Starcraft 2
 

Seriously? We don't have a thread about this yet? Although I guess maybe you guys are just too busy playing the game to post on the forums.

I myself do not play online, but it looks like there's plenty of content in the single player for a completionist like me to work through. Although the fact that I'm already halfway through the main campaign is depressing.

So far, I'm not sure I like the new units. They all seem really specialized. Most of the time, I just pump out lots of marines, medics, and siege tanks. Other than the Ghost, there just doesn't seem to be any reason to use any of the other infantry units, and the vehicles are only sporadically useful so far.

I do like the mildly branching storyline and the system of progressive upgrades, though.

Also: so that's what happened to Starcraft: Ghost!

Re: Starcraft 2
 

Is it true that this is being released as 3 different games instead of having all 3 campaigns in one?

Quite the cash grab.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

So far I like the game, but I'm not seeing what everyone else is raving about. Its just a very solid, good looking, and well balanced RTS. The real strength in the single player game is great mission design. Its not just build and rush, but you have to employ the specialized units and think to complete them with the best success. But in the end, there just isn't any real progress in game play. After playing DOW2, and how they used interactive environments (buildings to garrison, rubble to use as cover, etc.) as part of the strategy, the gameplay in SC2 just feels... old. Honestly, it feels like a really good XBLA release of the original game when you are playing the missions.

The Wing Commander style "search for story" breaks in between missions are also well done, but again, very dated. 1990's dated. That said, I'll be playing this game for a while. It feels old, but it is still just so well executed, and fun, but I expected paradigm breaking game play from Blizzard, not an excellent homage.

Best:

Progressive upgrades
Good characters and story
Great looking
Incredibly well balanced

Worst:

Dated game play
Dated story delivery

Grade so far: B+*

*Note: I don't play PC games online.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

Not sure i would be playing this online either, so is it really worth it just for the campaign, knowing that i would have to buy it again twice more?

Re: Starcraft 2
 

I haven't played or seen anything from this game other than images online.

Me and my friend played Starcraft all the time when I was 12-13ish.
I have no "go out and buy it" feelings towards this game. I'll watch a friend play it, but I have no real desire to get it or spend any time on it.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

I have a question: Think this game would run decent on my Dad's computer? Here are the specs:

AMD Athlon x3 2900mhz.
Integrated ATI Radeon HD 4200 (This is what im worried about)
6MB RAM.

Thoughts?

Re: Starcraft 2
 

My buddy gave me his seven hour trial card for the game. Have Starcraft II installed but no CD key...

I wonder if the pirates have found a way yet...

Re: Starcraft 2
 

I kind of want this, but I suck at RTS's...will probably pass.

Looks really fun if you're good at the genre though.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

I didn't read the reviews for the game, so I don't know what everybody is raving about either. But I would point out that Blizzard games have never really been paradigm breaking or even super-innovative. The RTS genre was invented by Westwood's Command and Conquer games, after all. World of Warcraft was far from the first MMORPG, and even its biggest fans acknowledge that it merely took the MMORPG genre and did it really well. And Diablo? That gameplay was dated even when it came out.

That said, I would be just as disappointed as you if I had been expecting a fundamental change to Starcraft 2. I'm actually playing the game because I want to see what happens next in the story (and if it's good enough, I'll continue to play the next two games).

Re: Starcraft 2
 

Well Diablo was really a stepping stone to Diablo 2. Diablo 2 added a lot of fun stuff to the hack n slash genre. That being said, it was just a really well done hack n slash in essence.

Blizzard just has a knack for creating really well done games, and taking genres and getting them spot on perfect. That's most of the fun.

That being said I never liked the original SC, so doubt I will enjoy this one. I prefer the Warcraft setting and such. However Zergs, those dudes are baller.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

Figure I may pick this up eventually. My Mac is a couple of years old now, but i shouldnt have any problems running it if i dont use the highest performance level, right?

System requirements
2.6 GHz Intel Pentium (Dual core recommended)
2 GB RAM (4 GB Recommended)
ATI Radeon X1600 for Mac
OS X 10.5.8+

My System
2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro
OS X 10.5.8

Re: Starcraft 2
 

You'll be fine. It's actually running on my iMac with a 1.8 Ghz Intel Core Duo. It chugs from time to time, but it's playable.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

This quote from Penny-Arcade sums up my thoughts on StarCraft 2:

I am happily disappointed in this game, if that is possible. The game play is old, but the design around it is magnificent. I still have a hard time suspending disbelief when my marines just stand there taking fire when there is plenty of cover to be had, but this cover is just atmospheric. To me, this removes a layer of strategy and thoughtful game play that is inherent to my enjoyment of an RTS, but somehow SC2 makes me forget that for a while, and just continues to dazzle me with its balance, production value and incredible mission design.

That said, I doubt I'll play through again. I've experienced the game, and without the added layers of environmental interactivity, I'm not seeing a lot of replayability in the single player.

This is a last, glorious finale to classic RTSs we all grew up with, but to me it is still a finale. Relic and Creative Assembly have picked up the torch, and I hope they continue to run with it.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

I don't get that Penny Arcade comment. Squads and cover (Dawn of War) and "traditional rts" themes of building a faceless army and various control structures seem like two entirely different game types to me. I would go as far as to say you can enjoy one and not the other.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

Bought this game a couple days ago.

It's pretty good!

Re: Starcraft 2
 

Interesting. I get the little icon that means I've posted in this thread, but my post is nowhere to be seen.

