I finally managed to get a hold of a copy of Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty. Now it's important to note that I originally decided on a half-hearted boycott of the game, due to the business model and pricing plan (that's a can of worms I could bore you with all day) involved in this latest installment of Blizzard's space-going IP. However, after a few months of pretending I didn't care and practising my "not listening" face in the mirror I have caved like a meringue under a blowtorch.
I know, it's ugly and wrong to see it, but I'm first and foremost a gamer, and Starcraft was one of the earliest PC games I had. The plot was engaging, even if the action was occasionally stilted and predictable. It was a soap opera with tiny space marines instead of chavs or salt of the earth types with faces like a litter of suicidal bulldog puppies. I had to know what happened next. Would Jimmy succumb to alcoholism? Would Kerrigan ever discover who delivered the second grand piano to her secret hive lair on Char? Would anyone ever run a bus service to Aiur again?
Blizzard have taken this most venerable of plots and applied what I like to call Blizzard sanding. They've polished it to such a wild degree that even the flaws shine. They've taken the meat and potatoes of SC and ladled on gravy overwhelming.
I love it- and that's a problem; now I'll have to stump up for the next installment and the next. Kotick has me in his grubby little palm. I already play World of Warcraft- don't you have enough money now Bobby? Please, stop leaving your chubby fingerprints on IP that formed my gaming psyche- it makes me feel filthy just for enjoying my hobby.
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