetermitatis - Cirque de Soleil]
The Night Elves know that what's happening is real srs bzns, so they wake their most powerful druids- who have been sleeping for a thousand years. Tyrande also wakes and frees her lover's creepy, unhinged brother, Illidan Stormrage, but considering his plot is mostly important in regards to the WCIII expansion, The Frozen Throne, I'm not going to talk about him much here. Except that he is crazy and unhinged and does some stupid shit that gets him banned from Night Elf society. And like most Warcraft characters who do stupid shit, this also makes him into a fucking demigod. Lol, Warcraft.
27. Twilight of the Gods [Invasion - Erdenstern]
The Dreadlord Archimonde approaches the World Tree, hoping to drain Azeroth's energy essentially... killing the planet or something. Okay, listen: Warcraft lore is really confusing and I beat the game at three in the morning all frantic, twitchy and bleary eyed.
28. Enemies Stand Together at the End [The Opened Way - Koh Otani]
This final battle is some intense shit. Jaina, Thrall and Cairne attempt to stall Archimode's ascent towards the World Tree while the Night Elves back them up and hatch a plan to destroy the Burning Legionnaire...
29. The Sacrifice of Ancients [Isfahan - ES Posthumus]
... in the end, sacrificing their immortality. The World Tree is dead, Azeroth is deeply scarred and its people have learned that there are evils in the world beyond their petty wars. Human, Dwarf, Orc, Troll, Tauren and Elf stand together under the shadow of the dead tree as a new root digs into the burnt earth, perhaps signifying a new future for the people of this deeply harmed planet.
SPOILER: they fuck it up pretty quickly.
DOWNLOAD
This game is also relentlessly sad. Even more so, since it ends on a note of hope that is quickly quashed out by subsequent entires in the series. But all in all it is a challenging game with a beautiful story and a ridiculously engaging cast. Even if nothing good ever happens to any of them.
1. The Dream [Galadriel's Mirror - David Arkenstone]
Young leader of the Orcish Horde, Warchief Thrall, awakens from a dream of death and destruction. Following the words of a mysterious prophet in the form of a Raven, he agrees to lead his people West over the sea to the strange and savage continent of Kalimdor.
2. Pride Cometh Before the Fall [Fallen's Grave - Altered Beast OC Remix]
The human King of Lordaeran receives the same warning but in their arrogance, the humans refuse to heed the Prophet's words.
3. Prince Arthas Menethil [Titans - Vangelis]
This guy is ostensibly our hero for the first stretch of the game. He is handsome, brave and clever. He has a bright future ahead of him and all that. Watch him as he destroys his soul and becomes one of the most evil beings in the history of Azeroth.
4. The Plague [Resurrection - Koh Otani]
Arthas and his men discover a horrible plague that turns the living into shambling, rotting, mindless monsters tearing through the countryside. Desperate to protect his people, the young Prince rushes from town to town attempting to stop the spread of the disease.
5. The Culling of Stratholme [La Foire - Angelo Badalamenti]
Defeated at every turn and determined to make things "right", Arthas orders the city of Stratholme burned and its citizens killed- whether they are infected by the Plague or not.
6. Betrayer of the Light [Cathedral - Ragnarok Online]
"Betrayer of the Light!" is something Arthas shouts in battle if you make his unit attack something directly. He continues to shout this during his journey into the cold, dead land of Northrend where he intends to take "revenge" on the Dreadlord Mal'Gainas for the fate of Stratholme (yeah, okay, Arthas. As if that mission wasn't a race to see which one of you could slaughter villagers faster). This is ironic considering that while he is in Northrend...
7. The Path of the Righteous [Unintentional Descension - Fabian del Priore]
... Arthas (indirectly) murders one of his mentors- Muradin Bronzebeard (adorkable younger brother of the Dwarven King)- then betrays his own men and sells his soul to kill Mal'Gainas. Soulless and brought down to his lowest...
