What follows is the result of playing a very large amount of Starcraft 2 in the days following the game’s release.  I initially intended to review the game in the style of an actual, proper, grown-up reviewer but quickly discovered that either I am incapable of the task or the game, for reasons that will quickly become apparent, defies a standard review format.

Either way, it’s all after the jump.  To let you know what game I’m actually discussing, here’s the trailer.

In 1998, Blizzard entertainment, the company responsible for the very popular Warcraft Real-Time Strategy franchise, released what appeared to be the first game in a new franchise: Starcraft.

Starcraft was a massive success.  Not only was it the best-selling game of 1998, but it went on to sell over 9.5 million copies in the following decade.

The reason why it was so successful is simple enough – it’s excellent.

The game concept is simple:  collect sufficient resources to build an army capable of defeating your opponent.  Where Starcraft succeeds is in its near-perfect balance between the playable factions.  By limiting the number of races to choose from (Terran, Zerg, or Protoss) and thoroughly stripping back the upgrade trees available, Starcraft turned the paradigm of RTS gaming – as it existed – upside down.  Other games gave you lots of options, and more than enough of whatever in-game resource was required to buy them.  Starcraft didn’t. There weren’t a lot of choices you could make, but then you were always so starved of resources that every choice felt a lot more consequential.

As a result, they made a game that was instantly accessible to the novice, and incredibly deep to the expert player.  Multiplayer battles were not won on the grounds of bold winning moves: they were wars of attrition.  At the highest level, it wasn’t a question of simply choosing the right units to beat the other army – it was about choosing the right units and using them in the right way at the right time and forcing your opponent to waste resources.

Alongside the finely-tuned gameplay Starcraft boasted a pleasant, undemanding visual style, and a compelling storyline that happily wore its influences on its sleeve.

It almost seems strange, then, that Blizzard would decide to wait twelve years to release Starcraft 2 – they announced it was in development back in 2003, after all – but having since bought and played Starcraft 2, I am beginning to understand why.

Starcraft 2 does not need a review.  It doesn’t, because anyone reading this will already know whether or not they are going to buy it.

Much like the rise of ebooks has been called the end of modern publishing, the rise of the casual game has been hailed as the vanguard of a new era of gaming that will effectively kill off the “hardcore” old guard.  Quite a few industry figures have commented on the veracity of this statement, but none so emphatically as Blizzard has with the release of Starcraft 2.

This game is aimed at the hardcore market.  More specifically, it’s aimed right at the 9.5 million people who bought the first Starcraft.

One of the 9.5 million Starcraft players, with her Collector’s Edition, on launch day.

Gameplay-wise, it is exactly the same as its predecessor.  There are new units, upgrades and abilities, yes, but the absolute core of the game – the minimal upgrade trees, relatively expensive units, strong emphasis on structure building – remains the same as it was before.  This confused me at first, mainly because I had been won over by Relic games and their (also very good and welcomingly progressive) Dawn of War series, and it seemed almost backward to return to an older paradigm of RTS gaming.

Then it struck me.  Starcraft 2 has stayed the same because it is intended for people who play Starcraft.  If you played Starcraft, and loved it, then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t enjoy Starcraft 2.  It is a game made for you.

If you’ve never played an RTS before, or have only ever played other RTS games like Dawn of War or Halo Wars or (God help you), Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3, then it might not be as immediately satisfying to you as it will be to a veteran of the first game.

The story is good, but considering it begins in media res (the backstory relegated to a text-based primer during the 12 Gb installation) it takes an awful long time to warm up to the actual dramatic arc.  It depends largely on you already being invested in the characters to carry the story through the fairly dull start.

That’s not say it’s not delivered without panache.  Blizzard have put a lot of polish into the game and have loaded it with Blizzard-themed Easter eggs and geeky shout-outs to various cinematic influences.  Echoes of The Matrix and Firefly soundtracks run heavy in the score, and for the really obsessive player, you can happily sit matching up lines of dialogue with the movies they are cribbed from.

The single player game is very good – putting the story aside, the missions themselves are arranged in such a way that all of the gameplay elements available to you are neatly explained and then demonstrated in missions that suit that element.  For example, one mission takes place on a volcanic planet where the low ground periodically floods with lava.  In order to protect your base, you have to use the “Take Off” command that temporarily disables the building, but does make it safe from ground attack.

However, single player only covers the Terran race (Blizzard have already announced that the Zerg and Protoss races will be represented as single player races in their own games, release dates still TBA) and the tactics you will employ in single player are weak for Terrans and positively suicidal when applied to the other races.  Currently, there is no real tutorial for multiplayer except to jump in and start playing.  And that, for a beginner to the franchise, is the real sticking point.

There’s a saying amongst beginner Go players. “Lose your first hundred games quickly”.  Go is a simple game that quickly reveals incredible levels of depth when played.  Against experienced players, you simply will not win.

Starcraft 2 is the same.  If you are perfectly willing to sit and lose over and over and over again, and learn from every single defeat, then it’s possible you’ll discover a very satisfying, challenging and fun multiplayer game lurking beneath that pile of losses.  Blizzard aren’t going to help you get there, though.  They already have a guaranteed fanbase for their game.  If you want to join in the fun, then you’re going to have to work for it.

Now that’s hardcore.

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Andrew has written 9 posts on WordPunk