Chapter 277: This Game Is Absolutely Awesome! (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

"The visual presentation of this game is amazing!"

Sitting beside him, Wang Han gazed at the game graphics on the screen and couldn't help but praise it.

Although she didn't like playing RTS games, she had played them before.

She could immediately tell the quality of Warcraft's visual presentation.

"It's not just the visuals—this game's setting seems pretty interesting too!" Zhang Yi wasn't a hardcore RTS player, but he had played for a while and had some understanding of the genre.

Following the system's prompts, Zhang Yi searched for the Far Seer.

When he reached a flagpole in the center, three Orc soldiers—the same ones from the earlier CGI cutscene—rushed out from a nearby building.

They surrounded Thrall, the Hero Zhang Yi controlled, clearly marking them as unit types in the game.

Patrol, Move, Attack, Hold Position—the operational functions in Warcraft were richer than in typical RTS games.

But what struck Zhang Yi as different was the distinction between soldiers and Heroes.

In this game, Thrall was a unique Hero capable of leveling up to improve attributes and possessing unique Skills.

The common soldiers, on the other hand, only had Base Attack Power and no special attributes.

Moreover, there was another major difference between Heroes and common soldiers.

Beside the skill slot on the right was a row of item slots.

Though currently empty, it was obvious the game allowed acquiring and using items.

However, it seemed only Heroes could use them.

Previously, games like Human Wars had some special units.

For example, the Siege Behemoth—a strategic control unit capable of turning the tide of battle.

But in Warcraft, Heroes clearly went beyond that.

With Skills and items, their impact on the session could be enormous.

And crucially, Heroes could level up and possessed attributes like strength, agility, and intelligence—progression elements typically seen only in RPGs.

This gave Zhang Yi a feeling reminiscent of the Three Kingdoms era—a general leading troops into battle.

Beyond these features, the unit attributes in the game also caught his attention.

In previous RTS games, battles were basically chaotic clashes of unit types, with so-called counters existing but rarely making a big difference.

It was mostly about producing units and fighting.

But Warcraft, even at the very start, showed something different.

Looking at the three green-skinned Orc soldiers, Zhang Yi could already see distinctions from their panels.

The attack attributes and armor attributes of soldiers and Heroes were completely different.

This meant damage between different unit types would vary significantly.

While Zhang Yi was picking up on these subtle differences that set Warcraft apart from other RTS titles, Wang Han beside him wasn't focused on that—unsurprising, given she rarely played RTS games and hadn't noticed these details at all.

Wang Han was more intrigued by the Hero Thrall that Zhang Yi was currently controlling.

"Your Thrall seems like a spellcaster based on his main attributes, right? Why does his appearance and stats look so weird?" Wang Han chimed in.

Hearing her, Zhang Yi shifted his attention to Thrall in the game.

Muscular, wielding a massive Hammer, riding a black Alpha Wolf—then checking the attribute points:

16 strength, 18 agility, 19 intelligence.

If wisdom hadn't taken the lead, there was no way you'd think this was a spellcaster!

"It actually makes sense. After all, Thrall is an Orc. Orcs being muscular, riding wolves, and using hammers—that all feels pretty reasonable, doesn't it?" Zhang Yi pondered before offering his opinion.

"Hmm... that does seem reasonable, but a spellcaster using a hammer? That just feels so strange," Wang Han said, looking again at the burly Thrall on screen.

"He's not necessarily a spellcaster. I'd just say Thrall here is particularly intelligent," Zhang Yi explained.

"Ugh, fine, let's not get stuck on this. Let's just focus on experiencing the game!" Seeing Wang Han about to say more, Zhang Yi changed the subject.

After all, these details weren't crucial.

And honestly, it made sense—Orcs were generally expected to be burly.

If Thrall were an effeminate young man, people would question whether he was even an Orc.

"But compared to other RTS games, Warcraft brings so many changes and innovations!" Zhang Yi sighed with emotion.

Controlling Thrall, he began advancing through the story campaign.

As he gave commands, Thrall and the Orc soldiers responded with dialogue feedback appropriate to the player's input.

In Versus Mode, dialogue lines were usually fixed.