8. Arthas, Servant of the Lich King [This Moment is Eternity - Nightwish]
Day possesses no key here
Where moon sheds the cold twilight
This moment is eternity
... Arthas becomes a Death Knight under the control of the Lich King. Unfettered by the weight of his crown, he goes home and murders his father in a really pretty cutscence.
9. The March of the Scourge [The Greatest Trick - John Ottoman]
And so the Kingdom of Lordaeron begins it's decay at the hands of the undead.
10. Sylvanas Windrunner [The Secrecy of Deep Affection - Gustaf Grefberg]
Sylvanas is in charge of the elven offensive against the Scourge. Like most people who try to be heroic in Warcraft, she meets a pretty terrible end: murdered at the hands of the undead, she is turned into one of them. Don't worry! She gets her sentience back eventually and emerges as the leader of the Forsaken! Though that in itself isn't exactly a pleasant fate either.
11. The Defense of Silvermoon [Knight's March - Hans Zimmer]
SPOILER: it fails.
12. Fall of Lordaeran [The Battle of Dragons - Erdenstern]
And the Prophet is all: WHY. DIDN'T. YOU. LISTEN. TO. ME. Arthas murders his other mentor, Uther the Lightbringer.
13. The Northern Kingdoms Burn [Unknown Track - Unknown Artst]
As it turns out, the Scourge Invasion was set into motion in order to pave the way for the Burning Legion: millennia old demons who destroy worlds to return the universe to a state of chaos. Arthas is all: "If I had a soul, this revelation might have caused me to totally freak out."
And seriously, I have no clue what this song is or what it is from. I downloaded in in eighth grade under the description of "Cloud's Theme", but I can tell you: this is NOT from Final Fantasy VII. If any of you could identify the track, that would be so awesome I don't even know where to begin.
14. The Reign of the Burning Legion [Deciever of Fools - Within Temptation]
DOWNLOAD
15. Exodus [Musa Venit Carmine - Medieval Baebes]
Because orcs are apparently much smarter than humans (seriously?), they cross the ocean hoping to find themselves a real home at last.
16. Kalimdor [Cantara - Dead Can Dance]
Kalimdor is... different than the Eastern Kingdoms. Wild, expansive and untamed. It's also very pretty and filled with red rock, tropical plants and glowing forests.
17. Thrall, son of Durotan [Where My Heart Is - Knights of Honor]
Look, there's a reason that Thrall is pretty much the only faction leader in WoW that players will put themselves on the line to defend from raids with the kind of devoted fervor Blizzard likely expected when they instituted the mechanic. I admit to slight Alliance preference, but if given the chance, I would elect Thrall PRESIDENT OF AZEROTH. Mostly, he's incredibly awesome. I guess you could say in the context of WCIII, Thrall is the narrative juxtaposition to Arthas: the young Prince's life of privilege and exposure to goodness and kindness could not prevent him from walking a dark path, whereas the cruelty Thrall faced in his life taught him mercy and all his hardships have made him noble and a measured leader.
18. The Tauren [The Sun Circle - David Arkenstone]
While it sucks to be pretty much anyone on Azeroth, it especially sucks to be the Tauren. It seems that every other race on the continent of Kalimdor wants them dead and all they want to do is live in peace and be at one with the Earth Mother. Thrall meets the elderly Tauren Chief, Cairne Bloodhoof (who says adorable old man things when you click on him in battle ♥) and helps him defend his tribe. The two forge a deep friendship that eventually leads to the Tauren joining the Horde.
19. Bloodlust [Varekai - Cirque de Soleil]
On Kalimdor and close to the returned Dreadlords of the Burning Legion, Grom Hellscream- mentor and surrogate brother to Thrall- begins to feel his old Orcish bloodlust returning and does some foolish things. Like...
