Joe Gamer

With that grand title, I begin my mini-review of Starcraft 2!

Starcraft 2 has been a long time coming.  The original Starcraft was released on PC way back in 1997 and continues to be one of the gaming world’s giants.  People still play the multiplayer game.  South Korea holds tournaments that rival NFL games in the US.  There are TV channels that show replays of games!  Easily one of the most anticipated releases of the year, Starcraft 2 does not disappoint.

I will admit it, I suck at RTS games.  Real Times Strategy games (or RTS’s) involve management of troops and resources to outmaneuver the other player.  On a minor level (like the one I play at) this involves building buildings, amassing troops, and throwing people at the opponent until one or the other gives up.  On a more professional level this involves macros (button combinations that do multiple things at once) and a nice stat I like to call “apm” or actions per minute.  Yes, professional Starcraft players measure how many actions they can perform in a minute.  When I say “enough” they say “200″ or some other number I can’t imagine.  Thinking on that as well as my… 5:4000 win/loss ratio (similar to most anything I do), when I say I enjoy Starcraft 2, I really mean it.

I have played a great deal of the single-player Vs. AI segment.  Wanting to get better in multiplayer, I figured I would attempt to practice against the computer.  Let’s just say I haven’t been able to eke out a win on “medium” yet (but I feel like I’m improving!).  Other than the new units and buildings, the three races of Stacraft, the human Terrans, the buglike Zerg, and the technological Protoss, all play just like they did back in 1997.  The beauty of the game is in polish and production values, though, which really shine in the single player campaign mode.

Unlike the original Starcraft where you play through all three races, Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty have you playing as Terran renegade Jim Raynor as he fights the evil Terran Dominion and its leader Arcturus Mengsk.  Lasting around 30 missions, the single player missions provide various objectives that tend to go above and beyond “kill the other player” and often give you a choice that effects the outcome of the story.  Between missions the player can explore Raynor’s ship, play minigames and experience entirely optional exposition on the story that a singularly bloody-minded player may ignore, but a more story-focused player would definitely enjoy.

I have certainly enjoyed my time sucking at Starcraft.  The single player (both against AI and story mode) have been excellent so far and I want to continue in order to get the full experience.  When I get in to the multiplayer aspect, they actually have a 50 round “training bracket” for losers like me that are either terrible enough to warrant some training time or people who are new to the game.  I’ll let you know how I do with that as soon as I start playing multiplayer for real, but it may be a while before I gather up the courage!

I entirely recommend Starcraft 2 with a 9/10.

© 2010, Jeff Hollingsworth. All rights reserved.

My newest addiction is Dragon Age: Origins. I have no idea the number of hours that I’ve poured into this lovely game for the X-Box 360, PS3, and PC, but I do know that my wife doesn’t speak to me anymore while I play and my child is noticeably taller. My sleep is suffering and my recliner has a permanent mold of my rear firmly implanted in it. That said let me actually speak about the game itself.

Dragon Age: Origins is a dark fantasy RPG. The player has control of up to four characters that form his or her party. And your primary character has six possible origin stories spanning three races and three classes. The remaining party is comprised of NPCs that you meet along the way. Interaction between your primary and secondary characters is more dynamic than many other games. Each character class has several possible combinations of skills, abilities, and specializations to give the game some replay value.

The game leads you down a road of violence, betrayal, lust, and violence. Yes I know I said violence twice. When you see how gory our characters get after their first real fight, you’ll understand. The game isn’t for little kids. If you’re the kind of parent that gets your teenager anything, expect your teenage boys to be begging for this one. The Desire Demons are some of the hottest monsters I’ve ever slain in game. Some of the subject matter out side of the violence and almost partial nudity isn’t for kids either, but then again I’m not your kid’s parent so do what you want.

© 2009, Joseph Little. All rights reserved.