96 of 98 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome CGI shorts on less than stellar DVDs, January 28, 2003
This review is from: Blizzard Entertainment DVD Collection (Cut scenes for Diablo II Warcraft III and Starcraft) (CD-ROM)
These CGI short films are collected from Blizzard games of the past few years - Starcraft, Diablo 2, and Warcraft 3. Great games in their own right, fans were amazed that the cinematics reached Hollywood-level quality. Early work in Starcraft was somewhat crude, but Blizzard's latest efforts are the best in the industry, showing subtle lighting effects and beautiful art design. No feature films, not Shrek or Monsters Inc or Final Fantasy, can match the wonderful mix of realism and exagerated fantasy in Blizzard's work. I strongly recommend this box set for any Sci-Fi, Fantasy, or gaming fan.
The DVDs are seperated, 1 for each game, and they come with standard extras - audio commentary for each film, concept artwork, storyboards, trailers and commercials, and even a Warcraft trivia game. I delve into each individual DVD below, but....
Sadly, this box set is less than perfect. Blizzard could have - should have - combined everything onto 1 DVD, there is so little material here. Instead, you get the same 3 DVDs already available for each of these games: the Starcraft DVD and the 2 DVDs from the collectors' editions of Diablo 2 and Warcraft 3. If you own these things already, you'll discover nothing new here.
Blizzard's greatest crime was to forget the cinematics for the Diablo 2 expansion, Lord of Destruction. You won't find it in this collection. The story for each game is hard to follow for anyone who hasn't played the games (although the audio commentary sometimes helps). Also, the enhanced resolution for these movies isn't that much of an improvement - Diablo 2 and Warcraft 3 films look virtually the same, and Starcraft movie improve TOO much, such that their faults from old-age show through.
STARCRAFT: This DVD is the oldest, and the crudest, the simplest. However, it is interesting to watch Blizzard's artists grow, and the films are still entertaining, especially a Marine investigation on a science vessel that turns into a 5 minute remake of Aliens. The films from the Starcraft Expansion are considerably improved, more complex, more atmospheric. The story involves 3 races in a galactic war, with a huge cast of characters and events. The human Terrans are at war with each other when the organic Zerg horde attacks, while the mysterious Protoss wait in the shadows. The commentary will help you figure out the plot, and is entertaining in itself.
DIABLO 2: This is easily the best DVD of the 3, because the Diablo movies are the most compelling, most visually striking, and they tell a complete story, which runs parallel to the players' quest in the game. It follows the tragic failure of the Wanderer, a hero who once defeated Diablo, Lord of Terror, only to become possessed and later consumed by the demon. The films show incredible battles, one between Diablo and beautiful archangel Tyreal, and another in a burning inn, with skeletons and other nightmares leaping straight from the flames.
The game ended in a cliffhanger, and Blizzard choose not to include the films from the later expansion which resolved this. However, the teaser trailers for Diablo 2 are the best "new" material in the box set, because they show things you won't find in the game. There is also some early Blizzard CGI work, from Diablo 1 and Warcraft 2. Watch this, THEN watch Starcraft, and you'll understand why we were so excited when SC first came out.
WARCRAFT 3: While WC3 is the newest and technically the best of the DVDs, I feel that the artistic direction was somehow a step backwards for this game. The WC3 films are bright and very, very beautiful, but somehow they don't stand as "tall" as Diablo 2.
Warcraft 3, like Starcraft, has multiple races at war with each other. The human kingdoms are fighting each other when the Undead Scourge attack suddenly, all while the mysterious Night Elves wait in the shadows (sound familiar?). The orcs travel on a journey of racial freedom, and eventually join forces with the Elves and Humans to drive back a demonic invasion from another dimension, the Burning Legion.
Most of the films are very good, but those that feature the lord of the Burning Legion are boring, especially the climax of the story and the game, which was a major letdown. The audio commentary is also boring, getting lost in obscure technical details and not telling enough of the story to follow along. A Warcraft trivia game is a nice extra, though.
There, I hope I gave enough information... =)
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72 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A good collection, but technically disappointing, February 22, 2003
This review is from: Blizzard Entertainment DVD Collection (Cut scenes for Diablo II Warcraft III and Starcraft) (CD-ROM)
The biggest problem with this collection is its variable technical standards. While the cinematics presented here arguably look and sound better than the versions that come as part of the individual games (the WARCRAFT 3 and DIABLO 2 cinematics are presented here with optional Dolby 5.1 surround sound), they fall short of what is expected of the DVD standard.
DIABLO 2 and STARCRAFT are presented in non-anamorphic widescreen with a somewhat low bit rate. Both look quite blurry, although the contrast and color levels are quite good. However, their aspect ratio (which worked out at around 2.20:1 in the game versions) is not presented correctly. The image is stretched, resembling something like 1.85:1. I also felt that they were quite jerky, especially DIABLO 2.
WARCRAFT 3 is theoretically superior, with an anamorphic transfer. However, the image is marred by an odd "blocky" effect that look like the resolution was converted very poorly. While perhaps not noticeable on a small TV, it was clearly visible to me on my 48" widescreen. The positive side is that the colors are nice and deep, and there is none of the jerkiness that the other two titles exhibit.
The extras are mostly very good, with interesting audio commentaries. The WARCRAFT 3 commentaries are a little dry, but they do impart some interesting facts.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Overpriced for what you get., April 21, 2010
= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: Blizzard Entertainment DVD Collection (Cut scenes for Diablo II Warcraft III and Starcraft) (CD-ROM)
Lack of availability seem to have driven the price for this product up, surpassing the cost of purchasing each game individually and extracting the videos yourself. It's also been mentioned in another review that it neglects to include cutscenes from 'D2: Lord of Destruction,' from which I'll infer (at the risk of a first class flaming) that it also leaves out 'W3: The Frozen Throne'.
Blizzard's cinematics are indubitably awesome, but for this, you're better off with youtube.
Five stars for the videos, two for the package.
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