What we expected out of such a title. Competitive multiplayer and a satisfying campaign
- I sit at diamond or platinum in all areas of multiplayer
- Recently I completed all achievements in the WoL campaign
- Overall have probably spent ~10 days game time (~1800 games played)
The good:
-The campaign can be as simple or involving as you choose, with normal being a virtual breeze and brutal being the nightmarish torture you are looking for by attempting it. The achievements can really add to the satisfaction of the campaign, shown off as virtual badges to other players.
-The multiplayer is exactly what any RTS player would hope for from a sequel to arguably the greatest and most defining RTS game in history. Races are balanced and updates by blizzard counter most imperfections that are found.
-Arranged teams are fun and simple, giving a much smaller feel to the mass of players within the game
The bad:
-AI of both NPC's and your own units can sometimes be frustratingly inept. Certain units require much more direction from the player than others to work effectively.
-As is the case with many RTS's, flaws are quickly found and exploited by players, and updates often require a couple weeks time for blizzard to have fixed.
-The ranking and lobby system has been completely redone, and has arguably gotten much worse
I will say right off the bat that since the release I have been in love with this game. When it first came out I, like many, skipped the campaign and jumped straight into the multiplayer with a fantastic rush of that same starcraft feel I got from the first game. I worked my way through the ladder and eventually got myself into the campaign which I've been working at on and off for the past few months.
However, this past month I find myself drifting more and more away from this game that I previously would be on for hours a day. Something just feels like it's missing from what kept me sucked in with both SC I and the Warcraft series, and surprisingly, I don't think it's the game play itself that's turning me off. It's what's waiting for you outside your match.
Starcraft 2 did away with the old leveling system and massive lobbies of players with chat box and player listing. While some lobbies have now been included as an update, they are underused and appear inferior to what was previously part of the game experience. Your pregame lobby now leaves you in isolation beyond any friends or party's you might be in.
The means of quantifying your skill has been changed from an honest and simple leveling that is developed over time, to a "show us what you got in 5 games" qualification that, once placed, seeds you in 1 of 4 brackets that can take literally hundreds of games to move up from. For example, in my 1v1 category, i won my first 5 games of qualifying and was placed in platinum, the highest level possible. In my 3v3 random category, I went 3-2 with several abysmal teams, and was placed in bronze, the lowest level possible. While I could seemingly not be dethroned from my platinum position no matter how many games I would lose, my 3v3 category took me over 200 games with a 65% win margin to level up to silver and then gold.
What I am trying to express without bringing my own frustrating plight out too much, is that this change is skill quantification simply seemed unnecessary and hurts many of the more dedicated players looking to distinguish themselves amongst the ranks.
Phew, enough with the rage dump on that.
Overall the game is downright sick and the game play is as close to perfect as an RTS game will ever get. If anyone still is looking at this game wondering whether or not to buy, I suggest you do. It's not only intended for the professional Korean gamer, every skill level can find a niche and have a great time in this competitive multiplayer.
-Zerg rulez