The XX review with Tracey

I’ve been waitin’ on you.

When the first StarCraft game came out I didn’t even own a PC and as I’d just turned 18, was more interested in buying shoes to go out in at the weekend than sitting at home fighting Zergs. 12 years later and it’s a whole different story as Blizzard have delivered a hugely exciting and totally addictive sequel that will satisfy fans who adored the original game, whilst opening the StarCraft universe up to a whole new audience who have been lapping it up and spending their shoe money on the fastest selling, real-time strategy game of all time. After much hype and long queues (SCI-FI-LONDON were there at the world wide launch, check out the photos HERE), within 48 hours of release, StarCraft II had shifted over 1.5 million copies. There’s been plenty of hoo-har and hearsay about the price, about whether big worldwide launches are relevant anymore, about Blizzard's updated Battle.net and, of course, the big question – after all this time, is it going to be any good? Surely 1.5 million people can’t be wrong?

They’re absolutely not. StarCraft II delivers on every aspect and happily is extremely accessible regardless of whether you’re a hardcore Korean StarCraft-playing superstar or a total newcomer to the ongoing squabbles between the Protoss, Zerg and Terran races of the Koprulu Sector. Set in the distant future, it’s a well-balanced package that provides attention-to-detail whilst being beautifully simple, has an incredibly complex backstory without ever becoming confusing or irrelevant and, most importantly, allows players to tailor the whole experience to suit their own playing style and ability. Never played StarCraft before? Not a problem, you’ll be filled in on everything that’s happened so far as the game is loading, so hold back on leaving it running whilst you grab a cup of tea. The tutorial is quick and painless, guiding you through the essentials of game play without making you feel like a totally dummy being taught how to blink. After that, it’s up to you to figure out the best way to complete each mission. No jumping in the deep end and no wimping around in the baby pool either - Blizzard give you the armbands but you have to do the kicking.

With gigantic muscles and a vendetta to match, ex-Marshal Jim Raynor, after years of being betrayed, shot at and generally given a rough time of it had hit an all time low, but true to his word he sets off on a course of revenge against the despicable Dominion leader Arcturus Mengsk. His story in the single player mode is compelling and unfolds perfectly for those of you getting to grips with the series for the first time. Often feeling more like a attractive role-playing title than RTS, you can explore areas of Jim’s ship, talk to crew members who often have different but important opinions and information to share, hire mercenaries or simply chill out listening to the Jukebox, talking about he good ole days with Space convict Tychus, a guy with a voice so low, it makes booming thunder sound like a high pitched girly whine.

Essentially this is a game where thinking ahead and bossing people around whilst keeping an eye on the purse strings will give you the best chance of eliminating the enemy before they eliminate you. Mine sparkly blue crystals and smelly green gas in order to build up your units, which will enable you to either mine more resources or build training centres, creating masses of land and air troops. Immediately deciding how and when you delegate will influence how the forthcoming mission turns out. It’s a delicate juggling act trying to keep resources flowing and supply depots full whilst also training, upgrading and rounding up your burly race. The tense, pressure-building atmosphere as battle looms is thrilling and dilly-dallying is an absolute no-no.

You can choose your own way through 29 missions that range from escorting, defending and full on attacking in their design, and with plenty of pick-and-mix technological upgrades combined with specially designed challenge mode mini-games that will introduce you to a range of strategies, you’ll soon find yourself equipped for multiplayer madness - and you will need the practice! One of the many tweaks in this game from the original is the sheer pace of play. Multiplayer games can be over in the blink in of an eye if you fail to build your units quickly, storm in with the wrong tactics or, even more soul destroying, carry on thinking you’re doing everything right and planning your big move right before waves of enemies rush in and totally annihilate you! Thankfully, you can watch back your games to analyze exactly where it all went horribly wrong, whereas winners can always find way to improve.

Deemed a controversial decision by Blizzard, you can only play the Terran faction in single player and will just have to sulk and wait for the Zerg and Protoss campaigns to be released in the future to see the entirety of the story,but it’s still a huge and engaging campaign that can easily take many hours to play through (depending on your style and level of difficulty, which again can be tailored for casual first-timers to hardcore experts). Ian has been getting up extra early in order to spend well over an hour on each mission before going to work in the last week. In multiplayer mode you can play any of the races, each with their own characteristics and strengths. If the Terran race, who are adaptable experts at survival and building aren’t to your taste then maybe choose the Zerg who are fierce, as they use the strength-in-numbers method of attack and they can also burrow underground or eat speed-inducing Creep. Or try your hand with the Protoss, who have exceptional technological capabilities, including warps and shields, plus they have psionic powers enabling them to bend the will of the universe. This melting pot of characteristics keeps you on your tactical toes and allows for huge variety in matches.