20. To Slay a Demigod [Drums of Gaugamela - Vangelis]
... killing the Night Elf God Cenarius. This alone might explain why the Night Elves sided specifically with the Alliance after this war even though they were pretty much on equal standing with the humans and the orcs by the end of this game. (Maybe I'm alone in this, but I tend to think that the Night Elves have quite a bit in common with the Horde, especially the Tauren. But since the addition of Blood Elves to WoW, that makes a nice contrast: the Horde gets the elves that seem to fit more naturally culture wise into the Alliance while the Alliance gets the wild, feral elves who might have- under different circumstances- been at home with the Horde. Blah blah, I'll shut up now. The point is, Thrall's BFF killed their God so that wasn't happening).
21. The Oracle at Stonetalon [Demon's Castle - Wild ARMS]
Cairne Bloodhoof takes Thrall up to Stonetalon Peak to see the Oracle there. They have to fight their way through human forces and in the depths of the dead, forgotten cave they meet...
22. Jaina Proudmoore [Sur Le Fil - Yann Tiersan]
... this lovely sorceress, who was the only member of the Lordaeron nobility smart enough to listen to the Prophet and pay attention to the decimation the Scourge were bringing to the land. She decided to take her people across the sea and, like, not become a zombie. She is initially hostile to the Orc and Tauren leaders, but the Prophet shows up and bades them work together because like the rest of the fandom, he totes ships Thrall/Jaina without each other, they will fall.
23. Mammaroth's Curse [Do You Think I'm Saxon? - Hans Zimmer]
It turns out that Grom has given his soul to the Dreadlord who originally turned the Orcs into killing machines. Jaina helps Thrall save his best friend's soul but then Grom dies killing the monstrous Mammaroth. Thrall is all: D:, but considering EVERYTHING HE LOVES DIES he should have seen this coming.
24. The Night Elves' Distrust [Riders from the East - Erdenstern]
So Thrall and Jaina forge a happy alliance and for the first time ever, Orcs and Humans join hands in the clear cutting of a really pretty forest. The Night Elves like their forest with all its trees in it so they begin attacking the "outlanders".
25. Tyrande Whisperwind [Avarice - Hans Zimmer]
The High Priestess of the Night Elves is generally a tempered, reasonable person but her people have been hidden for tens of thousands of years. She knows that Burning Legion is back, she knows that her forest is being harmed and she knows that the outlanders killed her people's Gods. Tyrande will do what it takes to protect Azeroth as her people have done in the past.
26. Waking the Druids [Miracula Aetermitatis - Cirque de Soleil]
The Night Elves know that what's happening is real srs bzns, so they wake their most powerful druids- who have been sleeping for a thousand years. Tyrande also wakes and frees her lover's creepy, unhinged brother, Illidan Stormrage, but considering his plot is mostly important in regards to the WCIII expansion, The Frozen Throne, I'm not going to talk about him much here. Except that he is crazy and unhinged and does some stupid shit that gets him banned from Night Elf society. And like most Warcraft characters who do stupid shit, this also makes him into a fucking demigod. Lol, Warcraft.
27. Twilight of the Gods [Invasion - Erdenstern]
The Dreadlord Archimonde approaches the World Tree, hoping to drain Azeroth's energy essentially... killing the planet or something. Okay, listen: Warcraft lore is really confusing and I beat the game at three in the morning all frantic, twitchy and bleary eyed.
28. Enemies Stand Together at the End [The Opened Way - Koh Otani]
This final battle is some intense shit. Jaina, Thrall and Cairne attempt to stall Archimode's ascent towards the World Tree while the Night Elves back them up and hatch a plan to destroy the Burning Legionnaire...
29. The Sacrifice of Ancients [Isfahan - ES Posthumus]
... in the end, sacrificing their immortality. The World Tree is dead, Azeroth is deeply scarred and its people have learned that there are evils in the world beyond their petty wars. Human, Dwarf, Orc, Troll, Tauren and Elf stand together under the shadow of the dead tree as a new root digs into the burnt earth, perhaps signifying a new future for the people of this deeply harmed planet.
SPOILER: they fuck it up pretty quickly.
DOWNLOAD