The story of Warcraft II - Tides Of Darkness is set a few years after the first war between Orcs and Humans in Warcraft I.
The Kingdom of Azaroth has been devastated, Stormwind destroyed, the Human King killed and Medivh as well.
The survivors of Azaroth had to flee northwards to the continent of Lordaeron. They confederated with the other remaining human nations and the Dwarves of Khaz Modan and the High Elves of Quel’thalas joint them too. The Alliance was born.

When the Orcs started an invasion in order to bring the north under their rule, the were forced back by the Alliance. Under the leadership of Anduin Lothar the troops of the Alliance pushed forward rapidly and liberated great parts of the occupied areas. But Lothar had to pay a heavy price. The supreme commander of the Alliance forces died in an ambush of the Horde near Blackrock Spire after he had been separated from his troops.
The final battle between the Horde and the Alliance took place at the spot where the Orcish invasion once started, at the Dark Portal. The portal was destroyed by the hand of the Archmage Khadgar and the Orcs were totally annihilated.

The gameplay of Warcraft II, released in 1996, is nearly equal to the gameplay in Warcraft I although it includes some important changes. The most obvious ones are the fog of war and the possibility to command now nine units at once.

Old bugs have been fixed and new features were integrated.
A higher number of units is now available and for the first time in RTS history, enemies can be beaten in naval actions. To build sea units the new resource, oil, is required.
Most of the units and buildings of one faction still have a counterpart within the other faction, apart from a few units which differ from each other by their spells.
Remarkable are the “hero units” which the player has to lead through some missions. They have got names, pictures and much higher values than “normal units“.
Buildings do not have to be placed near roads any longer
Although it was already possible to play Warcraft II on the internet, in 1999 the was released and made online gaming much more comfortable. A lot of new features have been added. The complete list can be found here.

Awards and Recognitions:

• Hall of Fame Inductee - Computer Gaming World
• Game of the Year - PC Gamer
• Game of the Year finalist - Computer Games Strategy Plus
• Best Multiplayer Game of the Year - PC Gamer
• Best On-line Game - c|net Award of Internet Excellence
• Best Strategy Game - MacWorld Macintosh Hall of Fame 1997
• Best New Game - MacUser Editors’ Choice Awards
• Best Internet Game - Video Game Advisor
• Europe Software of Excellence Award - Ziff-Davis UK
• 1996 Innovations Award - Consumer Electronics Show, Winter 1996
• 1996 Eddy Award: Best Game - MacUser
• 1996 “Best of After Hours” - PC Magazine
• Real-Time Strategy Game of the Year runner-up - Computer Games Strategy Plus
• Game of the Year finalist - Computer Games Strategy Plus
• Number-one selling entertainment CD-ROM of 1996 - PC Data
• Strategy Hall of Fame award - MacWorld magazine
• #2 Reader’s Top 50 - PC Gamer
• Editors’ Choice Award - PC Gamer
• CG Choice Award - Computer Gaming World
• Golden Triad Award - Computer Game Review
• 96-percent rating - PC Gamer
• 93-percent rating - Computer Game Review
• 4.5 out of 5 rating - Computer Gaming World

System Requirements:

Credits:

Producer
Sam Didier, Michael Morhaime, Patrick Wyatt

Executive Producer
Allen Adham

Lead Design
Ronald Millar Sr.

Design
Chris Metzen

Story
Chris Metzen

Scenario Design
Chris Metzen, Ronald Millar Sr.

Scenario Layout
Eric Flannum, Ronald Millar Sr.

Programming
Bob Fitch, Jesse McReynolds, Michael Morhaime, Frank Pearce Jr., Patrick Wyatt

Scenario Editor Programming
Tim Thein

Installer Programming
Andy Weir

Autoplay Programming
Mike O’Brien

3D Artwork
David Berggren, Nicholas S. Carpenter, Joeyray Hall, Trevor Jacobs, Roman Kenney, Micky Neilson, Matthew Samia, Brian Sousa, Duane Stinnett, Justin Thavirat

Artwork
David Berggren, Nicholas S. Carpenter, Sam Didier, Roman Kenney, Chris Metzen, Ronald Millar Sr., Micky Neilson, Stuart Rose, Brian Sousa, Justin Thavirat

Music
Glenn Stafford

Sound
Glenn Stafford

Manual Design and Layout
Robert Djordjevich, Chris Metzen, Ronald Millar Sr., Bill Roper, James Phinney, Jeffrey Vaughn

Manual Artwork
David Berggren, Nicholas S. Carpenter, Sam Didier, Eric Flannum, Trevor Jacobs, Roman Kenney, Chris Metzen, Ronald Millar Sr., Collin Murray, Micky Neilson, Stuart Rose, Matthew Samia, Brian Sousa, Duane Stinnett, Justin Thavirat

Narration
Bill Roper

Acting / Voiceovers
Tymothi V. Loving, Chris Metzen, Ronald Millar Sr., Bill Roper, Stuart Rose, Glenn Stafford

Director of Quality Assurance
Shane Dabiri

Lead Tester
Tymothi V. Loving

Testers
Robert Bridenbecker, Josh Cook, Kamran Fotoohi, David Hale, Victor Larson, Brian Love, Adam Maxwell, Chris Millar, Daniel Moore, Jorge Rivero, John Schwartz, James Shipley, Walter Takata

Technical Assistance
Alan Dabiri

Office Manager
Christina Cade

Public Relations
Linda Duttenhaver, Susan Wooley-Sams

Marketing
Kathy Carter-Humphreys, Steve Huot, John Patrick, Mark J. Polcyn

International Sales
Ralph Becker, Florian Mueller, Chris Yoshimura

U.S. Sales
Todd Coyle

Manufacturing
Tom Bryan, John Goodman

Technical Help and Stuff
Kendall Bennett, John Miles, Jayesh J. Patel, Jeff Roberts

Special Thanks To
Brendan Allison, Richard Amtower IV, James Edward Anhalt III (can we drive the Ferrari now?), Bill Banks, Robert Beatie, Big Daddy Ogre, Michaele S. Bialon, Kerry Bischoff, Brazil 2001, Brita and Ruth, Bunny and Doug, Dawn Caddel, Dunsel Training Institute, caffeine, Prin Carrie, Tim Carrie, Mike Carrillo, Amber Carson, Mark Catley, The Dallas Cowboys, Aaron Daluiski, Pamina Elgueta, Frazetta Woman Dar, Mike Hale, Lyno Hychong, Jabe and friends, David Jefferson, Ed Ka-Spel, Chris Kanaar, The King, Jeff Kyser, The Letter M, Annie Liu, Isaac Matarasso, Rhonda Michelle, Elizabeth Millar, Sam Moore, Paul and Alinda, Paul and Renae, Nine Inch Nails, Lisa Pearce, Mark Pearce, David Peng, John Phinney, Mike Pirozzi, the mighty Thor, The Poxy Boggards, Vladimir Pufkin, Ray the Soda Guy, Shannon Reagan, Rider, Dave Riller, Salty Dog and the Anvil Chorus, Samantha, Scoop, The S.F. 49′ers, Dean Shipley, Sketchead Sign, Ted Spellman, Team Hamro, Sting, surfing, Krisann Shipley, 1995 UCLA Hoops, Jeffrey Vaughn, Julie Westlake, Chris Wheeler, Jerry Wheeler, Whiskers, Gretchen Witte

Very Special Thanks To
Bob Davidson, Jan Davidson