Give people what they want, and they will buy it. Boy, did Blizzard deliver. I purchased the ultimate collector’s edition of Starcraft 2. Yea, it was pricey. Being the Illustrator that I am, I take great pride in a product which spotlights its conceptual artist crew, acknowledges the music (thank you soundtrack guy!), and provides homage to its roots. Blizzard is proud of what they have done and the collector’s edition does not disappoint.
Now keep in mind, when I was growing up I was a big Command and Conquer (Westwood Studios) fan. The cult hit which was Starcraft 2 never appealed to me. Having witnessed EA’s cannibalisation of the C&C franchise as of late, I was ready for a sure thing. And after all…I thought PC gaming was done! Ssshhhhhhyeaaaa! Right! I don’t know if this is legal or not, but I have provided a pic of one of the cinematic sequences below. All in game 3d thank you very much. Kudos to the art crew. Starcraft 2 in game sequences put any XBOX title to shame. It just looks THAT beautiful. From the IK all the way to the texture mapping, I just got goose bumps all over. OK! I have to see more. What more have you given me to look at, Blizzard?
The game itself is awe inspiring. My question with this title was simple. How is Blizzard going to revamp in game graphics and keep frame rates down at the same time? Leave it to a few artistic geniuses to figure that one out. You get lost in watching the skeletal sequences of each little unit in action, enough so that I didn’t even realize the lush organic 3D landscapes scrolling from side to side. Volumetrics are perfect. I’ve always played RTS games panned out a bit. Yet, Starcraft 2 had me in my seat with the very first mission, zoomed in Dungeon Siege style, ready to take on the next nasty.
Now people are blasting the game for issues which have nothing to do with the actual game. You know, some of us actually have jobs that we don’t have time to explore the worlds of multi-player, play in LAN tournaments eating Doritos from sun up to sun down. Sorry LAN players. Playing video games while staying at grandmas is becoming a thing of the past. Blizzard delivered on everything I wanted as a single player. You want a good game, Starcraft 2 delivers.
