Anyone here also hopelessly addicted to StarCraft 2?
I was never much of a fan for the original - when I tried back in the 1990s, it seemed to be a fairly conventional RTS with some great CGI cut scenes, but that was about it.
However, I am finding SC2 to be absolutely brilliant both technically and gameplay-wise. It has a great MMO-feel to it in how it operates as a program (not surprising, this coming from Blizzard), as well as how Blizzard is nurturing the massive SC community in a distinctively MMO fashion (community news updates from within the game, etc.). But it also plays like an epic SP MMO when it comes to the campaign, as well as having one of the most robust MP components ever. It really is a remarkable piece of software and well worth the $60 (I never thought I would hear myself say that about any game! ). I mean, Blizzard could have asked for a monthly fee for the game, and they still would have had people lining up at the door for this quality production!
But beside the gameplay itself, I am finding it to be a wonderful science fiction experience. I don't know if it was always a wonderful sci-fi setting and I just missed it, or if SCII has moved in a bold way to better flesh out the StarCraft vision, but I am finding myself gleefully imbibing the style and attitude of the game in a way that few other sci-fi games have gotten me to do. There is a true vision to this game.
Bravo, Blizzard. Bravo. You have rekindled my faith in the future of PC gaming.
Personally, except for the graphics, I'd just as soon play the original StarCraft with its expansion. StarCraft II has not impressed me all that much and the need to stay online in its single player mode for certain aspects of the game have impressed me even less.
Normally I would agree (with the online requirement - as for the gameplay, I am finding SC2 to be a more polished and enjoyable version of the aging original from what I recall of it), but I respect what Blizzard is trying to do here. They seem to be trying to merge an MMO experience with a SP/MP game. I have to admit: it is a compelling concept. It is kinda cool to have all your achievements tracked online and to be constantly hooked into the massive SC community. I suspect it also limits the entire piracy concern, too. As long as it is a quid pro quo, I am okay with the trade-off (that was Ubi's mistake: they took without giving).
In other news, I am finding the AI to be wonderfully tough! I am still trying to beat it on easy! This is great as 1) It will prepare me for playing against humans, and 2) I can contentedly play against the AI and still have a good time.
SC2 is a truly polished project. Well done, Blizzard.
Well, they are both similar in that they are RTS games that revolve around resource collection, base building and base attacks. C&C can be credited with making the mold for this genre back in 1995 (SC didn't appear until 1998). So, at a fundamental level, you are correct.
However, since the debut of these two games, it can be argued that SC has become the "gold standard" of RTS games, largely do to its multiplayer component being polished to a high sheen by Blizzard to the point where it is now the game of e-sports. SC has also since moved on to establish a number of other interesting milestones.
Anyway, gameplay-wise you are correct in their similarities. However, in terms of long term development, SC has moved beyond any similarities to its elder sibling and has established its own, unique brand. In many ways, SC may be gaming's Gone with the Wind. Or is that World of Warcraft?
Well, they are both similar in that they are RTS games that revolve around resource collection, base building and base attacks. C&C can be credited with making the mold for this genre back in 1995 (SC didn't appear until 1998). So, at a fundamental level, you are correct.
However, since the debut of these two games, it can be argued that SC has become the "gold standard" of RTS games, largely do to its multiplayer component being polished to a high sheen by Blizzard to the point where it is now the game of e-sports. SC has also since moved on to establish a number of other interesting milestones.
Anyway, gameplay-wise you are correct in their similarities. However, in terms of long term development, SC has moved beyond any similarities to its elder sibling and has established its own, unique brand. In many ways, SC may be gaming's Gone with the Wind. Or is that World of Warcraft?
Ill probably buy it after Im done with the demo, but it seems that if ya keep building Marines and Medics you will eventually win..
My son asked for it for Christmas. He seems quite happy with it.
It's not easy to get him out of his WoW game
Not sure, but he might be slowly burning out of WoW, hard to say. He recently dragged his mother into playing WoW with him. Not sure how long she will stick with it.
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Ill probably buy it after Im done with the demo, but it seems that if ya keep building Marines and Medics you will eventually win..
I am finding SC2 to be a lot like chess: it seems easily beatable until you meet an experienced player. I was playing 3v3 coop the other day and tried the strategy you mentioned (well, similar anyway as I was playing Protoss and not Terran) and was doing well...until all my air support was shot out of the sky.
There really is a remarkable amount of depth to this game.
Les:
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My son asked for it for Christmas. He seems quite happy with it.
This is the type of competition I am unused to seeing outside of the world of chess or poker:
TLS3 Preparing for Battle
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TeamLiquid.net are hosting their third Team Liquid StarLeague, pitting top StarCraft II players against each other for a total prize pool of over $34,000, the largest in TSL history. The TSL3 tournament features some familiar faces, including Liquid`Tyler (previously known as NonY), Mondragon, Sen, and more.
TSL3 qualifiers begin this week. The 32-player bracket will take place in March and April, and the finals will be broadcast live from New York City later this year. Visit TeamLiquid.net for more information about the tournament and to learn how you can qualify.
The World of eSports received a major adrenaline shot Monday when the North American Star League (NASL.tv) announced the first professional Western StarCraft 2 league featuring a regular season schedule and an astounding $400,000 prize pool.
StarCraft 2 is the popular real-time-strategy (RTS) game released in 2010 by Blizzard Entertainment and is the sequel to a 1998 release of the same name. StarCraft and StarCraft 2 are played as a professional eSport all over the World with the largest tournaments today being held in South Korea's "GSL".
"The North American Star League is providing the first true professional league presence in North America for StarCraft pro-gamers," said Russell Pfister, President and CEO of the NASL. "We're providing eSports with a dedicated StarCraft 2 league with an unprecedented prize pool, real season play and production-quality broadcasts with some of the industry's top personalities."
I love this above and beyond any SC2 connection. I yearn for the day when e-sports are taken as seriously as bowling or golf (I have ever since I read William F. Wu's On the Shadow of the Phosphor Screen back in the late '80s). This is a good first step.
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StarCraft 2
). I mean, Blizzard could have asked for a monthly fee for the game, and they still would have had people lining up at the door for this quality production!
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