tag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:/games/14652Cheerful Ghost: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty2024-03-29T14:10:30+00:002019-11-16T10:05:51Ztag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:Post/19622014-04-03T22:55:59Z2019-11-16T10:05:51Z/Azurephile/posts/1962/got-my-wingsStarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Review<div class='youtube-player' data-id='rnSlg-I03oQ'></div> <br/><strong>Review<ul>
<br><li>Recommended <img alt="+1" src="/images/emoji/unicode/1f44d.png" style="vertical-align:middle" height="20" width="20" title=":+1:" /></li>
<br><li>Followed by Heart of the Swarm expansion</li>
<br><li>Legacy of the Void expansion coming</li>
<br><li>Different levels of difficulty available</li>
<br><li>Achievements and rewards</li>
<br><li>$40, less than a common PS3 game</li>
<br><li>Good music, funny things units say</li>
</ul></strong>StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty did not disappoint. I loved the visual upgrades and the story, which I thought were great, just like the original, but set four years later.<br><br><strong>Spoiler-free story intro:</strong> Many of the original characters have returned such as Kerrigan, Raynor, Mengsk, and Zeratul. The Zerg and Protoss are still about, but you don't control those forces in very many missions. For the Protoss, you get to play some missions with Zeratul, which are really cool. As for the Zerg, you have to wait until you play the Heart of the Swarm expansion, which is where I'm at now.<br><br><strong>A new expansion, is planned for the Protoss,</strong> as can be seen on the same wiki (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/StarCraft_II:_Legacy_of_the_Void">http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/StarCraft_II:_Legacy_of_the_Void</a>).<br><br><strong>Difficulty:</strong> At the beginning, the missions were very easy, as the game was teaching you how to play. The level of difficulty of missions increased along the way, but luckily I could always chose the level of difficulty of each mission. In the end, I think I finished the last mission of the campaign on Casual. When the game chose to really kick my ass, that's what I did sometimes. <br><br>Still, there are <strong>achievements and rewards</strong> unlocked by beating a mission on a certain level of difficulty (such as Normal or Hard) and accomplishing optional objectives in the mission. I like how this game does this, which adds replay-ability and also value. Still, <strong>I think I paid less than $40</strong> for the game and I'd been used to spending maybe about $60 on a game for the PS3.<br><br>SC2 is in many ways much like the original, but with some obvious improvements (such as the graphics) and with additional features (such as rewards and achievements). While there was <strong>new music</strong> (including the awesome song at the end during the credits), <strong>much of the original music returned</strong>, which I enjoyed. I can't recall all of what the units said when you clicked on them, but they still do that and it's still funny. SCVs, for example, say, "in the rear with the gear." Banshee pilots say, "apocalypse....now!"<br><br>In the last post, we talked about how the game (along with other Blizzard titles) have <strong>different editions.</strong> I found some more information about them at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/StarCraft_II#Notes">http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/StarCraft_II#Notes</a>, which states: <i>"On December 21st, 2010, a demo version of Wings of Liberty became available. The player could play through the first three missions, or play multiplayer (but only as Terrans against an AI opponent).<br><br>As of August 2011 the "Starter Edition" became available. This gives access to the first three missions of Wings of Liberty plus either The Evacuation or Smash and Grab (player's choice), the first two challenges: Tactical Command and Covert Ops, access to Terrans in Single-Player vs AI and Custom Games in the following maps: Discord IV, High Orbit, The Shattered Temple, Xel'Naga Caverns and the custom map StarJeweled, subject to change over time. Achievements and campaign progress will be saved in case the player upgrades to the full version of Wings of Liberty."</i><br><br><strong>Anyone who enjoyed the original StarCraft, would most likely enjoy this sequel, it's well worth it.</strong> I also really enjoyed "Terran Up the Night" which can be found on YouTube (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUqG5gB8nbI">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUqG5gB8nbI</a>).2019-11-16T10:05:51ZAzurephiletag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:Post/19462014-03-23T20:12:18Z2019-11-10T23:46:04Z/Azurephile/posts/1946/starcraft-ii-first-impressionsStarCraft II: Wings of Liberty First Impressions<div class='youtube-player' data-id='rnSlg-I03oQ'></div> <br/><strong>First impressions:<br><ul>
