Many moons have passed since the humans first faced the wrath of the Orcish hordes. The Tides of Darkness have risen and fallen and many warriors have even traveled Beyond the Dark Portal. Now, a new enemy has surfaced, one that will stop at nothing until the war is won. Sharpen your swords and prepare yourself for battle, warrior - the Reign of Chaos is coming.

Over the last few weeks, I've been getting plenty of hands on time with Blizzard's highly-anticipated strategy game. This build only contains the battle.net multiplayer matchups, but it was more than enough to show me just how interesting Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos is shaping up to be. And now it's sharing time.

The development of Warcraft III has certainly been an interesting ride. Originally, we were expecting a fully 3D game in the vein of Myth. Then, it ends up basically like the other Warcraft games, but with 3D units. Next we get hit with delay after delay after delay, making many people wonder if the game is ever going to be released. But things finally look like they are coming together, and thank the gaming gods, it all looks good.

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If you've played any of the Warcraft games, you'll notice that the deal is the same as it ever was. Build up food sources, command an army, and lead it to victory. Not a whole lot has changed in the core gameplay, but there are a few nifty additions, including two new races and a much more role-playing bend.

The heroes that were found in Warcraft II have been significantly beefed up for this time around, with a trio of super-warriors for each race. Not only can these guys and gals gain experience in battle, they'll also become more powerful and find items like healing potions that can turn the tide of battle. Furthermore, they can be brought back from the dead with all of their attributes intact...if you've already built an altar for them.

You'll also run into a bunch of NPCs (known as creeps) along the way. From rock golems to troll kings, you'll encounter a plethora of strange folk without any particular allegiance. Usually guarding tactical positions, gold mines, or other important locations, these enemies will attack anything that dares venture too close. But to make it worth your while, some of these guys will give up precious items when they die.

Neutral buildings are also scattered throughout the landscape and can help you win the war. Buy items from the Goblin Merchant and even recruit a few good Men…er Trolls… er…Ogres from the nearest Mercenary Camp.

The spellcasting system has been fleshed out a bit. Now, spellcasters can be set to automatically cast certain spells for maximum efficiency. Also, heroes have the ability to gain a devestating Ultimate spell when they reach level 5.

For the most part, the structures of the two original races have remained the same. I'm sure you're more curious about the new races, so let's dive right in.

First up are the Night Elves. Rooted in nature, the elves are quite different from the other races. The basic worker unit, known as a wisp, actually 'becomes' whatever you assign it to. For example, ask a wisp to construct a building and it will gradually transform into that structure. Ask it to collect lumber and it will become a tree spirit, gathering lumber without even chopping down the trees. It sure beats lazy peasants.

While other armies may be slightly better equipped, the elves rely on speed and keen night vision. Their basic units consist of archers and a huntresses riding a panther. How frisky.

Don't think these guys are pushovers, though. Ballistas are available for siege tactics and spellcasters like the dryads and druids can wreck havoc on enemy battalions. The flying hippogryphs and chimerae can do significant damage, particularly if the enemy isn't prepared to defend against flight.

One of the most interesting things about the Night Elves is that all of their main structures can pull themselves out of the ground to become big, hulking units. For instance, the Ancient of War, which makes basic units, can uproot itself and attack enemies, then be replanted as a building again. They may be slow, but having structures that can defend themselves is a major plus.

I probably had the most fun playing as the Night Elves. Their cool building abilities as well as effective flying units led to a fair share of victories. They're definitely a solid addition to the landscape of Azeroth.

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The other new race is the Undead Scourge. As you would expect, these vile demons are the ones causing all of the trouble in Azeroth with their nasty taste for death and destruction. They've got strong basic units as well as some heavy hitters, so beware.

Starting off the carnage is the Undead Ghouls. They're cheap, easy to mass produce, and are pretty solid fighters when they've got numbers on their side. Throw a few Crypt Fiends and Gargoyles into the mix and things get wicked quickly. The Undead also take advantage of the Black Arts. Necromancers can raise the dead to fight again and cast unholy frenzy and corpse explosion to provide some all around brutality.

Undead structures are very similar to the Zerg and Protoss from Blizzard's other RTS, Starcraft. Your home base will spread some unholy ground, which is a required foundation for your buildings. Also, these buildings are summoned in and do not need to have a worker unit constantly dealing with it. Not a bad deal. If you're looking for a little defensive bang for your buck, check out the Undead "farm" structures. Known as Ziggurats, these buildings can be upgraded to provide tower support against both land and air targets.

In my experiences with the multiplayer beta test, the Undead seemed to be strongest. Cranking out a lot of Ghouls early on is easy and often produces favorable results. In fact, I was nearly undefeated with Undead rush tactics. But as this is not a final product, we'll see if a better balance can be achieved by the time the game launches.

I'm glad to report that the good ol' Warcraft humor has remained intact. Remember those wacky lines you heard when clicking on the same unit over and over again? Well, it's rampant in Reign of Chaos and better than ever. The GR office would literally gather around the gaming rig while clicking maniacally on every unit just to hear the responses.

It has been a bumpy ride, but if you're a big Warcraft fan, I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Despite a very long development process, it looks like Blizzard is going to hit PCs with yet another killer title. Beat the war drums and summon all soldiers - Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos is headed your way this June (we hope).