About a month or so ago, the beta for the first part of the Starcraft Trilogy was opened. Though the beta is invitation only and invitation seems to be rather random, I finally got my key the other day and have been playing non stop ever since.
Alot of people have complained that it feels simply like a graphics update of the original Starcraft, I think these people took one look at the game and decided to talk out their ass. Starcraft II is taking a perfect formula and expanding on it, the core game is exactly the same, but I guarantee there would have been more pissed if Blizzard had tampered a perfect formula.
The graphics are fine, in a game that doesnt need to look pretty to be fantastic (as the original proves still to this day). The gameplay somehow feels faster then the original, which is saying something considering the original was one of the fastest most frantic games out there. Although I would say I am above amateur level in the original, I have been getting my ass handed to me over and over this time around. To say it is the same game is ridiculous, I have yet to see all the new units myself, but with the removal of certain units and addition of some, the game has changed entirely. No longer can one pester a potential rival expansion with a cloaked wraith, and for that matter, Terrans can now jetpack into bases backdoor style, Protoss finally have a fantastic air unit other then their Carriers (Void Ray), and Zergs have been the least appealling to me so far.
As far as balance, I am not sure if I am getting my ass kicked because certain units are overpowered, or because I just havent found the correct way to handle them yet. Notable units are the Terran Thor who have plown through my baes over and over, the Battlecruisers seem faster, and much more efficient, Protoss Void Rays have several times made me feel like a pathetic human in 'War Of The Worlds', and Zerg.... Well I have yet to be defeated by a Zerg player, perhaps they are the worst of the lot this time, or perhaps (and more likely) no one has figured them out to well yet.
I am going to play this, over and over, as new strategies develop I am sure it will be figured out very shortly which units need to be nerfed and the game can generally balance itself a bit more. It took the original Starcraft about a year or two after release to finally become the wonderfully balanced game it is today, and I do not doubt the same will apply here.
This beta gets a huge thumbs up from a decade long Starcraft player, makes me very eager to play the finished product.
Alot of people have complained that it feels simply like a graphics update of the original Starcraft, I think these people took one look at the game and decided to talk out their ass. Starcraft II is taking a perfect formula and expanding on it, the core game is exactly the same, but I guarantee there would have been more pissed if Blizzard had tampered a perfect formula.
The graphics are fine, in a game that doesnt need to look pretty to be fantastic (as the original proves still to this day). The gameplay somehow feels faster then the original, which is saying something considering the original was one of the fastest most frantic games out there. Although I would say I am above amateur level in the original, I have been getting my ass handed to me over and over this time around. To say it is the same game is ridiculous, I have yet to see all the new units myself, but with the removal of certain units and addition of some, the game has changed entirely. No longer can one pester a potential rival expansion with a cloaked wraith, and for that matter, Terrans can now jetpack into bases backdoor style, Protoss finally have a fantastic air unit other then their Carriers (Void Ray), and Zergs have been the least appealling to me so far.
As far as balance, I am not sure if I am getting my ass kicked because certain units are overpowered, or because I just havent found the correct way to handle them yet. Notable units are the Terran Thor who have plown through my baes over and over, the Battlecruisers seem faster, and much more efficient, Protoss Void Rays have several times made me feel like a pathetic human in 'War Of The Worlds', and Zerg.... Well I have yet to be defeated by a Zerg player, perhaps they are the worst of the lot this time, or perhaps (and more likely) no one has figured them out to well yet.
I am going to play this, over and over, as new strategies develop I am sure it will be figured out very shortly which units need to be nerfed and the game can generally balance itself a bit more. It took the original Starcraft about a year or two after release to finally become the wonderfully balanced game it is today, and I do not doubt the same will apply here.
This beta gets a huge thumbs up from a decade long Starcraft player, makes me very eager to play the finished product.
