Warcraft II

An older version of the real-time strategy classic, this fantasy adventure still holds interest despite out-of-date graphics and limited advanced features. Warcraft II allows you to play either as a human or an orc, and each race is given its own special set of abilities and talents. The goals are basic: build bases for your peasants, collect gold and lumber and keep the enemy at bay. Gameplay is straightforward and the game's graphics, while not state-of-the-art (this version was released in 1996, after all) are not so basic as to detract from the game itself. A lack of advanced features (that appear as serious improvements in Age of Empires and Warcraft III) does make Warcraft II less appealing. You aren't able to queue build orders, or assign group numbers to selected units, as just a few examples. During testing, we found that the demo works well on Windows XP, as well as on older versions of Windows. If you consider yourself a Warcraft II junkie and are looking for a simple nostalgic challenge, then this demo is worth the download.