Starcraft2/Starcraft 2:Wings of Liberty - Video Game Review (PC)

[xstarbrite4evr]

Starcraft 2:Wings of Liberty Review By xstarbrite4evr TNO Peasant Hey guys! It's been awhile. Well I decided that I didnt want to rot away sitting next to a computer for months at a time, so I decided to play video games(which ironically rots your brain even more). I digress. Onto the review! ------------------- So what is Starcraft? Is is a game where you craft stars? Ohhh! I'll make some cookies out of "Starcrafting" (I ripped that joke off of Rooster Teeth. Sorry guys.) Where did Starcraft 2 come from anyways, isn't there supposed to be a Starcraft 1 before you release a Starcraft 2? Well listen up you 7 year old pansies, noobs, and retardedly fanatic about Halo and Call of Duty. Starcraft 1 was released on March 31, 1998 by Blizzard Entertainment, so get back to your little crib and suck on a pacifier. Starcraft's not an easy game, and it wont get easier (blame the Koreans, those guys are crazy good at Starcraft. I'm serious about that.) Anyways, I'm done with the trash talk and the like. Starcraft 2 is and Real Time Strategy (RTS) Game where you manage an army in many aspects including economy, micro/macro-managing and combat. Okay, I've played Halo Wars before, I'm familiar with this kind of game. No you're not. Halo Wars is a very toned down version of the RTS genre of video games. ------------------- Okay, so whats going on in the Starcraft story? I'm afraid that I didn't play Starcraft or Starcraft: Brood War, so I won't enjoy the game because I dont fully understand whats going on. Not to worry my friend, Blizzard is very good with this kind of thing. At the beginning of pretty much every campaign, there is a mission briefing with a relatively short but detailed summary of the story that has occurred. And if that doesn't help, you can always look in the game manual for the full story. The storyline in Starcraft is fairly long, with 6 campaigns, each faction have 2 campaigns. It will be much easier if you wikipedia Starcraft if you are interested in the storyline. The Starcraft 2:Wing of Liberty campaign is also fairly long too. Now you're probably thinking with I refered to the game by its full name instead for Starcraft 2 for a moment back there. Well, this installation of the game only contains 1 of the 3 campaigns of Starcraft 2. Yes, you heard right, there's still more. But don't worry, every bit of it is filled with twists, turns, action, and a peace every now and then throughout the campaign, so you'll be enjoying every moment of the campaign. ------------------- Unlike Starcraft 1, Starcraft 2 is much more balanced and much more complex than gameplay in Starcraft 1. The basics though (as with almost every other RTS game out there) are pretty much the same. You have 5 basic gametypes which are divided into two groups: Single Player and Multiplayer. Single Player consists of the Campaign, continuing the story where left of from Starcraft and Starcraft:Brood War (the expansion to the first Starcraft). Then we have "vs AI" more widely recognized as Skirmish, where you fight against/with AI. The last Single Player Mode is Challenge, where your skills as a Starcraft player are tested, and sometimes, pushed past your limit. Multiplayer has vastly been improved from Starcraft 1. Players now may choose to "automatch" against other players (think of this as matchmaking in Halo) that fit their general skill level. Skill level is scaled at 5 levels: The Copper League, The Bronze League (this is me :D), The Silver League, The Gold League, and the Platinum League. The Platinum League being the best Starcraft players ever (usually Koreans). Player may also choose to be automatched with other Players to battle against the AI. Where Multiplayer really shines though is its custom games. Using the map editor provide with the game, you can do everything from changing usual gameplay subtly to changing it so much that it become an entire new game. You can create a Defense Game, Tug of War, hell, you can create Sims for all anyone cares. Starcraft 2 to this date has the most "allowing" customization program. ------------------- Okay enough of the boring technicalities and let's get to the game! Before a game even starts, players choose a race to play as. There are three to choose from. The Terrans (humans) field the typical rifleman, tanks, fighter planes, and other modern day referenced troops into the battlefield. The second race is the Zerg. The zerg rely on cheap, yet very large amounts of troops to overwhelm their enemies. They don't have to worry about losing a battle either. Generally, production for the Zerg is completely fairly quickly. The final race is the Protoss. The Protoss uses their technologically advanced equipment to win the battle. Their weapons range from energy blades to automated attack fighters. This race is also the only race to field troops with 'Psionic" (psychic) powers. This race suffers from high cost troops though. A typical multiplayer game starts with a player's command building and several workers. In order to build your economy, you must use workers to harvest the main resource, minerals, and later, vespense gas. You must maintain your economy constantly if you want to be able to outproduce you opponent. There are only so many resources at one location though,so eventually you must expand your base to reach these spots of minerals and gas. You also need to manage your army efficiently. The population cap in Starcraft 1/2 is a whopping 200 units. Yes you heard right 200 units (OVER NINE THOUSAND!!!!! xD jk). So there will be very large battles. So its basically who can field the most units right? Wrong, as with all RTS's, unit counters are very important too. These unit counters can be as simple as-utilizing bonus damage to certain units and massing weak units against a single strong unit-to-using abilities,micromanaging, and cunning tactics. So you're fighting a battle, and then your ally in a 2v2 quit for some reason. 2v1 doesnt sound good right? You still have hope though! One of the improvements Blizzard implemented in Starcraft 2 was giving everything under control of a player who has left to any remaining allied players. ------------------- The music in Starcraft 2 is pretty cliche, but still very good. The Terrans have Cowboy themed music, the Protoss have music that creates an environment of alien honor and duty, and the Zerg have music that makes you think "MONSTERS!!!". Ratings: Multiplayer: 5/5 Graphics: 5/5 (Truth be told, this was almost a "Crysis" crisis. The video card required to play the game at full graphics was not available) Storyline: 4/5 Gameplay: 5/5 Music: 4/5 Total Rating: 23/25 (92%) All in all, Starcraft 2 is a must have. Just don't try to play it on your laptop ;)