After all the hype, Blizzard Entertainment has definitely delivered. With an awesome graphic engine, in depth storyline and a whole new gaming experience, they presented us StarCraft II, sequel to the award winning StarCraft. A game that players would die for literally, in Korea!
However, with all those teasers they provided us during the period of waiting, there are some disappointments. Firstly, it would be the lack of Local Area Network (LAN) play. Blizzard, like most game companies now, have been trying to curb piracy and to protect their interest but due to some areas with an unstable or slow internet connection many gamers have been put down. Besides, Battlenet services are not all perfect compared to LAN connections. You might get disconnected from a multiplayer game just when you’re about to win!
The trailers they released had this highly awesome, kick-ass Protoss unit- the Mothership. Equipped with the black hole and time-bomb, it was serious material. Not to say all those lasers flying out from it. Totally awesome! But in the official release, it was reduced to a mere arbiter. A high hit point, high armor arbiter for cloaking units around it. How arbitrary!
Another case would be the Terran battlecruiser. An impressive unit, equipped with the all powerful Yamato Gun, a few of them could turn down your important damage dealing units and turn the tide of battle. The trailers had it flaunting a laser barrage, which was later deemed too unbalanced and removed from the official version. Come on Blizzard, do you really expect such a huge ship being capable of firing only one gun?
Disappointments aside, this game has really delivered. I personally like the smooth unit collision the best. In the original StarCraft, units often got stuck and were hard to control. When you gave a move command, they will always move in a straight line and resulting in the defending side being able to pick off units one by one. StarCraft II abolished this headache as units no longer move in a straight line but in a more compact formation. Easier micro-managing!
The new units really shine. The Protoss Colossus and Terran Reaper provide a new game mechanic that allows land units to move up and down cliffs, which was previously impossible in StarCraft. Your opponent thinks he’s safe turtling up that cliff! No worries! Get a dozen of those Reapers and he’s ripe for the picking.