Countless times over the past 12 years, Blizzard could have bent to the will of the fans and industry experts who were begging for a release date. They remained firm and always stated it would be released only when they knew it would be ready and they could deliver. Expertly designed, gorgeous to look at and very addictive and awesome to play, it has certainly been worth the wait. Straightforward yet undeniably fun, StarCraft II rightly deserves its place at the top of the RTS leaderboard.

The XY Review with Ian

Zerg Stomping Across The Universe

This game is an absolute beast. It’s a militarising, science-fictionalising, real-time strategising behemoth. If military, sci-fi, real-time or strategy aren’t your thing – cast your prejudices aside good humans, put your hand in pocket, take out your cash and make yourself happy – it’s time to man up.
Like Tracey, I’d never even been tempted to venture into the world of RTS, but the hype surrounding this game and the fact that Blizzard had waited and waited and waited till it was ready, (12 years after the original StarCraft) had captured my interest. I got to play a beta version at the SCI-FI-LONDON Film Festival earlier in the year, as well as seeing some of the teasers on the big screen and like a little alien fish I was hooked.

Here’s your back story: It’s the 26th century in a distant glalaxy - we’ve got Terrans (humans), Zerg, (angry insects) and Protoss (intelligent aliens). Wings of Liberty is set four years after the events of StarCraft: Brood War and charts the adventures of Jim Raynor as he attempts to eradicate the Terran Dominion.

Strategy is as strategy does. You have to employ your tactical nous instead of relentless button pulping to kill enemies – it’s war games that split your head right down the centre. Should I attack? Should I defend? Should I gather resources? It’s also deadly addictive. Each mission lasts around 15-20 minutes, so you think, I’ll just gain some more credits to power up my next splurge in the armoury and before you know it – kaboom! 2 hours gone – and you’ve ventured even deeper and further into the game. You may even meet the Queen (of blades) somewhere along the way.

In some of those early battles, defending my base had my adrenalin kicking out a heavy bass line in my ears. I was so engrossed in the world and was madly over producing unnecessary marines, bunkers and hellions just to fend off the tiniest of zerg swarms. But I managed it. This is also down to the awesome soundtrack; it helps build the tension at just the right moments before - woah nelly – there’s a hundred beasts baying for your blood and minerals.

The world of StarCraft II is huge (Tracey says 26 playable missions – but I’ve heard there are 29 in total, depending on the choices you make during each game – non-linear, I like it!), full of space scamps who’ve crossed, double-crossed and gone right back round the galaxies to shaft their opponent one more time to get what they want. The range of infantry, vehicles, base defence units and star ships is first-rate and each one can then be pimped a little bit more in the armoury, for example, by making the defence 30% stronger, the flame spurt 25% wider allowing you to really personalise your choices.

The story telling and narrative feels epic and believable enough. The integrated cut scenes between missions give you detail and context and although the early missions lack a little urgency, the stakes are pretty high – with the end of a world a distinct possibility – the pace soon picks up. The difficulty options are good, you can tailor it to your ability or if you’re feeling frisky – your stupidity.

Blizzard are obviously fiercely protective of their game and don’t want it space pirated and so with every copy of the game purchased, you can only register one Battle.net (recently relaunched for this release) account with it, so if there’s 2 or 3 of you in the same household who want to play online under different pseudonyms, you’re going to have to shell out for your own copy I’m afraid or play as a guest where you can’t accrue achievements and, not surprisingly, this has caused a few gripes on the fan forums. WINGS OF LIBERTY is also the first in the trilogy playing from the human p.o.v. before being able to be the Zerg honey herself – Queen of Blades and finally Zeratul in the Protoss. StarCraft II focuses more heavily on the multiplayer aspect for you to compete and destroy your online friends/enemies. An improvement in Battle.net has created a new ladder system for ranked games and new matchmaking — designed to pair players of equal skill levels. It also has a replay function, allowing you to bask in the glory of victory or pick over the carcass of an embarrassing defeat.

Another fan gripe was confirmed when Blizzard said that the game would not support cross-server play, restricting gamers to only play against local opponents - for instance Europeans vs Europeans, US vs US. So we can’t play against the Koreans who love StarCraft so much and actually have Shoutcasts and reviewers commentating live on games as they take place; I’ve gotta watch one of those. StarCraft is so big in Korea that Blizzard entered into a marketing agreement with Korean Air in which two of the airline's planes on both domestic and international routes prominently display StarCraft II advertising featuring Jim Raynor on the fuselage. I want to ride that airplane and see who’s on board!

So if you’re a vet or if you’re a virgin to StarCraft, there’s plenty to draw you in. I’d be quite happy to wait another 12 years (replaying the single player mode or venturing out into multiplayer madness) for the next encounter – but I know, in the not too distant future, in a land not far from here parts two and three are coming and that’s quite enough to satisfy the super-bad, intelligent alien in me.

Developed & published by Blizzard Entertainment Inc. for PC and Mac

Available now from Play and all good retailers.