But in the story campaign, Chen Xu had made some changes compared to his previous life.

The dialogue feedback would now dynamically match the current plot progression and scene matching, offering players a much stronger sense of immersion.

As he gradually progressed through the Prologue, more content unfolded before Zhang Yi.

For example, the influence a Hero could have on a session.

Take Thrall—he only had two Skills in the Prologue, mainly to prevent overwhelming new players.

One was Chain Lightning, an area-of-effect damage ability.

The other was a scouting skill that could reveal units hidden in the Fog of War.

As an RTS player, Zhang Yi immediately recognized the significance of these Skills.

In traditional RTS games, victory often came down to pure skill.

Whoever had better operations was stronger.

Unit counters and tactics existed, but their actual impact was minimal.

But in Warcraft, he saw something different—the transformative impact of Heroes on gameplay.

A single well-placed Skill could decide the outcome of a skirmish.

Of course, he didn't yet know if this held true in actual multiplayer modes.

For now, he was simply progressing through the single-player story.

Playing on Easy difficulty, Zhang Yi found it genuinely simple—he only lost two Orc soldiers throughout.

After rescuing an Orc named Grom Hellscream, Thrall and the Horde began their journey by boarding human ships.

The next moment, a CG cutscene appeared, making Zhang Yi excited.

A completely new CGI! How much content had this game actually produced?

On a distant cliff, a mysterious wizard watched Thrall's fleet depart, whispering, "Go forth, young Thrall! Journey to the land of Kalimdor, where you shall find your destiny."

As the wizard's words faded, a haunting melody played, and the scene shifted to a Raven flying into the distance.

The screen darkened briefly as the Raven soared over the Alterac Mountains, glided past barren valleys, and finally arrived at a thriving human city-state: Lordaeron.

Inside the grand hall, voices discussed animatedly.

Their topic? Orcs and the spreading plague.

King Terenas, aged and weary, sat deep in thought upon his throne.

Suddenly, the Raven flew in from nowhere and landed in the center of the hall.

At once, the background audio turned ominous.

The strange Raven drew Terenas's attention. Glowing with an eerie green light, it transformed before everyone's shocked eyes—into the very same Far Seer who had guided Thrall.

His voice echoed throughout the hall:

"Mankind stands on the brink of peril! The Dark Power is about to make a comeback, and the entire world teeters on the edge of war!"

"Listen to me! The only hope for your people is to go west—to the ancient continent of Kalimdor!"

The ministers ordered the guards to drag away the 'madman,' but the old king stood and stopped them.

Staring at the wizard, his expression stern: "I don't know who you are or what you believe in! But now is not the time for prophecies. Our realm suffers from conflict and turmoil, but it is for us to decide how best to protect our people—not you! Leave now!"

The wizard slowly lowered his head, his voice growing dark: "I once failed to save humanity and abandoned my humanity. But this time, I won't repeat that mistake."

"If you cannot accept this commission, I will find someone who will."

Slowly turning, the wizard walked away, leaving behind a whisper only he could hear:

"I have given the warning. Now their fate is in their own hands."

The screen faded to black. The cutscene ended, transitioning into a new game chapter screen.

The CG wasn't long—only about three minutes.

But it had already revealed so much.

The hostility between Orcs and humans, the mysterious plague spreading across Lordaeron.

And the Far Seer who once sought out Thrall—why was he urging both humans and Orcs to journey west to the ancient land of Kalimdor?

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Yi didn't proceed immediately.

A surge of excitement and emotion welled up inside him.

It was simply too well-crafted. Though he'd played less than an hour, Warcraft had already completely won him over—especially its single-player story!

He turned to share his excitement with Wang Han, but found her seat empty.

Clearly, she had already gone to silently download Warcraft and try it for herself.

Zhang Yi quietly opened the voice channel and activated his Microphones.

"Old Song, what do you think of Warcraft!? This game is absolutely awesome! I've never played an RTS like this before! And those CG cutscenes—absolutely incredible!"

After saying that, he left the voice channel.

He'd vented his excitement. Not knowing Old Song's progress and wanting to avoid spoilers, leaving right after was clearly the best move.

(End of Chapter) <>