Starcraft 2 First Impressions: Multiplayer with Battle.Net

Starcraft 2 frenzy has overtaken the gaming world and PC fans everywhere have been enthralled by this sequel to the original Starcraft. Blizzard, the gaming mega-corporation behind World of Warcraft and the Wacraft series has another winner on their hands with Starcraft 2. I recently got to play Starcraft 2, both single player and multiplayer, and here are some of my first impressions on this exciting new PC RTS game.

The login system is a little offsetting at first. Why do I need to connect to the internet to play the game every time? At least that's how it seems at first, but this really isn't the case. Initially, you do need to connect a register a Battle.net account. Multiplayer is only through the Battle.net service, no LAN option. However, once you have registered and logged in, you can play as a "guest" without logging in afterwards. This is a little frustrating, but is a far friendlier anti-piracy method than SecuRom or Starforce, in my opinion.

The in-game cinematics are astounding. Why hasn't Blizzard jumped in and made a full-length movie yet? Probably because their games will outsell most movies anyway.

Multiplayer seemed excellently designed and I really enjoyed using the system. Navigating the old Battle.net could be a little frustrating at times and I really liked the layout of the new Battle.net system. Players can add friends, based on email address, or Game ID. Players can setup a "Party", invite others to it, and create custom matches just for those in the party. While LAN gaming was removed from Starcraft 2, the party option seems to facilitate it instead. Of course, gaming over LAN was easier and a little more enjoyable, but it seems removing it was one of Blizzard's way of combating internet piracy.

Gameplay was similar enough to the original Starcraft that I was able to jump right in and have fun, even on my first match. It feels like the units have all gone through a heavy vetting process, keeping some familiar units while getting rid of others. It was hard to find that my beloved dragoon unit for the Protoss was removed, but the new ones that replace it are fairly similar and quite fun to micro too. The Colossus unit for Protoss is pretty amazing, being able to walk up and down cliffs (omg harass omg!), towering over its enemies, and packing a great punch with its attack. The Void Ray air unit is one of my new favorites. It is fast, and does more damage on whatever it is targeting as time passes (if constantly firing). It does so by first firing one, then more guns on it as it spends more time shooting at the enemy. Zealots made a welcome re-appearance and seemed just as effective as before. However, they just didn't seem as intimidating as in Stacraft 1, even in early game attacks. This might just be due to their new, 3d appearance, or maybe they truly are slightly weaker than before.

Starcraft 2 is certainly here to stay. It is, from my first few gaming moments with it, an amazing game, and one that will surely be one of the top games of 2010. RTS is back.