The second coming is upon us! The PCgaming world will never be the same again!
Music is good. Nice and relaxed. Sound effects are good (voices are really good!)
Gameplay is fast and furios and combatmicromanagement is rewarded so nothing for slowheads. Every race have a unique macromanagement mechanic that gives benefits if used (and is necessary for keeping up with a good player.)
Here's a stream: http://www.livestream.com/jobbies/video?clipId=pla_d3b54ec8-0b46-4706-925b-78a1216aab86
The graphics are better then what's shown in the stream (thank GOD for that!)
There are a some screenshots over at http://www.gosugamers.net/starcraft2/blogs/1656
I'd like to see a comparison between the online population of Sins before and after the StarCraft II beta was available
Thought I'd throw this out there for people who were desperate to get into the beta (like me):
I just got into the starcraft beta. You can too. Gamestop just went live with a promotion so that If you pre-order starcraft II, you get a key to the beta inside of 24 hours. But it gets a wee bit better. Starcraft II runs $59.99. If you spend $100, you can use a 25% off coupon code + free shipping (I think you can do in store pickup if you prefer though). I got God of war 3 + starcraft II + the scII beta for $88 including tax. Not too shabby, imo (considering both games retail for $60 a pop).
Here are the details from slickdeals.net:
Free Starcraft 2 Beta when your Pre Order Starcraft II in Gamestop
Link [gamestop.com] Both Regular and Collector Edition if you pre order in Gamestop will receive the Beta for Starcraft II. Use the code 25OFF (25% off) for order over $100. Official release dates have not been announced by Blizzard. Release date listed are estimates only and subject to change. Reserve StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and receive an invitation to the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty beta. Available online and in-store while supplies last. Once you recieve your Beta Code your order cannot be canceled. Online Customers (web delivery): A code and instructions on how to join the beta will be emailed within 1 business day of when your order was placed. In-Store Pickup Customers: Please wait 24 hours after your order is placed, then proceed to your store to pick up your beta code. Store Customers: A beta code will be printed on your pre-order receipt. Free 3-Day shipping on StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty reservations. Discount will be automatically applied at checkout.
dbl post
Sorry, but I am not giving GameStop any of my money under any circumstances.
And $60 StarCraft2 makes me a sad panda. I blame it on Activision owning Blizzard.
You can apparently now pre-order on Amazon as well and will receive a key to the beta from them. Unless you hate them too.
I had credit on Amazon, so I just bought it there. Good looking out.
I blame it on Viviendi Games. (one up me now biatches )
has anyone spare beta invite?I would buy the preorder but there's trouble with shipping....
very big PLEASE
:>
I just got the beta yesterday from pre-ordering the game. Wow this game is alot faster than what i remember it. Played a couple of games and place in bronze. The music on this is pretty awesome, especially the terran soundtracks. The zerg and protoss also have good music.
I love the sweet Terran blues guitar solos in the background as well.
Aw... My 'puter got keylogged and now there's someone else's authenticator on my SC2 Beta battle.net account.
If you can prove it was keylogged, they MIGHT let you back in if you ask really nicely.
-Twilight Storm
Na, I've listened to enough WoW podcasts to know that blizz support is quite good about these things; one of the best in the business in fact. I should get it back well before the middle of the week when I finally have time to play again. They have 12 hour a day, 7 days a week support, with a help section online dedicated to what to do when your account gets haxx0rd. And since the accounts use your email address as the log in info, it isn't too terribly difficult for them to set things straight.
I just hope whoever hacked my account didn't drive down my SC2 rating down too much further than my 4:5 win:loss ratio already has.
OMG I JUST GOT THE EMAIL! Ok ill simmer down...
Okay... SC2 multiplayer is not my thing. Don't like how units are massed. Don't like the units themselves. Don't like how damn repetive the game is. For some reason i do like FPS multiplayer games (Well, console ones, Halos mainly, BFBC2) despite them being repetive too.
I hate the practice league (after the profile wipes, i'm playing them again. Don't want to skip them since they're on normal speed and Fastest is way too fast for me) since the "novice" maps are horrible. What's the point in preventing rushes? I mean, can't train to play against them if they can't be done. At least the way they're prevented sucks.
Oh, and i hate rushing too. Hated Warcraft 3's gameplay in Bnet since every frigging game was a rush. Good thing in WC3 was that there massing one unit didn't seem to exists as it does in SC2. But on the other hand, i hated the hero microing and tabbing beetween casters. Partially this was due the game speed, i'm simply not fast enough to react to things in RTSes (but fast in enough in FPSes... wtf?)
I don't like playing 2v2 or higher either. I don't like depending on a random person. And my friend's a bit better player than me so i don't really like playing with him, too large skill gap.
I look forward to the campaign but the multiplayer? Going to pass it. It simply doesn't hold any appeal to me anymore...
