StarCraft II comes out next Tuesday, and it is almost assured to be a best seller from day one.
I mean, it is a Blizzard product, right?
Or is it really the first Activision-Blizzard product? Hrmm…
Anyway, it is coming out in a few days and I am trying to decide if I should buy it.
Part of me, the part that really enjoyed StarCraft when it came out in 1999, the part of me that wants to shout, “Jacked up and good to go!,” that part wants to go out and buy it on day one.
But then there is the part of me that is annoyed by the absence of direct LAN play features in the game and the fact that you will have to log into Battle.net even for solo play. And then there is the whole Facebook integration and the Real ID question, which has been shelved for the moment, but which I am sure will return.
And finally, there is the part of me that played in the beta. Whee, I got in the beta! Okay, I got into it roughly 6 weeks before it ended, but I was there. That experience left me with a few impressions:
- The game looks really nice
- The game play and controls are as crisp and as sure as expected
- They took almost no risks with the game, so if you’ve played StarCraft, you know what you are getting
- I suck at it
The last came from me getting smoked regularly in matches. I’ve lost my build order and unit control skills over the years. And since single player wasn’t available to me in the beta, I have no idea if that is at all worth the price of admission.
So I am on the fence about buying the game. Nostalgia and the fact that Blizzard does make good games is pressing me forward. But the Battle.net requirement and the fact that it is the same game most of us have played already makes me want to pass, at least until I hear how the single player campaign play.
How about you?
The Ancient Gaming Noob 
I’m a sucker for extras so preordered the special edition. Going by past Blizzard titles I expect the singleplayer to have a good story.
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I’m in your boat, except I missed the beta. I just know that I’ll suck at it.
I played StarCraft, but not as religiously as apparently a lot of others did, and a lot less online than others. So I don’t have as strong of an attachment to it.
I guess that’s a no, but maybe down the line.
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Im saving my money for Civ V !
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I’m with you. But I did order a copy of the original Starcraft so if I really like that, then I’ll have a look at the reviews and think about it.
Honestly, the high price tag has made me more risk averse with this one. At a normal game price, with notmal pre-order offers, I’d probably have taken the chance. But the combination of me being schooled all over the beta and the new video obviously assuming that you know the storyline, I’m not up for this yet.
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I didn’t think they’d tabled realID on SC2, only on the WoW forums.
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I voted Other. I plan on getting it, but not on day one. I am trying to wait at least a month.
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No from me. I loved Starcraft back in the day because it was essentially 40K the PC game. These days I have Dawn of War for that, and I’ve grown to not like most RTS games very much.
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I’d never heard of Blizzard before WoW and I never played WoW until last year. I’ve never played any other Blizzard games. Consequently I have no nostalgia or brand loyalty to factor in. Added to that, I struggle with the RTS genre in general and I’m not overly fond of games with SF settings, so I think you can guess I’ll be passing on Starcraft2.
I’m always interested to see how huge releases like this affect the population levels in MMOs I am playing, though.
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Not an classic RTS fan. I’ve enjoyed DoW II but that’s because it is so different from the norm.
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I played the beta & it felt like the same game I played in 98′. I want Warcraft 4.
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I’ve been in the beta and feel that SC2 is going to be one of Blizzard’s worst launches, selling SC2 for as much as they are with no risk or innovation on their part.. I could barely tell that they even changed the game from 1998 as it plays exactly the same, doesn’t even look that good compared to more innovative titles like Warhammer 40k RTS.
I really don’t get what they’re doing here other than a easy money grab as people are going to buy it like lemmings just because it’s Starcraft and from Blizzard with glitzy advertising that doesn’t even show the same ol’ gameplay.
Count me out, not going to buy it.
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I am totally buying it. I cannot wait.
I was fairly sad that I couldnt figure out a way to get the old SC to work on my uber cool futuristic computer (ok.. so compared to what I had back then it’s uber cool futuristic)… even with a lot of Google searching.
Anyhow, I always sucked at it, but it was always fun. Played a lot with friends via LAN. And yeah so they dont have that but I was under the impression you can still pick friends to play with via Battlenet.
Oh well either way, I CANT WAIT! :)
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I’m like No 3 :)
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I’m buying it. I was a huge SC fan when it came out and I’m keen to see what this one is like. I must admit though that I’ve been rather put off by all of the antics over Real ID and money etc, plus I’ve very annoyed that this is only the Terran campaign and not all three sides. In fact, the more I think about that, the more it annoys me.
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I am sittnig this one out . Played a lot of warcraft / Diablo back in the day , but never liked starcraft .
I am saving my money for Civ V as well ! :)
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I’m getting it, pre-ordered and set to arrive on release day. My gaming roots are in TBS, and while that is mostly dead, old school RTS games are a close second. The fact that SC2 is essentially an old school RTS with shiny new graphics is actually a plus for me. Recent “innovative” RTS games have generally been a disappointment.
My only cocern was the price, but really the new game price point of $50 for pc games has been around so long it’s getting ridiculous. Inflation is real, the price has to go up at some point or games will cease to be profitable without subscriptions or micro/macro transactions.
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I’m still concerned on the LAN issue. I’d be less worried if there weren’t that specter of, a year from now, Activision declaring that I need to be Facebook friends with them to log onto Battlenet if I want to play. Or something like that. It is bad to have a public relations debacle about privacy a week or two before requiring everyone to log into your servers for even single-player action.
