Should I buy Starcraft 2?

[The Funslinger]

So basically, I'm okay at RTS games. I bought Battle for Middle Earth 2, but after I completed the campaigns, it became apparent that the multiplayer was dead, down to a few people only looking to play with specific people.

Starcraft is essentially a nerd sport at this point, I always hear praise of it being such a fantastic RTS, and then there are the tournaments. All in all, it looks fairly attractive, but I've had my experiences with disappointing RTS games. So I'd like a few more opinions.

 

[Goes]

Yes, if you are into really competative multiplayer.

 

[The Funslinger]

Yes, if you are into really competative multiplayer.

I don't really mind whether something is competitive, or not. I want to know if it's really as outstanding as I'm led to believe.

 

[Rack]

What's to say? It's Starcraft. The multiplayer is extremely active though populated by super-hardcore loons, it's entirely generic now having had all it's ideas disseminated into pretty much every RTS for 15 years and it's completely solid. If you want to dedicate some time assigning clicky click to muscle memory then go for it, if not it has a pretty decent campaign but is also kind of pricy. If you want actual strategy go for Frozen Synapse.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

Yeah, it's a great RTS. Just a warning, you will suck at competitive multiplayer for a while. Fortunately there are co-op vs. the computer and scenario battles and all that which are just for fun, not ranking.

 

[rileyrulesu]

The game itself is the best and most popular RTS out there. It is an amazingly well done game. Be warned though, it is one of the most competitive games being played, and if you want to get good, you'll have to do a LOT of studying.

 

[Wicky_42]

Wait for the first expansion to come out and pick up them both at as a discounted set, best plan. Save you a bit of cash, but the game is pretty fucking awesome Honestly though I spend far more time watching commentary on matches than actually playing - it's seriously like a sport, but one I actually like!

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

It's a really good game if you're able to deal with lots of losing.

 

[Grey Walker]

It's fast paced and high stakes, with a half decent story. Check out some reviews and online footage of games, then make your decision.

 

[Morgan Howe]

yes, if you are insane and have nothing better to do
and mutiplayer sucks, especially in this game where people believe their rank defines their worth as a person. not a fun thing to get into.
also as far as RTS goes, it is no where near as good as the original, and i'd still put any Command and Conquer game ,generals and before, over this.
honestly, i'm not a fan boy, but a fan boys opinion is hardly objective.
if you want this, do what i do, wait for the battle chest with all three chapters, saves money

 

[Zyntoxic]

I don't go hardcore over SC II, but I think the campaign is really great, and even though I've never gotten very far in the ladder I think the multiplayer is great too. and if you want som veriety there are alway plenty of customs.

seriously, I'm not much for WoW, and I despise Diablo. SC II, accoarding to me anw, is really the best blizzard game you can get. (yeah, sure the old Warcraft RTS series was decent too but not the mmo, if u ask me)

so sure, buy it if you like the RTS genre.

 

[Phishfood]

Its great, and if you don't feel like being competitive online you can try the custom modes. All sorts of tower defense and rpg maps and such. Also Coop vs AI.

I'm a bit miffed that they are releasing each campaign as a separate game however. Seems a little greedy.

 

[Inconnu24]

Did you ever play the first Starcraft? If you have, then you have an idea of how the mechanics of Starcraft 2 work. I'd suggest you go watch the streams of some pro players and see if you like how the game works.

TwitchTV listing of live SC2 streams. [http://www.twitchtv.com/directory/StarCraft%20II:%20Wings%20of%20Liberty] No big name North American pros are playing right now as it's 9am, but some should be on later. My favorite is Destiny(steven_bonnell_ii), he's a well-known Zerg that likes to discuss the state of metagame quite a bit.

If nothing else, you may be able to find a free trial somewhere. I know a friend gave me one to use before I actually bought the game.

 

[Joccaren]

It is amazing. The online is always full of people, the number of custom maps (although some are absolutely terrible) is incredible, and it is easy to make your own maps (relatively, compared to the WC3 editor, its a nightmare, but it can do far more and is easier than modding some other games).

Its gameplay is very similar to the style used 10 years ago, and it still works. Workers gather resources and build buildings, buildings produce units and research, and combat units fight.

All of the races play differently, and are very well balanced. Some of my posts about Starcraft I will list below, rather than reposting them, but it is definitely worth the money.

My posts with info on the game:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.289739.11488938

In short, it is an incredibly well balanced and polished game, with an unfortunately 'Hollywood Style' campaign, and deep interesting strategy. The game is not for everyone - It is fast paced and if you don't look up some strategy guides, you are unlikely to get past silver league, whilst some people prefer slower gameplay and Less unit/economy management, but it is definitely worth the investment.

Don't worry about only being O.K at RTS, there are many leagues that the game will place you in to match you with players of your skill level.

All in all, have fun when you get it.

 

[TheKittyMan]

It's all about the story man. It's worth it.

 

[SwimmingRock]

Well, OP seems to imply you're interested in playing online after the campaign. In that sense, SC2 is a solid bet since the campaign is really cool and the multiplayer is only gaining in popularity and isn't likely to die out anytime soon; especially considering there are two planned expansions still to come out.

