Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Starcraft II

So, Starcraft II is now in my possession. Yes, I now own what may be the most important RTS release of the decade.

Now, Starcraft II has been in development for a LONG time. The original was released in 1998 and is recognized as one of the premier strategy games of our time, arguably the greatest, and for sure the longest lasting. With people still playing Starcraft VERY seriously it’s no wonder that a lot of people watched everything that Blizzard did with a lot of criticism.

Blizzard removed LAN, they divided the Single-player into 3 separate games, they require online-activation, the want you online the entire time you’re playing the game, the entire RealID fiasco, etc. Blizzard has had a lot of PR systems that have messed them up, but I think most people are being far too severe.

Starcraft II is amazing. Blizzard is still one of the best Video Game Studios in existence, and they’re still making amazing games. Yes, the game costs $60. Yes, it has online activation, yes you aren’t getting a Zerg or Protoss campaign (YET!) and yes, RealID was arguably the stupidest thing any video game company has ever envisioned, but beyond all of that, beyond all the PR mistakes and Nerd Rage Blizzard has encountered, I think that Blizzard has created a great video game that, assuming Multiplayer Balance, will have the staying power of Starcraft, Warcraft III and World of Warcraft. This is Blizzard people, and I think it’s a bit of a shame they’ve received all the criticism they have. Some of it is valid (RealID, and perhaps even no LAN) but some of it (3 games, Online Activation), I don’t think that’s an issue. Blizzard knows their market and their market is gonna be with how they dealt with everything.

And now, I’m gonna play Starcraft II.

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