It has been 12 years since the original StarCraft came out. Back then I was a mere five years old and was just beginning in school. So naturally I wasn’t playing StarCraft.
But long throughout my adventures with the internet I discovered StarCraft, a strategy game from 1998 made by the same folks who made my bellowed WarCraft III, so you guessed it. I found it pretty interesting… But I still didn’t play it.
To this day I have only played minor fragments of the original StarCraft. I don’t really know what it was; it just never really got to me… everything seemed a little bit too… Cluttered, for me. But on the faith full day that I saw the launch trailer for StarCraft II Blizzard made a believer out of me.
It has been 12 years since the original StarCraft came out. It was once held as one of the best games ever made, and many still consider it to be the best strategy game to this date. Can the series stand up to the challenge and impress someone that never played its Predecessor?
Why, let’s find out.
Story & Premise:
You find yourself in the shoes of the Rebel captain Jim Raynor, who is stationed on a somewhat barren planet. Raynor is leading a bunch of rebels that are fighting the Terran Dominion, a dictatorship style empire lead by Raynors old Commander: “Arcturus Mengsk” all over the galaxy.
You are progressively introduced to more and more characters, but for some reason it never gets out of hand. While you have your standard crew you also pick up minor characters that might only be with you for a certain amount of time, all sharing their part of the story and thereby shaping your story.
You interact with these characters while you traverse your Battlecruiser spaceship known as: “the Hyperion” which serves as your hub throughout most of the game. And this hub is by far one of the best designed hubs I have ever seen. Not only are you able to interact with the people you pick up, you also have access to a real jukebox that plays StarCraft themed country music. And if that aren’t enough for you, you can just waste your quarters away on a little arcade machine in the cantina.
There are a lot of great ways that the story ties you to keep on playing. In a certain mission I was tasked to go pick up a super weapon known as the “O.D.I.N”. And in the next mission I am supposed to operate that very machine in the field. It’s a brilliant way to tie the different story elements together to an overarching plot, and one thing is for sure: “you won’t walk away unsatisfied”
Gameplay:
Let me put it like this. The last time I was really into strategy games were during my childhood. I played games like Red Alert, Age of Empires and most importantly: Age of mythology.
While I had played other RTS games up though the years I never felt the same spark of ingenuity as I did back when I played those games. But oh my have I found the spark again!
Blizzard has proven once again that they without a doubt know how to make a game and a sequel for that matter the right way: Change a little, but not too much! Because if you deviate too much from the original the fans will shun the result. But if you change to little the fans will accuse you of being lazy, but oh my: Blizzard has really hit the sweet spot. While a lot of units, buildings, and tech upgrades behave the same way as they did in the original StarCraft there are still quite some changes and additions to the armory that are noteworthy.
The game itself plays out like other strategy games, you issue your commands and the units execute them and while it is true that the campaign in a strategy game is simply designed to introduce you to the multiplayer part you would be partially right.
Let me take two steps back: as I said Blizzard really hit a sweet spot, they altered enough from the original that even veteran players should relearn their “game”. And on the same side the campaign is a perfect tool to introduce you to the game and its mechanics. But on the flipside! If you feel confident enough you can skip directly to the multiplayer, you just have to skip the best strategy game campaign that exists!
Throughout the campaign you are given specific task to fulfill, and that is of course fairly standard all being it. But StarCraft II mixes everything up once in a while.
Most of the Terran buildings are able to lift themselves off the ground and relocate, this as an example plays a key role in a level where there is a wall of fire closing in from the left and you have to constantly fight your way through Protoss encampments to the right.
And it was in those missions that I really felt that the game became truly epic. Another example would be the mission where you have to survive waves of enemies. This is fairly common
Presentation & Design
The game looks absolutely stunning. No exceptions to be made. Blizzard has put aside their reputation for making processor friendly games and have made an absolute beast! StarCraft 2 is without a doubt the best looking real time strategy that I have ever seen!
You might think that it’s a surefire game that would be able to run on your two year old laptop. And if you are one of those then you are completely correct! “Wait, what!?” Even though that the game itself is a graphical beast it performs extremely well even on moderate laptops and of course it also performs well on your über gaming riq. But at least be prepared to be surprised!
The first thing you will notice when you start the game is the music. The beautifully composed and the masterful sound effects were almost able to make me cry at some points.
And especially the small replies from your troops. While most of them are really serious and atmospheric like your typical marine or a hero from the campaign, while others can be funny and laughable, IE: “Go search YouTube for videos about the “T.H.O.R”, trust me: You won’t regret it!
Conclusion
StarCraft II ranks up as one of the best real time strategy games that I have ever played… no wait screw that: “StarCraft II is THE best strategy game that I have played in my entire life”. And trust me, I played age of mythology, I know how you are supposed to make an RTS.
Everything in the game oozes appeal and quality. The presentation is beyond amazing and you will even be able to experience it without investing way too much. The Gameplay is stellar (you see what I did there?). And best of all. The game racks up among the best that I have ever experienced.
The only thing that ever boggled me about the game was the things like DRM, and removing LAN support and even region locking the game so that European players aren’t able to play with American or Asian players alike. And while all that is industry BULLSHIT I can help but feel that it’s a little game breaking.
But without further ado:
My review score for StarCraft II is: a blistering 96 out of a possible 100!
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