However, because most players take it quite seriously, it's not easy to get into the multiplayer. Expect to lose a lot or put quite a bit of time/effort into your skills. It really just depends on whether you play for fun or to win. If you need to win, it could get really frustrating.

First off, however, I'd suggest just watching some tournaments or matches with good casters. Those can give you some idea of what the game is like. It's no substitue for playing, obviously, but it's better than going in blind. I'd suggest looking for games by either TotalBiscuit (TotalHalibut on YT) to see how exciting it can be or Day[9] to see how deep and interesting the game can be.

 

[Elijah Newton]

Personally I've never been all that impressed by Starcraft. It's good, but the rabid fanbase pretty much killed multiplayer for me. Consider buying Dawn of War. The first one is dated so you can pick it and its expansions up for a song, get a metric f*ck-ton of content and know that it'll run on pretty much any machine. The title is a bit more obscure but the gameplay is no less deep.

Just my two cents.

 

[Joccaren]

If you want actual strategy go for Frozen Synapse.

Common mistake from a quick look at the game. Starcraft has plenty of Strategy, if you are willing to learn it. Why do you think Grandmaster league players devastate gold league players? It is because they have mastered the finesse of Starcraft 2 strategy, whilst the gold league players are still only learning it.
It does not have any cover based system, other than terrain height, but that isn't what gives it strategy. You need to know what units to build, and when. You need to know how to specialise those units, and once again when. You need to know whether to build economy, rush or balanced, dependent on the first minute of gameplay.
There is plenty of strategy to be had, it is just more subtle than that of other RTSs

yes, if you are insane and have nothing better to do
and mutiplayer sucks, especially in this game where people believe their rank defines their worth as a person. not a fun thing to get into.
also as far as RTS goes, it is no where near as good as the original, and i'd still put any Command and Conquer game ,generals and before, over this.
honestly, i'm not a fan boy, but a fan boys opinion is hardly subjective.
if you want this, do what i do, wait for the battle chest with all three chapters, saves money

You can get your opinion across without using insults. I play this and my worth as a person is in no way related to my league rank. Also, 'a fan boys opinion is hardly subjective' is an oxymoron. A fanboy is a fanboy as they have a very subjective view of whatever they are a fan of, and thus can't see past their bias most of the time. Fanboys are the epitome of subjective thinkers, objectivity is not to be found with a fan-boy.
The only really helpful advice I have found in this post is the 'buy it when the battle chest comes out', hower, that will take years (HoTS is not due out until next year) and thus, I would not entirely recommend it

 

[DoctorPhil]

I'd say no.
The campaign is very fun to play, the best designed campaign in any RTS yet, but the story is absolute trite, especialy compared to the prequel's one. It doesn't look like you care about that though.
When it comes to online multiplayer, it's nothing special. I've played it for about 4 months, it was fun, but no more fun than any other RTS like Red Alert 3. In fact, I found RA3's multiplayer more fun than this one's (RA3 is a good game, but nowhere near e-sport material). My problem with it is that the game is built around hard counters, whereas Starcraft 1 was all about soft counters. You make the units that counter the other guy's units, you put them in a ball, and you atack move into the enemy. Especially as protoss, even in the start when there was no master league yet, I got rank 1 diamond just by waiting till I have a few colossi (boring a-move units that barely require micro), then taking them and my warpgate units, all selecting them in one or two control groups and for the most part a-moving into the enemy (and force fielding a bit, wich is really easy, requiring no skill).
Starcraft 2's units just require so little input, it makes the games boring to watch. I sucked at Starcraft 1, I didn't know how to play at all (and it was still really fun to play), yet the pro games were so much fun to watch, there's so much going on, and even though I played Starcraft 2 myself, and watched the pro games to get better, they were so boring to watch, because there's just so little going on.
My problem with Starcraft 2 is, it requires so little skill, for the most part it only requires for you to know the best build orders, and you get into masters easy when you do.

Don't take my word though, go to teamliquid.net, wich is the biggest starcraft fansite, and search around in the starcaft 2 section, you'll find very detailed threads written by starcraft 2 players that analise why Starcraft 2 is so lackluster both to watch and to play, especially compared to the prequel. I can give you links if you want.

I kid you not, if this game wasn't the sequel to Starcraft, it wouldn't nearly get the attention it's getting now, it would be written off as just another good-but-not-great RTS.

TL;DR: it's a good game, I had fun with it, but it's not nearly as fantasticly fun to watch and play as you're led to believe. It's not the second coming of e-sports, many SC2 pros agree.

I'd sooner recommend RA3, wich is not amazing by any means, but is slightly more fun and requires more input than Starcraft 2. That or Starcraft, wich I found very fun even though I sucked at it and only played 2v2s-4v4s.

 

[Zeema]

I enjoy Starcraft 2 for all its custom maps

but there still isn't a 'Naruto War's' sigh

but yeah get it i really enjoyed

i Challenge you to beat it on 'Brutal difficulty thou 1st play through