Finally, it’s here. No, not just StarCraft 2, but our review of said game. It’s been over a decade since StarCraft was released, and the sequel has been anticipated for just as long. Now Blizzard, after years of development and tens of millions of dollars, is bringing the sequel. And we can say right now, the game doesn’t break any new ground. What it does, it refine all the stuff that made the original awesome, and on top of that, it does it in stunning new visuals. Not to mention the finest single-player campaign any RTS has to offer.

In StarCraft 2, the campaign centers around the hero, Jim Rainer, on a series of missions though the campaign which is called “Wings of Liberty”, and is only the first of three parts — Blizzard plans to release the others as sequels. While this may sound like a bad thing, the campaign is of such high quality and is lengthy enough to justify its price tag ($60, on the PC). The campaign is lengthy and we won’t be going into details here because it’ll spoil lots of it. Rest assured, it’s quality stuff.

Gameplay wise, it’s still the same three races: Protoss, Zerg and Terrans, and the gameplay mechanics are largely the same: you build your base, build units, and go into combat. However, because the campaign is so varied, you never feel like you’re doing the same thing, and the deep story drives the action throughout the campaign — not to mention the impressive cut scenes. However, we had wished Blizzard took a few more chances and added a bit more to the gameplay, which, in essence, is just like the old StarCraft.

Multiplayer wise, it’s just as good as before, and just as daunting as before, as there are many, many good players out there. Luckily, Blizzard has deep integration with the new Battle.net, and there are lots of tutorials for the StarCraft beginner. Also, Blizzard has a system of making sure you end up playing against players on a similar level as you. However, there are a few setbacks. For one, there’s no LAN support, there’s no cross-region support (so you can’t play against your Asian friends), and there’s no tournament support either.

Overall, StarCtaft 2, sans a few issues like missing features (LAN), is the sequel the StarCraft and RTS fans have been waiting for. The campaign and the solid multiplayer offer dozens of hours or gameplay, and the game features a very high level of polish.

The Good:
Great campaign
Stunning visuals and animations
Solid multiplayer

The Bad:
No LAN.
Reminds a lot of the old StarCraft
No cross-region support

Overall score: 9/10