I am a sucker for simplicity. Something similar to the concept of the "narcissism of small differences", but I'm not sure of the best phrase for this (I'm sure there is one but I can't tell you what it is, yet), where as it is the small differences between two otherwise identical things that make them matter the most.

The Humans and Orcs are essentially identical 1/1 clones of each other at the most base level (pre-upgrades). A Grunt is the same as a Footman. An Axethrower and an Archer are identical, etc.
This brings gameplay down to micromanagement and knowing which upgrades make the most sense to do first.
This is not the best RTS game, but it is one of my favorites for this.


*Note : At higher level of play, I suppose it can be argued Orc are the "objectively better race", but I'm not playing at a level, I'm playing with friends and against AI.

Positives:
It's quite fun to play and there is some story to it, looks decent too.
Negatives:
The story only happens in mission briefings and is mostly random names dump. It's not that good either.
You can't kill your units and they get stuck a lot of the time, forcing you to build a farm just because they never thought to fix this.

My first ever RTS game, and an excellent introduction to the genre. After the promise shown in Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, the sequel steps things up with an improved visual style, smoother controls, and new units and abilities. Compared to other games in the genre, this is a relatively simple game with two races that are more or less equal (apart from different magic), so strategy sometimes comes down to who's got the bigger army. Still, it showed how Blizzard could improve on their formula and laid the groundwork for what would become their very best title in a few short years. I'll mention the expansion here as well: Beyond the Dark Portal only adds a new map tileset and new story missions, but the unique heroes were fun additions!

Hard to say how I would've felt about it, had I played it in 1995, but I remember even in 2004 finding it intolerable. Replaying it today, as an adult, I was able to appreciate its historical importance, but I still don't think this is a game worth playing today. The maps are tiny, the AI is dumb, missions aren't thought-through and the balancing is way off. All this results in a rather janky experience that fails to flow the way it seems to have been designed. I experienced several soft-locks and situations where I've completed most of my objectives except for one, and was left to boringly force my way through it.

A lot of the time this game is just not fun at all, and can even be frustrating. And it does not really have anything that hasn't been done better since, including in its phenomenal sequel. Still, it's not exactly a bad game even today. It is a functional RTS with great graphics and decent music, so I can see how some people could have some fun with it. But I would say this is more a title for the fans of the series or those curious about the history of the RTS genre.