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“No” here. I really enjoyed the original StarCraft, but I was into it for the single-player campaign story. I’m still kind of cranky that they just let the story drop for so long. (I’ve not heard if they’re going to pick it up again.)
I played the multiplayer beta and got schooled, a lot. So, I’m not really looking forward to spending $60 on only one campaign and probably having to fork out expansion prices just to continue enjoying the story. Then having to log on just to play the single player game, I think it’s obvious I’m not the intended audience here. Therefore, I think I’ll pass, thanks. Maybe in a few years when it goes on discount.
That said, I’m sure it’ll be a big hit.
Oh, and *smack Gordon*. If you’re upset, don’t buy the damned thing! :P Haven’t you learned anything from reading my blog?
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I was on the fence for a long time about it, but I finally pre-ordered it this week despite my misgivings over RealID and LAN play. I don’t anticipate playing any matches online except against friends, (I was never much good at competitive play with the original) so I’m mostly getting it for the single player campaign. My fanboy side won out this time.
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No for me. I don’t like RTS. I did buy the rignal Starcraft “battelchest” after a surgery to give me something to do while I recuperated, but after running just the human campaign I looked up the cheat codes and god-moded myself through the rest of it simply for the story. I never played Warfcraft 2 or 3 either. RTS just has never appealed to me. Turn-based yes, real-time, no.
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I’ll pass this time. I’m mainly interested in the single player game and I’m waiting to see if I’ll be able to buy it for £20 next year rather than £70 this year.
I’m a little uncomfortable about the RealID thing but as long as it remains optional I can cope.
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I realise that this poll is dynamic and will change over time, but at present there are more votes for upset Blizzard customers than there are for pre-orders!!
I think Blizzard should take care before they destroy their own Empire…
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Personally I’ve never been an RTS fan. I think I bought one of the Civ games once and was called so many names the first time I played it online I just said screw it.
This time around, most of my guild/friends I play online games with are going to buy it. I too got into beta and played with a number of my friends and man do I suck but they showed me something this last time around that made me want to actually buy it. They showed me all the different online gameplay that can be created via customized maps/content.
I actually had a blast playing these, even though I lost most of the time. Still they were incredibly fun and because I had such a good time, I definitely will be buying the game, in fact I pre-ordered it.
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I am in the same position as Bhagpuss here pretty much. The only Blizzard game I have played (I think) is World of Warcraft.
I might have briefly tried Warcraft 3 (my memory is a bit fuzzy) and my only exposure to Starcraft is from Korean TV.
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60 bones for updated graphics is a ripoff to me. I think its activision milking Blizzards name for cash tbh. And I think Blizzard is slowly but surely losing there customers trust. It use to be about the games with them, now its all about the money.
I wont be buying!
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I might have bought it a couple of months ago. Since the realid fiasco, and the irritation of the latest 40k game with Windows live, I am going to pass.
Hopefully, someone out there will keep making games, and not glorified Facebook plugins.
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No I’m not buying it. I did stop by my local Game Stop today and they had a few, I inquired but i passed on buying it. Just like a few others said, I would only be interested in the Solo play assuming I ever bought it also.
I’m probably gonna wait and buy Civilization.
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A quote:
“As far as single player, all of the pre-release arguments of “3 separate games” and “ZOMG $60″ were totally shattered. It is well worth the $60… it’s massive, amazingly well done.
26 missions in total, and each one took me on average 20-30 minutes to complete, and I’m a veteran SC player, and I’ve been playing the SC2 beta since it began, so that’s around 13 hours of gameplay for someone that already knew what they were doing. The story is interesting enough that it keeps you wanting to play the next mission, but it can be a little tongue in cheek at times.
The structure of single player is different from multi; instead of just being given units and all of their available upgrades as in multiplayer, you accumulate credits and research points on each mission that you then use to purchase the upgrades and researches. I found myself making some tough decisions, because throughout the campaign you don’t acquire enough credits buy all of the tech upgrades, and for each tier of research you have to choose between a defensive or offensive research. It was a pretty great system, I almost wish they had fit it in with multiplayer somehow (like a Commander customization or something).
I was definitely going to buy this first chapter, and I said the quality of it would decide for me if I would buy the Protoss and Zerg campaigns as well… I’ve decided now that if the Protoss and Zerg campaigns are as good as the Terran’s, they’ll be well worth the additional cost.”
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I don’t like Starcraft (because I also suck at it) but I DO want me that Mini Thor in-game WoW pet!
And the usb drive pre-loaded with the old SC on a drive that looks like Jim Raynor’s dogtags sounds cool too.
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Yes,i have bought it, and i Enjoy every single sec of playing it.
I can pretty much call myself a blizzard devouted fan, have all the blizzard games, and play all of them to a certaint high level.
And RTS wow, the community of RTS has been gone into darkage for years now, I wish Sc2 could bring up a new push to the community.
And now im considering buying another retail coy of sc2 or just a digital one from theri web shop.
Yes LOVE STARCRAFT2 !! and im good at it also.
10 years of online gaming :D
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I have heard many good things about it. I have many gaming friends playing it. However, right now, I am playing a free to play RTS game called Caesary on lekool. I can’t play too many games at the same time. lol.
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