<li>Recommended <img alt="+1" src="/images/emoji/unicode/1f44d.png" style="vertical-align:middle" height="20" width="20" title=":+1:" /></li>
<br><li>Has an expansion</li>
<br><li>Available as Starter, Standard, and Collector's Editions</li>
<br><li>Graphical upgrade over original StarCraft game</li>
<br><li>Quick and easy tutorial</li>
<br><li>Achievements</li>
</ul>
<br>Expansion and editions:</strong> Since getting my new PC, I've been desperate for a new epic game to play. I decided to get StarCraft II (along with the expansion). I haven't installed the expansion yet, I intend to do that when I finish with the original game. There are apparently different versions of StarCraft II. After I installed the game, it told me to upgrade. I noticed I had installed the Starter Edition and had to use my code that came with the game to unlock the Standard Edition. I believe there is also a Collector's Edition which can be purchased, which unlocks more upgrades and units.<br><br>Installing the game took a long time, really that's because of the size of the updates I had to download (at least 2 gigs, I think). While I had the game installing and updating, I decided to search YouTube for some videos regarding the story of StarCraft (the original). I found plenty of videos and was glad that I was able to recall the original story.<br><br><strong>My first impression of StarCraft II is that it is amazing and beautiful!</strong> Some of the old characters have returned with their original voice actors. The main difference is that everything, including old characters, have a brand new look. If nothing else, <strong>the game is a huge visual upgrade to the original.</strong> Even for it's age, I think the original StarCraft looks good, but the sequel gives a vast improvement on visuals, which really should go without saying.<br><br><strong>The tutorial section is quick and easy to get through.</strong> One new thing about the game is that there are various <strong>achievements unlocked by completing certain objectives,</strong> such as completing a mission on a harder level of difficulty. Other objectives include picking up Protoss Artifacts or obtaining Zerg research. These are available in the Terran missions, which is the campaign I'm currently working on. Various upgrades are available for purchase of in-game "credits." So far, I don't think I've run into any new units.<br><br>The terrain and background got a huge visual upgrade as well. On last mission I played, I was on a planet where I had to mine expensive minerals, but had to work around the lava that would overflow low-lying terrain every few minutes. So far, <strong>I'm very impressed with the game.</strong> Although there is some new music, the original music is in the game as well.2019-11-10T23:46:04ZAzurephiletag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:Post/10482013-03-05T05:33:20Z2014-05-12T23:48:20Z/jdodson/posts/1048/starcraft-ii-wings-of-liberty-discountStarcraft II: Wings of Liberty Discount<img src='http://i.imgur.com/mh7K4gy.jpg' class='img-responsive' alt='http://i.imgur.com/mh7K4gy.jpg' /> <br/>I love Starcraft and as such need to let you all know if something awesome happens in that arena. As it so turns out now until March 12th you can get Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty for $20 on Battle.net which just so happens to be the release date of the Heart of the Swarm Expansion as well.<br><br>Both games for $60? No too bad.<br><br><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/8876310/Save_50_on_StarCraft_II_Wings_of_Liberty%E2%80%94Limited_Time_Only_-3_1_2013">http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/8876310/Save_50_on_StarCraft_II_Wings_of_Liberty%E2%80%94Limited_Time_Only_-3_1_2013</a>2014-05-12T23:48:20Zjdodsontag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:Post/5132012-08-31T03:44:56Z2014-05-13T06:09:37Z/jdodson/posts/513/a-really-fun-documentary-about-the-starcraft-craze-theA really fun documentary about the Starcraft craze. The<div class='youtube-player' data-id='COuA-MiL3L0'></div> <br/>A really fun documentary about the Starcraft craze. The video covers the history of Startcraft to Starcraft 2 and eSports. <br><br>A fun watch on the eve of PAX.2014-05-13T06:09:37Zjdodsontag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:Post/4452012-08-08T02:04:01Z2014-05-13T06:09:36Z/jdodson/posts/445/recently-blizzard-updated-starcraft-to-version-1-5-andRecently Blizzard updated Starcraft to version 1.5 and<img src='http://i.imgur.com/3FMXV.jpg' class='img-responsive' alt='http://i.imgur.com/3FMXV.jpg' /> <br/>Recently Blizzard updated Starcraft to version 1.5 and changed the UI and added several interesting features. Snipped