Starcraft 2

[Sargara]

Not that i condone this or anything but for those of you who maybe waiting for this title the Closed Beta that kicked off 2 weeks ago has already been cracked so you can play offline against the AI. :evil:

The game is solid in terms of balance between the races as you would expect and theres nothing to really set it apart from Starcraft1, its basically the same game but prettier.

So for that reason i found it abit of a let down and i dont think i will be purchasing it. Probably save my money for Diablo3 instead.

 

[BatFastard]

Im apart of the closed beta and currently loving it. Was a Command and Conquer fan in my younger years and never heard of Starcraft. Only Blizzard RTS ive experienced is WC2/3

 

[David]

AWESOME, i'm all over that! starcraft 1 was amazing!!!

 

[Sargara]

Yeah i wont post any links but the client is available through certain torrent websites and im sure the comments on the torrent will point you in the direction to the wiki site for the tutorials.

To install it you just
- Install the beta client
- Copy the AI into your installation directory
- Copy the AI enabled maps into your My Documents directory
- Run the launcher

Very straight forward.

 

[Darren S]

Thread bump.

I have to hand it to Blizzard - they know how to polish a well designed game.

I really like RTS games, but missed the boat with the original Starcraft as I was all about C&C at the time.

I got a hooky copy of SC2 when it first came out and played through the Terran campaign through to completion. Since then, the Zerg and Protoss factions have been added - yet despite its age, they still commanded a premium price and I never bought them.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, and I noticed the complete Battle Chest was on cdkeys for £21.99. Wanting a fresh RTS challenge, I bought it and tied it into my battle.net account. Things have improved significantly in the 7 years that this game has been going for. There's a lot more going on than I recall - in particular with options and choices within the game itself.

It looks and plays like only a well developed game can. Pros and cons to units, effective map usage - base building and unit production - it's all in there. I had a look into some of the esport stuff online with regards to SC2. Bloody hell - those players are machines! They clearly know the game inside out and then some. I'm not even attempting to tackle much online - redoing the campaign and starting the two new ones will be good enough for me - along with some practice AI skirmishes.

It's also impressive that the game engine can handle 4K graphics at 144hz too. Again, a sign of the production quality that's gone in it and continues to do so.

Well recommended. Will it take my Company of Heroes crown for RTS awesomeness? A bit too early to say yet.

 

[N0ddie]

I was going through CDKeys yesterday looking for some good deals. Contemplated getting this as it was cheap but was unsure if I'd like it so opted not to. Also looked at Company of Heroes but ended up with Deus Ex 2.

I may go back for another look at Starcraft 2 and COH.

 

[Darren S]

I was going through CDKeys yesterday looking for some good deals. Contemplated getting this as it was cheap but was unsure if I'd like it so opted not to. Also looked at Company of Heroes but ended up with Deus Ex 2.

I may go back for another look at Starcraft 2 and COH.

Personally m8 - CoH2 as a complete package (inc. all the DLCs) is still at the top of the pile so far. I've put around 600 hours into CoH1 since 2006 and about 200 into CoH2. Although these two and SC2 are both excellent RTSs, I think the CoH games are more laid back to play.

SC2 is deceptively easy in its appearance. Almost like chess where once you realise just how much depth there is to it, the complexity becomes apparent. I'd get crucified online with SC2, whereas I think I'd have a fighting chance with CoH2. I don't think that's just down to the familiarity of the Heroes games either - more that it's play-style better suits my average abilities in order to do well.

As for campaign modes, the CoH ones are excellent - though I can only vouch for the Terran one on SC2 - as I've yet to start the other two factions.

CoH2 might annoy you initially - some missions do leave you scratching your head. But then you think of something different and it all clicks into place. Like rather than blindly destroying enemy anti-tank guns that are proving to be a threat - why not simply snipe their crews and man them yourself? Turning the tides of the current level and map is something that the CoH games do to perfection.

 

[JonnyK]

I play a LOT of SC2. People don't realise how intricate it is. If anyone wants to add me on battlenet for a game add jonnyplusone and prepare to be destroyed :tongueout:

 

[Ben.Block]

I thought @Sargara had come back to life, but then I noticed the date.

RIP

 

[treemanx]

I used to play SC2 years ago online, before switching to Dota 2. I don't miss all the micro/super efficiency's needed to be good at that game!

 

[Darren S]

I used to play SC2 years ago online, before switching to Dota 2. I don't miss all the micro/super efficiency's needed to be good at that game!

I think that was part of what I was getting at with the comparison to CoH. The impression I get with SC2 is that you have to be on the ball with that minutiae level of control - in order to be good online.

I bet most RTS games could be tweaked by the developers and only the truly hardcore fans would notice the differences. With SC2, there would be chaos if a handful of units took a second longer to build than before.

 

[Brand86]

I think that's why RTS games sort of died out - they became all about efficiency of production rather than skilled tactics and strategy. The Total War series was probably the best at the actual direction of troops and, no surprise, that's still about now.
I did love RTS games overall and do miss the thrill of building up a super massive army to destroy the opposition. Off topic, but looking forward to seeing what Halo Wars 2 is like when it launches soon.

 

[JonnyK]

I think that was part of what I was getting at with the comparison to CoH. The impression I get with SC2 is that you have to be on the ball with that minutiae level of control - in order to be good online.

I bet most RTS games could be tweaked by the developers and only the truly hardcore fans would notice the differences. With SC2, there would be chaos if a handful of units took a second longer to build than before.

I wouldn't say there would be chaos, every expansion that comes out tweaks the online gameplay, from unit costs to unit strengths etc.. and people adjust to it accordingly. To me SC2 is the ultimate RTS as there are so many tactics involved, it's incredibly hard to master trying to multi-task playing a macro focused game whilst simultaneously trying to micro your troops, but that's where hotkeys, camera hold keys and control groups come in. whereas some games you can just sit back and build a huge force and then send them all in. That tactic won't work in SC2 as it's key to harass early on in the game.

A friend of mine is a very well known League of Legends player. I tried it recently and it seems incredibly easy in comparison, simply controlling one hero the whole game and not worrying about production etc..