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StarCraft II To Be Released On July 27
Blizzard announced today that StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, the first game in a series of three, will be released on July 27. The game will contain the Terran campaign (29 missions), the full multiplayer experience, and "several challenge-mode mini-games," with "focused goals designed to ease players into the basics of multiplayer strategies." It will launch alongside the revamped Battle.net, which we've previously discussed. Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime said, "We've been looking forward to revisiting the StarCraft universe for many years, and we're excited that the time for that is almost here. Thanks to our beta testers, we're making great progress on the final stages of development, and we'll be ready to welcome players all over the world to StarCraft II and the new Battle.net in just a few months."
For a second I thought that this was hyperbole, but then I realized it's actually true. Seeing as the original starcraft was released in 1998, it'd make the parent 24 years old.
God that's scary.
The trouble with multiplayer RTS games is that, after a while, they appeal largely to the type of folks who want to learn the recipe for success on a given map and then practice until they're able to apply it faster than the other loser they're playing against.
What I'd like to see in the next wave of RTS games, then, is a method by which they screw with the various units just enough from game to game that simply being able to do the same thing over and over again as quickly as possible does not equal success in multiplayer -- somehow introduce a measure of creativity and quick-thinking rather than just "zergling rush the bitches until Blizzard patches us"-style tactics.
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
It's actually not that bad, and it doesn't take long to get into the understanding. SC2 goes a long way toward assisting with all the micro and macro elements of the old SC. Matchmaking is also pretty good. I'm horrible, and play in the Copper ladder, and I when about half my games. They are challenging and fun, and I'm slowly seeing improvement in my game. I don't feel like I'm getting rolled all the time. I can usually look back on games and say "Yup, I should have worked on building an army and not just more drones." or "I failed to properly keep tabs on my opponent and he kept tabs on me, and that let him trounce me."
At the same time, I've also learned how to keep fighting and still remember to build units back at the base.
The thing is, SC2 is gonna be around a while. So I know the number of hours I get from the game will be worth it from a dollar's spent pov. It's like TF2 in that regard. That game was well worth the price (even moreso because it was in the Orange box).
Jason Lotito
Dang straight. Heck I've figured the nursing home scene will be the perfect time for gaming.
Think about it: limited mobility, limited income, probably not a lot of visitors, sex drive that has plummeted to near zero, and tons of time to pass by SOMEHOW.
I'd be in a WoW hardcore 25-man raiding group if I was old and in a retirement home. I got a ways to go, but I'm sure I'll be doing the equivalent when the time comes :D.
"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain