The original Starcraft is now twelve years old. Any person who has ever played video games should have memories with it. I vividly remember my first time. I was at Drew Muehle's house with my other friend, Drew Kuhnke. It was the first time for both of us. Kuhnke and I played each other, while the Muehle brothers were constantly looking over our shoulders and telling us what to do. We both picked Zerg, and we just kinda chilled in our bases for an hour, scared shitless to attack the other. Kuhnke and I played endless hours with Age of Empires, and that was the only RTS we were familiar with. Playing one in space, with all these cool new units and buildings and upgrades to tinker around with was one of the greatest gaming experiences I've ever had.
Starcraft holds a special place in my heart because it was the very first game I can remember where I felt a real attachment to the plot. Until that time, I expected video games to be nothing more than blowing shit up and making people bleed, but the characters in Starcraft actually gave me a motivation to continue. As gay as it sounds, I really did feel a connection with these people and their struggles.
Unfortunately, I've always sucked playing against other people, and multiplayer is what Starcraft has always been geared towards. That's why I wasn't initially all that excited for SC2. But then my brother sent me that trailer at the top, and it pumped me the fuck up again. All those memories I just described came flooding back, and I wanted more.
Only the Terran campaign is available in this. Blizzard is planning on releasing two more games in a short while covering the Zerg and Protoss stories (which will each be at a reduced price). The plot did not disappoint. In the first game's Terran missions, you and Arcturus Mengsk are freedom fighters battling against the oppressive government known as the Confederacy, until Mengsk betrays you and thrusts himself into power. Set four years after the original Starcraft, you're now fighting against Megsk's government, while simultaneously trying to fend off the pending Zerg invasion.
The length of the story seemed just about right, but many of the lines during cinematics seemed forced and out of place. I wish I could say I could forgive that because they're to be expected in a game like this, but I can't. The original Starcraft's dialogue was spot on, and there's really no excuse for it. Terrans try to be cowboy badasses though, so I'm sure the cheesy lines they love won't be as numerous in the Zerg and Protoss games.
I know I have non-gamer readers of this blog, so instead of describing what exactly you do in this, Blizzard went and released a a short video explaining everything
You have three very different races to choose from. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses, and a good deal of the fun is learning and compensating for them.
The Terran are humans. They are descendants of a failed colonization attempt sent from Earth centuries ago. Cut off from their home planet, they decided to settle in and form a civilization of their own.
Terrans are a good place to start playing. They're much more straightforward than the Protoss and the Zerg, and they can really excel at defense if you know how to play them right. They can use massive starships and huge walking mechs. And nukes. Fucking nukes.
The Zerg are made up of many species integrated into the swarm by infestation (zombification, basically). Originally, they obeyed the Overmind. During the events in the first game, the Overmind infested a Terran Ghost (a special agent with psychic abilities) known as Sarah Kerrigan. Combined with those psychic powers, the infestation transformed her into something truly horrific. After the Overmind's death on Aiur, Kerrigan assumed command of the entire swarm, and led it throughout the galaxy on a path of blood and destruction.
The Zerg are hard to play well, which is why I hate them. You have to be super aggressive, or else you're going to lose. The Zerg produces weaker troops en masse, and they depend on overrunning the enemy to win. By lategame, they're practically unstoppable. They do not rely on technology in any way. Every one of their weapons is completely biological. Even their buildings are living creatures.
The Protoss are very old, and very technologically advanced. They hold honor and battle to the highest regard, but at the same time they're able retain their wisdom and restraint. They are fucking badasses. Initially hostile to Terrans, the greater threat of the Zerg has at least stopped them from killing each other on sight.
The Protoss are my favs. Their army is generally more expensive, but they also pack more of a punch. They use awesome beam weapons and light shows.
As said above, I really suck at playing against other people. Then recently I started going into internet forums to maybe see what I'm doing wrong. Apparently the Protoss are made for harassment and sneaky things, while I was playing them like you're supposed to play Terran -- basically just trying to build a powerful army and stomping the foes. So I'm sticking with Terran for now until I can get a better handle on how this game works.
I'm getting a lot better, too. I told myself I would not go online until I can beat an AI on hard, which is exactly what I did earlier today. I felt awesome. But when you're going one-on-one against a faceless stranger for the first time, you start to feel really anxious, considering what that person could be doing through the fog of war. And you can't think. That's what always scared me off. But I read a tip that listening to music which really pumps you up helps a lot. So I made myself a playlist with a bunch of screaming death metal, and it fucking worked. I stopped getting nervous, and I was able to think about what I was doing.
I had my first big victory today. Me and this guy's skill level were about the same, and all we had done was basically spar here and there at each other's base entrances. I was scouting around and discovered that his army was on its way to my base again. That meant his own base was undefended. I took a couple Banshees and sneakily flew them behind his base, where they destroyed all of his probes, completely demolishing his economy. It was around that time where he reached my entrance, where my defenses wiped him out without much trouble. He ragequit, and I felt like a fucking badass.
I never took this game very seriously before, but I'm beginning to see why so many people find it so damn fun. It's moments like that. The game's general atmosphere is orgasmic, the gameplay is balanced to perfection, and the community manages to be both competitive and extremely helpful at the same time. It plays almost exactly like the first game, which is exactly how it should be. You can't improve perfection.
People literally play this game as a profession. Matches are broadcast on national television in South Korea. Players earn money from sponsors. People have died in South Korea from not eating or sleeping while playing this. Starcraft is practically that country's national sport.
I'm starting to really get into some of these professional games. It's like football. I've even found a player to become a fan of. He's TheLittleOne. His strategies are really creative. If you have a few minutes to spare, you should watch this amazing match. If you know how to play the game and can follow along, it's going to be really fucking exciting. It starts at 16:17, but the embedding code should take you there automatically.
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