Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty

Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty

Some suites radically reinvent what has come before, others simply buff with a formula that is already up. To suggest that Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty, only the latter and not the first would be to sell short with fresh ideas and exciting gameplay that makes this series of amazing real-time strategy so enjoyable. This package provides more than simple pleasure - it serves up incredible amounts of black, film and multi-faceted campaign in multiplayer competitive and well balanced. You can make fun of the fact that the game has only one campaign and perhaps the high price level (the game sells for $ 59.99, $ 10 more than the average PC game). But this is quibbling, wrangling forgivable in a high quality game that gives you a lot of bang for the buck.

Starcraft II is a natural next step in the series: it includes and updates the key elements that have made the game a great success in which the stratification of important features that give the game infinite replay value as well as online and off. This is one of the best real-time strategy games in recent years, and if you are new to the genre or the Protoss have studied the orders to build over the past decade, there is something here to delight you.

The campaign is the first of many delights. You may have heard that Starcraft II has only one campaign: the human faction known as the Terrans. One of the few disappointments of the game is that the other two factions - the Protoss and Zerg - get their day in the sun, so if you're a newcomer who wants to demonstrate its superiority (or inferiority) online, do not wait campaign prepare for potential attack. But the campaign is just a note that you wonder, offering plenty of variety, including a series of missions that reveals important elements of the story of a totally different perspective. But even outside these missions cunning to do something interesting and varied throughout history. On a mission to start the regular laundering on the continent, is a threat to all units to be established on high ground. In another, a sun explosion caused a wall of flames threatening constantly pushes on the map.

Many of these missions are basic RTS: lead small groups of such units in the linear path, defend this specific structure, and so on. However, Starcraft II all these tasks a meaningful context. Take the first mission, for example. This is a very easy training mission, but a secondary objective is to show political propaganda holograms Emperor Arcturus Mengsk. After the destruction of these screens and get to your goal, the citizens rise up and join, and get an idea of ​​the heavy hand of the Terran Dominion, and the willingness of people to be free from tyranny. Later mission puts you in control of a huge robot and sends in a riot of fire. Control of a single unit in an RTS for a period of time is not always pleasant, but because the mission is presented and its importance in history, this single unit feels completely satisfying romp.

Of course, the story takes place in the objectives of the mission easier. Are close meditating freedom fighter Jim Raynor, while striving to combat the threat of the Zerg race abroad, reversing the manipulation Mengsk emperor from his throne, and reconcile with his own guilt for the fate of Sarah Kerrigan. If you head in this sequel, without any knowledge of past events, do not worry you are in the dark: the campaign does a great job filling in the background, although the story takes place. The argument is simple and the dialogue is a simple action film, but the Starcraft II cinematic great music, evocative and high coating have a way to keep you glued to the screen. Hero Jim Raynor is a strong man, but with problems. You can hear in his voice has been resolved, and how the soundtrack of the signs of his presence, his accent revealing that you see in the dark, how dark is so often illuminated.

You can do more than watch the cutscenes between the missions, though. This downtime is exploring the possibility of the crew Battlecruiser Raynor, Hyperion. In a style similar to that of an adventure when you click on different characters and objects on the screen, you can be rewarded with a brief scene, a clever joke by the scientist nerd, or sending a not so fair and balanced news . But these interludes are not just click and watch: you can also update and improve the services and facilities in important ways. Research by spending points you earn for certain activities, you can get regular updates and new units normally associated with Zerg and Protoss factions. However, these are either / or suggestions: Choose a search option to block you for other available options. You can also earn the currency to spend more regular updates, or a mercenary, you can immediately call on the battlefield.

And if the campaign is certainly an incomplete set, though focusing on a single faction. The structure of the campaign is a strong argument to play the whole thing from scratch again, or at least from a backup early in the game. In addition, the campaign is more true, lasting 15 hours or more depending on how fast you blow through the missions, the amount of time spent in the Hyperion at all, and what difficulty level you choose. But there is another factor to keep you coming back: a meta-world game where you earn achievements in the game for very specific tasks. Of course, these achievements are not new, Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, Steam, and even own world of Warcraft from Blizzard have made good use of abstract rewards to keep players engaged. However, these achievements are through all aspects of the game of the season several players, and in turn, these gains are passed on to friends in the game on Battle.net important service line that serves as a main interface StarCraft II.

From one job to another, there is a new fascinating development, which is dedicated to keeping you from seeing what surprise awaits you later.

Game marks the most touching and exciting moments of a fantastic pre-rendered scenes, but also the in-engine scenes to shoot, thanks for expressive facial animation and a lot of winks and nods spread humor.

By their very nature, these options give the replay value of the campaign - value remains high for one of the rare occasions when you must make a decision during the campaign that determines the course of the history of minor elements. These decisions affect not only the narrative, however, also determine which of two or more possible missions to complete and others that affect what you can access the units or enemy units will face.