StarCraft 2: Review 1

So after finally getting StarCraft 2 installed and having played through a few missions I thought it would be a good time to sit down and type up what I’ve liked/disliked so far. Consider this the first review of who knows how many we may have in the days and weeks to come. Focusing solely on the installation and the campaign missions I’ve completed so far here’s what I can say for sure:

(I apologize beforehand for the wall of text, I’ll update with screenshots later!)

Install:
The installation is your typical ~12GB install, nothing new here just a few standard “next, next, next” options and you’re off and installing. The first neat feature here is that you have the existing storyline given to you whilst you install. Not bad at all! Seeing as how the install took around 15-20 minutes it was nice to be able to catch up. This is the same story that’s included in the quick start guide with the game. Yup, quick start guide, no official instruction manual, don’t know why not, I kinda miss being able to read about all the new units and structures while I wait for the game to install. Oh well minor issue. Once the game is installed then its time to get up and going. First you will have to setup your Battle.net account if you haven’t already done so. Then you will be greeted by the first minor patch before you can get in. After patching (about 2-5 minutes) you are shown the introductory cut-scene. Similar to the original video released way back when except its a bit longer and has the notorious Emperor Mengsk doing a voice-over.

Menu:
Once inside you’ll notice the new interface. If you’ve played the beta then this is nothing new otherwise you’re in for a treat. This new interface is your social hub in SC2. Aside from selecting your campaign and multiplayer missions, you can see your achievements, talk to other players, and mess around with trophies you earn during your missions. Your profile is customizable to the point where you can showcase a few of your achievements for other to see. As far as adding or finding friends, Blizzard gives you the ability to link with your Facebook profile to find all of your existing friends that have SC2. F’ing awesome! Sure made it easy for me, I found 4 of my friends right off the bat!

Gameplay so far:
Having completed the initial Mar Sara missions and staring into the Colonist missions I can definitely say that StarCraft is back! Without going into exact details and possibly spoiling the missions for some of you I can say that the gameplay is everything you would expect from the original. Great looking units, similar strategies, new units/buildings, but overall still fun. Blizzard took a lot of time with this story line and I can begin to see why 12 years may have been just long enough. Every mission you do is a linear progression that is heavily involved with the characters and the overall story. Speaking of characters, new to the StarCraft universe is the pre-mission “world environment” as I like to call it.

Before starting a mission you have the ability to click on objects and characters within this world and other sections of it to further expand your knowledge of the story line as well as to progress in your achievements, upgrade units (more on that later,) and even play games (Lost Viking – Hyperion Cantina.) It’s definitely interesting but the jury is still out on this “world” type environment for me. Personally, I miss the arguing portraits at the start of the missions LOL! I’ve been playing the missions on hard difficulty and may soon start on Brutal. Not to say that the AI is easy but if you’re an experienced SC player then some of these missions may need a higher degree if difficulty to get your adrenaline going.
Back to the missions; once you complete your current mission you see the new completion screen along with any achievements you earned and missed. Take note that in the first few missions if you want to replay them to attempt a missed achievement you must either do it right then and there or wait until you progress a bit further and you can do it from the Hyperion bridge.

I don’t want to delve any deeper until I get along a bit further in the game play but the stats so far?

Pros:
-Great Visuals
-Facebook connect
-Same great gameplay

Cons:
-Can’t reselect previous missions until you are on the Hyperion.
-Credit upgrades

Jury still out:
-All the “world” interactions.

This will all change of course as we get closer to a final review but myself and other editors on PCGFTW will post further snippets as we progress through the game and try out new things. We’ll soon start up the multiplayer and hopefully give you a good solid review of that!