Starcraft 2 is the long awaited sequel to the legendary game Starcraft that was released in 1998. Starcraft has been played by millions over the last decade and is a name that everyone knows. The squall to a game like this would need to be legendary by its own right unless fans would be disappointed and it would never turn into a successful series. After logging about 72 hours in Starcraft 2 I think I can say that it lived up to its predecessor and will not disappoint anyone.
The story takes place in the 25th century where humanity is known as Terrans and the antagonist is known as the Zerg, an alien race that is a treat to the entire universe. In the main storyline you play as Jim Rayon who can pretty much be described as on outlaw that surprises everyone. Also just like in the original Starcraft you are still mining for minerals and pulling Vespene Gas from the ground, these are your two main resources used during the game. The last piece you have to worry about is the number of units you can support, this number can be increased with using the proper structure/unit for each race. The bottom line is Starcraft 2 is a RTS game that should be on everybody’s list of games to play.
The Campaign
The campaign should be able to be completed in about 30 hours or so and is filled with challenges, puzzles, and decisions that will affect the final battle. It can take significantly longer though depending on the level of difficulty you choose. If you are new to RTS games you should stay with easy or normal, you will not stand a chance on brutal, I still don’t even stand a chance on brutal. I really don’t want to get to much into the story line because I won’t want to spoil the game for anyone but overall the main Champaign is filled with a solid story, many different types of matches, and well worth playing. Another thing to note here is the decisions you make during the story will affect the last battle of the game so choose them wisely.
Skirmish’s
If you want to play a free for all game but don’t want to play online you can choose to play a skirmish. When setting up a skirmish match you can choose your map, number of AI’s to play with/against, and pretty much any other aspect of the game. You can choose to play 1 on 1 against any level of AI or you could choose to play a much larger game and define alliances in advance. No matter what you are looking for you can pretty much build a match to meet your needs. The default set of maps is very impressive and well thought out. The only thing I don’t like about the skirmishes is you cannot choose to play teams with an uneven number, for example you cannot pay 1 against 2. However you can play a free for all game with 2 AI opponents. Overall skirmishes are a large part of any RTS game and I think Blizzard did a great job here.
Multiplayer
The multiplayer option gives you the ability to play against opponents online and they try to even the playing field. You can choose to pay matches that are ranked or unranked depending on what you are looking for. When you just star out you can play up to 50 matches in the practice league that is designed to give newbie’s a chance to play against other newbie’s. The only problem here is just because they are still playing in the proactive rounds does not mean they are newbie’s so don’t think you will always be getting an easy win. Also just like with pretty much any other type of online game you can choose to join another match, start a new match, and create a party. 
If you are into online gaming and RTS games this is defiantly an option you will want to explore. You can spend countless hours playing online against many different types of opponents, let’s face it not all opponents are at the same level or play the game in using the same strategies. I have spent well over 50 hours playing online and I plan on spending many more, assuming I have the time.
Overall Thoughts
Overall I was very satisfied with purchasing Starcraft 2 and think Blizzard did a great job with the sequel to a legendary game. Each aspect of the game was well throughout and I have not come across many bugs during the game. One aspect in particular that I am not happy about is you are limited to a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080. This was put into play by Blizzard to prevent you from having an advantage in the game, in other words seeing more than you should, or more than your opponent, during the game. I understand their reasoning behind it but think they should give an option to play at any resolution but make any games played at a resolution higher than 1920 x 1080 unranked. This will give the PC gamers with a multiple monitor setup the ability to use all their monitors. I just don’t feel satisfied when I am playing a game on the center monitor of a triple monitor setup.
If you have played Starcraft 2 or plan on playing it soon we would love to hear your thoughts on the game, good or bad. Please leave a comment below letting us, and the rest of your readers, know what you think. Who knows you may end up encouraging someone to play a game they may not have normally played or saved someone from buying a game they won’t enjoy.