from the article:<br><br>"<strong>Patch 1.5.0 Arcade has finally arrived, and it brings sweeping changes to the Battle.net experience. The new Arcade offers the StarCraft community an exciting new way to discover, rate, and play a wide array of community and Blizzard created games, as well as a plethora of options that will help you swiftly find the kinds of experiences you’re looking for. Meanwhile, the StarCraft menu has consolidated all the competitive and cooperative StarCraft II gameplay you’re familiar with into one easy to navigate place. With the new Battle.net UI, menus are now easier and faster to navigate, and a suite of new Editor tools provide game creators the power to bring their visions to life like never before.</strong>"<br><br>After trying it out I have to say the new 1.5 UI is much, much better than the previous one. It seems less cluttered and makes more sense to my eye. Its also much easier to navigate through new and popular user created maps. Blizzard has a few maps in the mix as well such as Auir Chef, Starjeweled and Left 2 Die. Ive only played Starjeweled, which is a cross between Bejewled and ... DoTA. Sounds odd, but its quite a bit of fun. Wasn't great my first try and as such was verbally assaulted by my team members, that all said, it was quite a bit of fun :)<br><br>For more details head over to Battle.net:<br><br><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/6823327">http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/6823327</a>2014-05-13T06:09:36Zjdodsontag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:Post/3302012-06-05T03:14:43Z2014-05-13T06:09:29Z/jdodson/posts/330/i-know-starcraft-2-has-been-released-for-quite-some-time-butI know Starcraft 2 has been released for quite some time but<div class='youtube-player' data-id='SG_3R9BoVvg'></div> <br/>I know Starcraft 2 has been released for quite some time but today seemed like a good time to write about it. <br><br>I love Starcraft. When Broodwar came out I really dug the additional units they added and tore through all the campaigns. When Starcraft 2 was announced I was ecstatic. All I really wanted was Starcraft with an upgraded interface and smooth graphics, the original formula I felt was perfect. I pre-ordered the collectors edition(as I sort of do now days) and when the game launched I raced through the single-player game.<br><br>The game is fantastic. It takes place after Broodwar and stars Jim Raynor as the leader of the human opposition to General Mengsk and the other bad stuff out there in the Universe. The game improves on the ol' Starcraft formula and takes it up a few notches by enhancing multi-player and your options in single player as well. The single player story is lengthy and fun. Blizzard really changed up the kinds of things you did in single player so it didn't feel boring or formulaic. Some missions you build your base, some are essentially "hero maps." Each mission allows you a main quest line but you can optionally finish the side missions if you so desire.<br><br>Unlike Diablo 3, Starcraft 2 comes with a offline single player mode after you install it. I played it on battle.net and as such experienced trophies, something I felt really added to SC2's unique spin. Each map has special trophies you can earn for doing awesome stuff, like beating it on hard mode or doing other map specific radness, like killing a bad guy only using lava in a map where you have to avoid lava yourself.<br><br>A really fun element of Starcraft 2 for me was the story. I liked Jim Raynors character and how he related to the Blizzards world. I liked how the game wove in the Protoss for a few really awesome missions in the middle of the game(I won't spoil the story, but its a fun set of missions). As per Blizzard normal, the cinematics are great.<br><br>I delved a smidge into online multi-player but I didn't really stick with it. For a few weeks I played as the Zerg and got a pretty reasonable build going that stacked up to hard bots and a few humans. Playing with friends is always fun but for whatever reason SC2 multi-player didn't stick with me. Don't get me wrong, its really really fun just not something I come back to often for whatever reason. I imagine it has to do with that I know few of my friends that have it and fewer that play it. If you want to play sometime, drop me a line id love to dust off my Zerg build.<br><br>I am very excited for Heart of the Swarm to drop and now that Blizzard has released the awesome Diablo 3 I am hoping they drop the release date for Heart of the Swarm. I love playing as the Zerg so I am doubly excited for this expansion. I wonder what fun bits await they that snag the collectors edition? The new units they add will be great as they generally are. I guess we will find out the details at some point, hopefully soon!2014-05-13T06:09:29Zjdodson