Fair enough. I really enjoyed the SP aspect of the original SC and that got me into the MP. Perhaps it will work the same for you. Play the crap out of the campaign and then you might enjoy/want to play the MP.
Either way - I'm really looking forward to the SP campaign and certainly hope that with them making 2 other installments, the SP campaign and story should be lengthy and good.
Actually, you can do the practice matches w/o novice maps. IIRC, there is a button which lets you choose which type of map you prefer. That or it depends on an option you chose at the start... Can't quite remember. (still waiting on blizz to get me my h4x0red account back )
As for rushing, I've played terran, so they haven't been much of a problem for me. Yay double supply depot and barracks block. From what I've experienced (keep in mind I'm in bronze league though), rushes really aren't a problem if you aren't being too stupid with your build order. A rush stretegy will put their econ a good deal behind yours, and depending on how far their units have to run, may only end up getting them slaughtered by your superior tech. Once the initial rush is killed, their econ will usually be pretty low, allowing you to out econ them and/or send a counterattack to harrass their mineral lines. As terran, a cloaked banshee or two works well for that against most players.
When it comes to the speed, that is part of what makes starcraft such a fun game. Unlike a slower game, it makes you think as quickly as possible, and a big part of it is trying not to panic. It isn't reaction time like an FPS, but rather how fast you can analyze a situation and implement a plan to counter any problems.
I would have to agree with you on 2v2 and higher; I personally think there are way too many variables out of the control of each player unless both teams are sitting in the same room as their teammates. They aren't even that fun to watch on shoutcasts since there is so much going on. It magnifies the weaknesses of the teams, making the games short and rather one sided.
I have no problem with rushing or countering it. But i simply hate it. It's a phase of the game but since it happens every friggin time, either me or the enemy rushes. I can't remember any time when neither rushed...
Really, the bigger problem with SC2 is that i don't like the units. And that the game's always seem to have same units, as if the game had not enough units, no variety. I like the Terrans most i think, due their gameplay but... Thor is overlarge Goliath, not interesting. Viking is like Valkyrie (IE damn boring) but has useless ground form too. Battlecruisers look like... well i simply don't like the new looks nor the way it works now. Hellions? They feel useless. And etc. Marauders and Ravens are fun and cool. But that's it, more or less.
And the speed, well, i like both slow and fast games. While i'm not competitive gamer really, i liked the MLG rules in Halo 3 (not the choice of weapons nor maps though) since they made the game a lot faster. Heck, i like the quick battles in SC2 sometimes (the 4 minute game i played comes to mind, Zerg rush, only time i enjoyed rushing, at least one i can remember). But in SC2, i don't have time to use casters effectivily nor micro the units in "Fastest", IE ladder, games. Partially this is due the constant lag i only experience with SC2 but not in other games.
Actually one thing what makes me dislike SC2 multiplayer is that i'm not good with multitasking. Gimme forces and lemme concentrate on them exlucsively without having to put any thought to my base, i can probably do it. I can create a base and all that if i don't have to bother with units at the same time. I usually lose because while i control my forces, i neglect my base and i die to counter attack if i didn't win the game. Now this skill probably comes better with time... Of course i wasn't good with multitasking in WC3... nor any game i can remember.
And lastly, i'm going to curse this laptop keyboard. It is not good for gaming...
will this game be sold on impulse?? Yes, we can get it from our local Gamestop/EB games, or probably Steam. But seriously, not being on impulse seems sooo wrong.
I do not believe SC will be sold on impulse... retail only and through blizzard online directly.
It's not on Steam either. Blizzard doesn't sell games through third party digital distribution. Or for that matter through DD at all until after the game is out. You can't even buy it from Blizzard, their order page sends you to stores. Wrath of the Lich King was the same way. (Though after you register a copy, you can redownload from the Blizzard store, and stuff goes on sale there after it's been out a while.)
Seems like the retailers like that arrangement, they get all the day 1 foot traffic in the store. Blizzard doesn't give any money to Valve, so they're pretty happy. It'd be a huge coup of Impulse got Starcraft 2, but it doesn't look like Blizzard's interested.
I am, quite honestly, amused everytime I read "RTS" or especially "StarCraft" in connection with "slowheads". I would not be, however, if "slowhands" was used instead.
In the year 2010, the grand games Homeworld 1 & 2 and the Myth series (apart from the last one) still sit on the throne of brainy gaming. Mind you that witty new kid around the block, Company of Heroes, he's good too.
SC2 apparently has its appeal. Speaking for myself, I invested the money put aside for both SC2 and Civ V in Elemental and Highway to the Third Reich (I actually spent approximately twice the amount for SC2 and Civ V, as I went on a small shopping spree ). I can't speak for Elemental yet, but HTTR is a wonderful, very brainy experience that surprisingly does not require fast hands at all!
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