I suck at RTS games, but I still love Starcraft. It seems that you can't play against people from other regions, but if anyone wants to add me, I'm Pyro (#369)

Edit: Ok, apparently I posted here but it somehow didn't show up. Had to delete 2 other posts :)

Re: Starcraft 2
 

Boobs, I fixed it for you.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

What just happened?! Now I see my first post again :)

Re: Starcraft 2
 

Hmm, I'm starting to think about getting this. D: I've heard the single player is really good, so even if I'm not good at the game at least I could manage that.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

I fixed it for you, like I said.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

I picked it up today.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

This is my first ever RTS, enjoying it so far. I don't know that I'll ever jump into multiplayer, as I like my dignity just the way it is. The single player's great, though, and I'm looking forward to the mods that come out of the community.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

So I tried an AI game (I don't play online, and my connection has been acting up so much that it probably wouldn't sustain me through a whole game). And I'm really annoyed at how many units from the single player campaign are cut out of multiplayer completely. I understand that the game needs to be balanced, but come on now. They cut out medics! Why would you do that?

This leaves the multiplayer (at least on the Terran side) looking like an expansion pak because there just isn't that much new, and some of the new stuff is too specialized to really be useful (Hellions). There should at least be the option to use some of the units from the single-player campaign in multiplayer games. Just make sure they don't count on the ladder.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

The medic is now combined with the drop ship, to form the medivac

Re: Starcraft 2
 

Haha, when I couldn't see my first post, I wrote the same thing again. When I did that, I saw my first post, and had to delete it. The next day, you said that you fixed it, but that wasn't really fixing it :D

I had to delete it again :D

Re: Starcraft 2
 

Am I the only person on these boards NOT playing this game?

Re: Starcraft 2
 

I'm not, but I really want to. My crappy 512 MB, un-upgradeable RAM forces my hand. :(

But I am surprised by what sounds like the complete lack of innovation, especially on the multiplayer side.

Back in the StarCraft early days, I was actually a HUGE online Age of Empires 2 gamer, but not so much StarCraft. By the time I started playing StarCraft, all of my friends and everyone online were goddamn experts. I got my ass wiped everywhere.

A few months ago, I finally picked up Age of Empires 3. AOE3, while very familiar to AOE2, had some big innovations in the single player that also transferred to multiplayer.

AOE3 had the New World theme. It was civilizations from Europe colonizing America. To tie into that, it had shipments that you could get from your home country. To get the shipments, you racked up points in a match in numerous ways, such as killing other units or fighting for and finding treasures etc. Once you racked up enough points, you could choose a bonus shipment from home, anything from food, wood, or gold all the way to some really expensive military units. You usually ended up getting several shipments in the course of one match.

But you only started out with a few possible shipments to choose from. To unlock the rest, you had to earn experience points, mainly by winning games.

Like I said, this was a part of both single player and multiplayer, thankfully so. To make it balanced for multiplayer, you could only bring in 20 or so possible shipments to choose from in a given match. And you gain XP whether you win or lose, just by playing matches you gain XP, though much quicker when you win.

Unfortunately for me, I got AOE3 long after it was released, so trying to find beginners/medium players to play with is difficult. But I really enjoyed and appreciated the innovation added to that game. It's disappointing to me that StarCraft 2 couldn't add more.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

I could play this, but I would probably have to be on low graphics settings due to Graphics card limitations. I'll probably wait until I decide to upgrade the graphics card.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

It said you deleted two posts so I restored one of them. It must have just been some type of glitch if they kept duplicating.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

Since the rest of you are all babies I decided to try a game online and I kicked ass.
It also helped that I was doing a 2 Vs 2 and had a competent team mate.
Protoss Carriers FTW!

Re: Starcraft 2
 

Yes, I know about that, but it's a really unsatisfying substitute. It's far less efficient than the medic for three reasons:

1. It's more expensive, and sometimes you just don't need a dropship when all you want is a medic.

2. It's harder to keep the medevac close to your marines. The auto-heal doesn't seem quite as intelligent as it is for medics, and since the medevac hovers over marines, it's harder for you to micromanage marines.

3. It's much easier for the enemy to kill compared to the medic because it doesn't stay as far behind the line and it's big.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

Well I bought it, it's installing now - excited to get in and start playing. :)

Re: Starcraft 2
 

I've played 7 games so far, and I've got 4 wins and 3 losses - all 2v2.

In one game, my teammate left quite early on. I won against the other 2 :)

Another victory came with my teammate wiped out.

Though I was owned quite badly in 2 games :D

Re: Starcraft 2
 

This game has turned out to be way more fun than I thought it was going to be. Every mission is new and different.

I kind of wish Mass Effect 3 would set up the Normandy like the Hyperion - I'm tired of actually having to walk places.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

I'm not. Don't care much for StarCraft.

Re: Starcraft 2
 

Also not playing it. Don't care much for sc either

Re: Starcraft 2
 

I'm not playing it yet. I'm not home now, I want to fnish SC:BW first and I'm hoping to find a better deal. I'm excited though...

Re: Starcraft 2
 

Just want to take a general census as to what everyone's preferred race is.

I can play any of them, but I think I'm partial to Terrans

Re: Starcraft 2
 

I don't have SC2, but I have this:

Re: Starcraft 2
 

I've always been partial to Terrans just because they are the easiest for an RTS novice like me to pick up. But if I played more, I would probably be a Protoss player because I like to micro-manage and preserve my units as much as possible. I most definitely cannot handle the Zerg. I understand their mechanics, but I could never get the hang of directing so many massive swarms of units around.