I'm a Starcraft/RTS Virgin. Sell me Starcraft 2!

[Samus Aaron]

So as I'm sure so little of you know, Starcraft 2 was released recently. Yes, I'm sure you're as surprised as I am, but before you faint from shock, be kind enough to explain what is so great about the game to me. I have never played a Starcraft game before, let alone an RTS. The question is, should I get Starcraft 2, and why or why not? What is so frakking great about it? Or is everything just a giant hype machine?

 

[migo]

StarCraft was good, but not particularly more amazing than any other RTS at the time. The reason it has such a following is because Blizzard supported it for years which is completely unlike any other company, so anyone getting SC2 knows they'll keep getting support for the next decade.

 

[Aidinthel]

In most RTS games, the different factions are pretty much carbon copies of each other, or else they'll be terribly unbalanced. In Starcraft, the three races are very different yet well balanced. Plus the story is pretty good if you're into science fiction. Which I am.

 

[FallenTraveler]

its hard to really learn it, it takes a while. The story is waaaay above average for an rts... maybe try a different rts first, as this one is well and above most others.

You will have fun. A lot of it. Buy it. Play it. Prepare to get beaten alot and enjoy every second of it.

yeah, it's a pretty addictive game, and it has a lot of potential for the next few years

 

[Internet Kraken]

Starcraft 2 is a great introduction to RTS games. In my opinion the entire genre is a hard one to get into, as so few games are newb friendly. Starcraft 2 goes out of its way to help new players ease themselves into the genre. There are a series of optional missions that teach you about the basics of the game, and go on to introduce mechanics important to your advancement as a player. In addition to these in-game tutorials, the side effect of having such a large community is that tons of people have produced helpful guides to help improve players on all skill levels. So if there's any game that's going to get you into the RTS genre, I think it will be Starcraft 2.

It's hard to explain exactly what is great about it. You're better of watching reveiws for that, such as the one on this site. One thing you could do is watch some videos on this guy's channel [http://www.youtube.com/user/HDstarcraft]. He has commentaries on the matches between high level players to show you what the multiplayer is like at its finest, and also tutorial videos to help players learn more about the game.

But contrary to what somebody said above, the one big flaw in Starcraft 2 is, in my opinion, the story. It's mind-numbingly cliche at times and has some pretty dumb plot devices. Though I imagine if you never played the first game some of them won't bother you (though other thins may confuse you). Still the poor plot doesn't detract from the flawless gameplay so don't let this stop you from buying the game.

 

[Taern]

StarCraft was good, but not particularly more amazing than any other RTS at the time. The reason it has such a following is because Blizzard supported it for years which is completely unlike any other company, so anyone getting SC2 knows they'll keep getting support for the next decade.

It also had extremely good balance, and a decent story.

 

[Eumersian]

If you don't understand RTS's begin by understanding that they're really hard.

Playing another human being is a matter of being able to concentrate on more than one thing at once, thinking ahead, and thinking at lightning speed. I have played a few people on Battle.net and I, having beaten the campaign (something I never accomplished in Starcraft 1) was surprised at how bad I was.

The secret is, what seems to me, to be: better safe than sorry, but better fast than slow. Always give in to the desire to make another SCV. But also always crank out those zerglings early, and post those cannons everywhere. Always be on edge and believe that your enemy could conquer you at any moment, and do your best to cover all of your bases, all at the same time.

If you don't know if you're up to it, don't waste your money. I have friends that love it, and some that simply can't get themselves to succeed at them. It's all up to you.

 

[Taern]

If you don't understand RTS's begin by understanding that they're really hard.

Playing another human being is a matter of being able to concentrate on more than one thing at once, thinking ahead, and thinking at lightning speed. I have played a few people on Battle.net and I, having beaten the campaign (something I never accomplished in Starcraft 1) was surprised at how bad I was.

The secret is, what seems to me, to be: better safe than sorry, but better fast than slow. Always give in to the desire to make another SCV. But also always crank out those zerglings early, and post those cannons everywhere. Always be on edge and believe that your enemy could conquer you at any moment, and do your best to cover all of your bases, all at the same time.

If you don't know if you're up to it, don't waste your money. I have friends that love it, and some that simply can't get themselves to succeed at them. It's all up to you.

Keep in mind that unlike say, Halo, that uses multiplayer as a selling point, and has a campaign just because, Starcraft 2 does have a rather good campaign, and that's enough to buy the game, I'd say.

There's also a very strong map creation tool if you're into that sort of thing, and you can always play other people's games, too.

 

[migo]

StarCraft was good, but not particularly more amazing than any other RTS at the time. The reason it has such a following is because Blizzard supported it for years which is completely unlike any other company, so anyone getting SC2 knows they'll keep getting support for the next decade.

It also had extremely good balance, and a decent story.

That's not a distinguishing feature among RTS games.

 

[Taern]

StarCraft was good, but not particularly more amazing than any other RTS at the time. The reason it has such a following is because Blizzard supported it for years which is completely unlike any other company, so anyone getting SC2 knows they'll keep getting support for the next decade.

It also had extremely good balance, and a decent story.

That's not a distinguishing feature among RTS games.

Really? Because say, Age of Empires, or Command and Conquer had pretty "interesting" balance.

