I’ve been playing SC2 since beta and while fun, it’s the same feel as the original Starcraft, with some new units, powers and buildings.  Had this been 5 years ago, I wouldn’t really care, but after 10 years of waiting I would have expected more than just a few new units.  There’s no new gameplay systems or strategy changes in Starcraft 2, you still need to build and gather resources as quickly as possible and create a bigger army than your enemy to win.

However Blizzard has added some very nice additions to single player.  There is a full achievements list that players can get from each mission and once you’ve completed the single player campaign you open up Challenge Mode which provides 9 more Challenges with achievements that are actually great fun.  I haven’t beat’n them all yet, but I’m working on it.

Blizzard also added a lobby system for single player where you can upgrade units and buildings with credits you earn during each mission.  You also gather Zerg and Protoss research points during missions which can be used to further upgrade your forces.  The upgrade system added a MMORPG element to the game which is a welcomed addition and since you can’t earn enough credits to upgrade everything,  you really have to pick which unit you like using the best and upgrade those.

Getting into the actual gameplay, nothing new was really added that would separate it from the original Starcraft.  All the maps were very well thought out and fun to play, but again nothing really new.   The new units are obviously fun to play and you’ll need to rethink the strategies you used in the original SC.

The graphics change is nice, but the 3D camera is really just a gimmick that Blizzard can use to say SC2 is completely 3D.  The graphics are very similar to what World of Warcraft looks, good, but a bit cartoony. I didn’t once change the camera angle while playing and really don’t see any reason why you would ever, aside from just playing around with it.

Overall Starcraft 2 is great game, but after 10 years of waiting I feel like it could have been more. The upgrade system is a very nice addition, but that’s really the only new thing that Starcraft 2 introduced.   Strategies remain the same, build as many units as your can and overwhelm your opponent.

While I’m disappointed there weren’t any real changes to Starcraft2, the game is great, extremely polished and reminds me of my days in college playing the original SC to 3am.

Score: 9/10

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty – Patch 1.0.2

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where campaign mission victories would not always trigger properly.
• Fixed an issue where some players were unable to access single-player features.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Beta Is Now Live!
The Koprulu sector rings once more with the sounds of battle, for the public beta test of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty has officially begun! Invitations to participate in the beta test are now being delivered. As with previous Blizzard Entertainment titles, the beta-test process for StarCraft II will occur in phases. In each phase, we will be selecting players who meet specific criteria and who have opted in via their Battle.net accounts.

Players who have been invited to participate in the beta test will need to have a Battle.net account. For more information on the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty beta test, please read the FAQ http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=23094049320&sid=5000 and our recent media alert.

If you didn’t receive a beta test invite, don’t worry — it’s possible that you’ll be added in a later phase. Keep an eye on the email address associated with your Battle.net account, and stay tuned to StarCraft2.com for further updates.

Additionally, please keep discussion regarding the StarCraft II Beta consolidated to this thread. Thanks!