StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty ($59.99 list) needs little introduction, as it’s one of the most highly anticipated video game sequels of all time. Now that it’s hit retail shelves, fans can breathe a sigh of relief, as there are no more pushbacks and murky, hinted-at release dates; the second part of the epic real-time strategy trilogy (RTS) is here.

Story
Four years after the events chronicled in the original StarCraft, we find our hero, Jim Raynor, still fighting the good fight against the Dominion (a tyrannical human government) that rules the galaxy’s outer planets with an iron fist. The Zerg (a primitive, but ruthless insect-like army) are now on the run as Terran (human) forces pick off their dwindling numbers—but little do the Terrans know that the Zerg are merely playing possum. As the Zerg finally spring their attack, Jim Raynor and company must deal with Dominion forces, Zerg infestations, and Protoss (a psionic race of humanoid alien) relations.

Gameplay
One thing Blizzard does well is make immersive, addicting titles. StarCraft II fits the bill. It’s an RTS game through and through; you oversee offense, defense, and various stages of production of military units. The best part is there’s no one set strategy that guarantees success; you have to be able to adapt to the changing conditions of the mission and the environment.

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For example, one of the starting missions, “The Devil’s Playground,” takes place on a volcanic planet. I was tasked with collecting minerals from the low ground. Every few minutes, the area would flood with lava, which forced me to keep track of, and evacuate, my gathering units, while simultaneously looking for my next dig site. I had to make sure I frugally spent the minerals I had gathered, and had to wisely plan out and maintain a solid mobile defense.

There are 26 exciting missions in total; each time you finish one, there are usually three or four to choose from. In one, I had to defend refugees at night from Zerg swarms and go out during the day to destroy the hives. During my first night there, I found the attacking Zerg were actually infected citizens who became shambling mutations, begging me to kill them. In other missions, you might protect refugees that the Dominion has left for dead, or try to learn more about your enemies and their weapons. On the latter missions, you’ll be looking for Protoss or Zerg-specific items that will help you upgrade your weapons, armor, and more. You might even find yourself search for artifacts for the mysterious Mobius organization, but, beware, the Zerg’s Queen of Blades might be on the hunt as well…

Between missions, players are stationed on the Hyperion spaceship. There they can speak with crewmates to gain insight on current events, upgrade armor, visit the lab, or go to the bridge to select your next mission. After a mission is completed there’s a cinematic that uses the in-game graphics to introduce either a major plot point or a tidbit of advice or information.

My sole gameplay gripe is relatively minor: I didn’t like that the camera movement was based on either moving the mouse to the edge of the screen or using the arrow keys. I would have preferred to use the W, A, S, and D keys for movement, as a mouse on the edge of a screen isn’t quite as precise, and righties will have to take their hands off the mouse to move with the arrow keys.

Graphics and Music
The 1998-vintage sprites of the previous edition of StarCraft are replaced with 3D polygonal graphics. How good is the result? Well, some gamers have stated that StarCraft’s beauty is in its personality, not its looks. But many modern gamers judge titles with a zeal for appearances worthy of beauty-pageant judges. Compared to the kind of graphics that have spoiled us in games like God of War III, StarCraft II’s seem last generation.

That’s not to say that the graphics are bad—but they are inconsistent. StarCraft II is like two different games in one. The landscapes pop and soldiers are well designed (and there are some high-end cinematic scenes), but when the game shifts to the Hyperion, the visuals aren’t quite as grand.

The generally conservative graphics requirement do help those not endowed with Core i7 processors, like I have in my Alienware M11x ($1,175 direct, ). Blizzard has been known to dumb down the pixels to save gamers from needing to buy a new graphics card. The result is a game that can be played on most anything even remotely modern. You need windows 7, a 2.6-GHz Pentium IV, and a 128MB PCIe Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT or ATI Radeon 9800 Pro video card (or better). That’s pretty reasonable. If you want to see if your computer can handle StarCraft II, the StarCraft II Web site for tech specs(Opens in a new window).

StarCraft II’s iconic soundtrack is a big draw, which was also the case with the original release. The fine musical balance helps create mood. For example, while you’re sitting in the Cantina watching the UNN news, you’ll hear the jukebox playing an old, twangy western song, “Zerg, Shotgun, and You.” In another instance, a space-cowboy melody reminiscent of shows like Firefly and Cowboy Bebop provide the musical backdrop.

Lasting Appeal
When not being beaten down by South Koreans in the multiplayer mode (the game is massively popular in South Korea), I discovered that StarCraft II’s online multiplayer modes add replayability, making the game well worth the $59.99 price tag. StarCraft II’s multiplayer options let you duke it out against the CPU, or human beings in up to four-versus-four matches. There are also the four difficulty levels, and achievements to entice completionists.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is everything I hoped it would be. Nothing could quite live up to the hype surrounding the release, but, even so, this is a great game. The story’s well paced, and the strategy and resource-management missions locked me into finishing this game. I can only hope that we won’t have to wait another 12 years for the next chapter in this excellent series.

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