 

[Jewrean]

Blizzard puts heaps of time and effort into making their games a complete package. They make sure the story and presentation is always top notch and they always listen to the community in terms of game play tweaks. Every single Blizzard game I have played has always been near the top of its given genre. There are some that simply don't like SC for it's countering system or because they are biased based no their opinion on the company itself. In the end you need to make up your own mind about the game for yourself as we all have a differing opinion. In terms of RTSes in general however it's probably a good idea to play SC1, Age of Empires, Company of Heroes, and the Dawn of War series for starters to name a few.

 

[Xyrak]

StarCraft was good, but not particularly more amazing than any other RTS at the time. The reason it has such a following is because Blizzard supported it for years which is completely unlike any other company, so anyone getting SC2 knows they'll keep getting support for the next decade.

It also had extremely good balance, and a decent story.

That's not a distinguishing feature among RTS games.

uhmmm ... what? Please see below

In most RTS games, the different factions are pretty much carbon copies of each other, or else they'll be terribly unbalanced. In Starcraft, the three races are very different yet well balanced.

 

[FretfulGnome]

RTS's are that rare breed of game where you either love them or you hate them. If you've never played an RTS, and you're interested in trying one, then you can't get much better than Starcraft, so just buy it. Just expect to get your ass handed to you until you get the hang of it.

 

[goingloud]

Starcraft 1 was a genre defining game that gained widespread success mainly due to the fact that to succeed at the game on a competitive level you need tremendous focus, logic, and reasoning accompanied by ridiculous amounts of micro management http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbpCLqryN-Q these all combine to make a uniquely challenging game often compared to "chess on steroids" easy to learn impossible to master what starcraft 2 is is starcraft 1 with new units much better online and HD graphics personally i think this is enough i loved campaign and I've had time to play quite a bit in the online modes as well let me say the game always finds you a equal leveled partner to play against also it includes challenge mode which works as a skill building area for transitioning from campaign to multi-player.

I do not have anything bad to say about starcraft it was a long time coming and the polish shows and i strongly recommend it to you

 

[godofallu]

Let me explain RTS games to you.

Start with a birds eye view of a very brownish and bland landscape. Now add some ore and trees and a small area to start a village.

Then you make tiny ant like troops and tell them to mine ore and collect previously mentioned logs while you watch.

20 Minutes later you have made a few buildings and now the "fun starts". You get to make your first military units.

20 Minutes later you have a giant army ready to go. You send them off in a giant group to fight your opponents village.

There is a fight which you watch from above and one player wins and another loses.

Those tiny units in starcraft are slightly different than in other rts's.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

Oddly enough, I think SC2 is a great buy if you've never played SC1. It will seem fresh and creative to you. That's not a backhanded compliment or a knock on anyone who likes SC2, either. I still believe it's mostly an updated version of a 12 year old game, but that was a pretty damn influential and enjoyable game. If I hadn't played the first, SC2 would probably blow me away.

Edit: that youtube vid is a fantastic example of someone taking all the fun out of playing videogames. Those guys enjoy the rush of victory, and the sense of accomplishment, to be sure, but they can't honestly enjoy the stress-filled micromanagement that defines that speed of play.

 

[Kurokami]

So as I'm sure so little of you know, Starcraft 2 was released recently. Yes, I'm sure you're as surprised as I am, but before you faint from shock, be kind enough to explain what is so great about the game to me. I have never played a Starcraft game before, let alone an RTS. The question is, should I get Starcraft 2, and why or why not? What is so frakking great about it? Or is everything just a giant hype machine?

I can't sell SC2 to you if you don't have much interest in RTS's, I will say however that it has incredible balance and 3 very distinct races which will have you playing in very different ways. It will also allow for user made content, which will end up with FPS maps, or Adventure games, etc.

Oddly enough, I think SC2 is a great buy if you've never played SC1. It will seem fresh and creative to you. That's not a backhanded compliment or a knock on anyone who likes SC2, either. I still believe it's mostly an updated version of a 12 year old game, but that was a pretty damn influential and enjoyable game. If I hadn't played the first, SC2 would probably blow me away.

Don't take any offense to this post, but honestly I have no clue what you guys expected from the game. A new race I guess I could understand but they've introduced plenty of new units, redesigned graphics worked alot on the editor, added story. Why would you call it an 'update' or 'expansion' instead of a sequel? And by that standard how can anyone logically call MW2 or L4D2 sequels? (Personally, I don't though)

That's not to pick on you or anything by the way, the question stands sincere, I don't know what people who say that wanted.

 

[twcblaze]

Oddly enough, I think SC2 is a great buy if you've never played SC1. It will seem fresh and creative to you. That's not a backhanded compliment or a knock on anyone who likes SC2, either. I still believe it's mostly an updated version of a 12 year old game, but that was a pretty damn influential and enjoyable game. If I hadn't played the first, SC2 would probably blow me away.

for me, it's actually quite the opposite, I don't think I'd enjoy starcraft 2 if I hadn't started playing the first when I was 8... 12 years ago.

on topic though: my recommendation would be to buy starcraft 1, it's like, $10 tops, it'll be a solid introduction to the genre and the series with a minimal investment gamble, because SC2 is basically a more refined version of the original