Blizzard Gift Pack (Bundle) - PC Games

Given Warcraft II's status and dedicated fan base, it's no surprise that the single-player game is untouched. The excellent Beyond the Dark Portal expansion set is included with the original Tides of Darkness, creating four campaigns and 70 missions that remain fun despite their age. The Orc and Human armies obviously have nearly identical strengths and weaknesses, but as in the past, the art and sound cues make them feel worlds apart.

Starcraft is Warcraft in space, but instead of two similarly powered enemies facing off, the three distinct races in Starcraft have unique capabilities and strategies. Missions vary in scope and are effectively framed with dialogue, chapter screens and in-mission exposition. Multiplayer games are also very well represented by Blizzard's own free Battle.net service.

In keeping with Starcraft's groundbreaking design, Brood War presents you with three sides of a galactic conflict. Scheming humans, insidious Zerg and proud Protoss collide again, with stunning new cinematics setting the stage. Old friends and foes and ominous new arrivals give the story a breakneck pace, while a handful of additions to each race's arsenal makes for tense battles. Brood War, also features stellar new environments and ambient art, as well as more than 100 additional multiplayer maps.

Diablo is a fantasy role-playing game that captures the spirit of original face-to-face games like Dungeons and Dragons. With a straightforward story line based on fulfilling quests assigned by non-player characters, you equip yourself, venture into a dungeon and slaughter legions of hideous foes. Along the way, you unearth magical treasure, discover mighty spells and earn experience that can be used to increase your combat abilities.

Almost all of your time with Diablo is spent underground, exploring and conquering ever-deeper levels of the gloomy dungeon. Combat is fast, brutal and constant. Whether your weapon of choice is a sword, axe, bow or spell, all forms of combat employ a simple two-click system, which is elegant without being simplistic.

Replayability and customisability are Diablo's strong points; the incredible number of options and possibilities--and the fun that can be had experimenting with different strategies--keeps players coming back for more. All the dungeon levels are generated anew each time you draw up a new character and are packed with an entirely different set of textures, features, items, traps, creatures and quests. Fantasy strategy games don't get any more epic or any more satisfying than this brilliant compilation. ---Jack Gardiner