It's like chess. But, y'know, with aliens.

If Big Tobacco needs help finding new ways to get and keep people addicted to their products, I'd advise them to talk to Blizzard. Somehow, Blizzard consistently manages to put out games that will not settle until they have forced their way into your brain, taken root, and carved out a section with the other necessary activities; right between "breathing" and "eating." It's what Blizzard has been doing for years, and they've done it again with StarCraft II.

At some point I intend to do a final review for the game, but as of right now I feel that I'm really only qualified to post some initial impressions. In a game as massive and fully-featured as this, it'll take a lot more hours than I've currently logged to objectively judge the game. But, allow me to reiterate what the rest of the gaming community has been screaming at your face since launch: The game is good. Not mind-bogglingly (<---, holy crap, "Bogglingly" is a word?) innovative or groundbreaking, but rather incredibly polished and refined, with attention paid to even the smallest details.

I've been playing Real Time Strategy games for most of my life, and so far StarCraft adheres closely to the traditional formula of "HERE'S YER GOONS, GET SHTUFF SO YOU CAN MAKE MORE GOONS TO KILL YOUR OPPONENT'S GOONS." Which isn't a bad thing in the least, provided you enjoy that style of play. Where StarCraft DOES differ is in the finely tuned balance between the 3 different races. If you've played an RTS game in the past, you know that it really doesn't take long to identify the races/civilizations/factions/Hamster swarms that are actually good enough to be competitively viable. With Starcraft II, Blizzard takes the "Less is more" approach; only 3 races, but balanced so well that they all can become a force to be reckoned with in the right hands.

Even with so much attention paid to the multiplayer balance, Blizzard doesn't skimp on the single player, either. The campaign is lengthy and enjoyable, offering a surprising variety of mission types and objectives. Sadly, the storyline so far has been rather generic, and I'm pretty sure when it came to character designs, some Blizzard employee jumped up and yelled emphatically, "RAMBO IN SPACE," for each and every one. Myriad achievements are available for unlock in both single and multiplayer, and both single and multiplayer statistics are kept track of under a unified character profile. Plus, the replays feature is easily manageable, and the Leagues and Ladders section is easy to navigate and thoughtfully laid out.

If you're looking for a game that offers incredible depth, an unmatched competitive scene, and a satisfying single-player portion, and don't mind a sequel that sticks pretty close to the original, you could do a lot worse than StarCraft II.



Buy Starcraft II. Because Tychus Findlay needs lots of money to supplement his diet of cigars and pure testosterone.