Life Is Just A Dream™

Well, as those wonderfully OTT ads so succinctly put it, Starcraft II is finally here. The sequel to a genre defining game whose appeal is such that it has become the unofficial national sport of an entire country (hell, we’ve all heard of the infamous South Korean match fixing scandal covered in the gaming press recently).
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty is just one of three major titles to be released within the Starcraft universe, each focusing on a different faction/race. For Wings Of Liberty, the hulking space marines of the Terrans will be blasting there way through the Zerg horde.


Let’s just get the obvious question out of the way first, is it any good? The answer is, unsurprisingly, a resounding ‘FUCK YES’.



Now I need to first dispel any ideas that you may be harbouring about experiencing a revolution in strategy gaming, Starcraft II does NOT change the RTS, it’s merely a shining example of how to do one right.
That wonderfully fined tuned squad based mechanic returns and mixes perfectly with some brilliantly balanced units and generously lenient base building.
Marine’s, Fire Bats, Reapers, Marauders and mercenaries are your tools of warfare and all of them come with a deliciously nuanced set of strengths and weaknesses. All of your units and structures can be upgraded to be more efficient fragging machines and an easy to use research tree improves your chances of survival.
All upgrades are performed in the new hub area of Jim Raynor’s ship. The ship is a wonderful example of UI, presenting a 3 dimensional environment which the player can interact with to gain access to sub menus or other areas of the ship. It’s a system that at first seems needlessly quirky but one which you quickly warm to, it’s a lot of fun to click on different aspects of the tech lab or the seedy cantina and here Raynor’s reaction.


The single player campaign is a direct continuance of the first game and it’s Brood War expansion. Jim Raynor is now an exiled booze hound pining for lost love until the arrival of the long dormant Zerg, led by his genetically modified ex Kerrigan, stirs up the freedom fighter in him. Joined by Tychus, a convict imprisoned in a hulking suit of armour, Raynor sets out to find a series of strange artifacts, while fending off the attentions of the Protoss, the Zerg and Arcturus Mengst’ dominion forces.
Showcasing Blizzard’s proficiency for storytelling, Starcraft II is satisfyingly epic, it’s single player campaign will take up to 20 hours to finish (more if you’re an achievement whore). Blessed with a narrative freedom lacking in Blizzards’s MMO ventures, the Starcraft franchise has a great tale to tell, it’s just a bit grating that this grand first chapter is only one third of the story.


Ultimately, multiplayer is where the heart of this game lies, after all, it’s online and LAN skirmishes that have kept the original Starcraft alive and kicking for 12 long years. Blizzard once again do not disappoint, integrating their new and improved Battle.net tools into SCII, creating a multiplayer community that is as friendly as it is punishing.
A decent early tip is to follow the games hint and take place in a few practise matches before jumping in with the big dogs, I myself did not heed this warning and found my ass promptly handed to me on battle worn platter.
The basic structure of Starcraft combat is still there, but the subtle tweaks made to the units and faction development means even the most seasoned player will need to take some baby steps. However, the kind folks at Blizzard have implemented a wonderful new feature to help you survive online, all matches can now be recorded and played back so that you can study your opponents methods and discover precisely how they pwnd you so effortlessly.
Added to this is a brilliant and swift matchmaking system that quickly pits you against an adversary of equal skill, meaning you never have to fight anyone above your weight.


Visually, this game will make your GPU creak. Blizzard forums are already seeing an influx of complaints about graphical hiccups and overheating hardware. These problems will be fixed in time, for those of you who have a system beastly enough to run SCII without any fuss, you are in for a treat.
There are some wonderful sights to take in, aside from the highly detailed units (it's always a treat to zoom in on the battle and see your firebats cookin' some Zerg), there are some great environments too. From the lush vistas of colonised planets to hellish volcanic worlds and ethereal Protoss temples, the visual variety on show is often astonishing, every planet you fight on is unique.



VERDICT: Rather than attempt another revolution of a genre that has been perfected many times since 1998, Blizzard simply offer up a triumphant return to what made the original Starcraft so great.
Visually stunning, with a robust single player campaign and a lovingly crafted multiplayer suite, Starcraft II: Wings Of Liberty is a triumph, roll on Starcraft II: Heart Of The Swarm.

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