StarCraft 2

My history with Starcraft 1 was limited, I played most, if not all of the campaign, I played some multi-player with friends, but not really on battle.net. So my excitement for this title was really nostalgia based, and as such I came in with the same fears I had about fighting games in general, which is, that it was fun because playing games like this with friends is fun… I’ve played many of the action-RTS games that have come out of over the years, and they’re all fine an good, but I was really looking forward to a traditional RTS game like a Starcraft game commited to be true to its pedigree.

The story picks up 4 years after the events of brood wars, with the redneck Jim Raynor commanding his group of revolutionaries, the terribly named “Raynor’s Raiders”. Who are pitting their forces against the evil dictator Mensk, and the Dominion. The Tarren on Tarren (humans in the lore of Starcraft) action doesn’t last long before the Zerg and the Queen of Blades (formerly Kerrigan), show up, and not long after that before the protoss make an appearance and the love triangle from my youth continues, with a touch of internal struggle. We’re presented with Blizzard quality (that is to say very well done) cut scenes between every mission, and as a huge surprise to me to me, also between every mission you’re also given the opportunity to navigate a hub world of sorts where you can interact with the members of Raynor’s crew, upgrade your units/structures, purchase mercenaries to bolster your team in the missions (more on that later). It’s played out like a point and click adventure game, where you’re given some insight to the characters motivations as well as the situation that they find themselves in. I wasn’t expecting this at all, and while it’s not exactly brilliance, it did give the story some substance that is generally lacking in the RTS genre. That said however, I wasn’t totally sucked into the story, and I didn’t really get attached to the characters in any sense despite Blizzard’s strong efforts. There are some choices that effect the missions you end up going on and your crew structure, but to me they felt mostly insignificant. So again, an okay story in general, but excellent for the genre.

The single player campaign was crafted with extreme care. Every mission seems to introduce a different type of challenge, be it strategy, or environmentally based. For example, there was a mission where all of the minerals on the map are at a lower altitude, the trick is every few minutes those low areas are flooded with lava, so while gathering your minerals and applying pressure to your enemy you need to be aware of the timer. It’s really an exercise in managing your troops, making sure you get everything to high ground. I don’t want to go too spoiler on this since it’s most of the fun, suffice to say that this sort of variety persists through the twenty-some-odd missions. You do get some choice as to which mission you take when, there are often 2 available at any one time, and because of the rewards it has some impact on how the subsequent missions can be played out. Blizzard also opted to remove the bulk of the base building from most missions, by dropping you into a pretty established starting point. I can see how that would read as a positive to a lot of people, but that, plus the fact that new units are constantly being introduced it really takes a lot of the trial and error strategy out of the missions. Sadly you can tell what you have to do by the new units you have and the structures you’re provided. This is where the achievements add quite a bit of depth and replayability to the experience, even for a guy (namingly me) who doesn’t normally buy into the achievement thing. I think it was different in this case because reading the achievements makes you think “hmm… I wonder how I’d pull that off”, which introduces a whole bit of strategy and problem solving that I love. The down side of not being involved in the strategic elements of building your base, is that it really leaves you  ill-equipped to deal with the competition you’ll be facing on Battle.net. They added some RPG-like elements in the campaign by being able to  earn points by completing objectives that you can use to research zerg or protoss technology. Every five points you get to pick one of two new skills or units (choosing one locks out the other) that you can use through the campaign. Unfortunately you’ll be leaving these upgrades and units (and even some that aren’t upgrades) behind when you go online.

Thankfully, to help bridge the gap you also get 9 “challenges” that are intended to teach you some of the finer points. “Walling in” to fend off a rush, unit counters (which units are most effective against which), micromanaging your units, and using your hot keys and so on. They’re fairly effective at their purpose, but really to get ready to go online, you’ll need to spend some time in matches versus the AI getting used to establishing a base. To be completely frank, the matches against the AI is where the game has been most fun for me so far (despite the fact that my strategy, and ability fall apart at the 10-12 minute mark).

The best screenshot I could muster from my online experience so far

The Battle.net UI here is great, all the information you want is at your finger tips it’s super easy to group up with friends and getting into matches has been quick and easy. I haven’t spent a ton of time in online matches, but I did play a few, against players who apparently didn’t spend as much time battling with the AI or doing the challenges, so I haven’t really felt challenged in the practice league yet, but it’s still be fun and you do get a bit of a rush when you do get into an encounter even if you do feel like you have the stronger army, despite being able to identify flaws in my attack, and my execution. I don’t know if thats a credit to my research skills, or if the game has taught me more than I’m giving it credit for.

When it’s all said and done though, I’ve been playing this game with almost every minute of spare time I’ve had since it came out. Gamers looking for a traditional realtime strategy game, especially those looking to get online are going to find A LOT to love about this game, the quality of this title, the attention detail and the glossy shine of typical Blizzard polish is on full display. Some may be disappointed by the lack of innovation, but I think it provides enough newness to usher Starcraft into a new generation of player, and satisfy the seasoned veterans at the same time. If you’re looking for purely a one player experience, or for something ‘new’ I don’t think this game is the one for you, but if you’re the kind of person who can get into completing every objective in the game, this could keep you busy for a while.