GameStop Physical CE pre-order page +...Wait, who's in that portrait (Spoilers?)

[Alex06]

Here's the link:
http://www.gamestop.com/pc/games/starcraft-ii-legacy-of-void-collectors-edition/123541

Oddly enough...It says the skin is a Purifier Adept and that the special portraits for the CE are Narud (highlight to read), Purifier Zealot and Void Thrasher! And I thought that weird red-eyed portrait would be Amon! (highlight to read)

[TheEconomist]

Blizzard is the only company I know that is excellent at preventing leaks (ending leaks not included, other companies have worse all the time) but then proceeds to spoil everything on their own. I swear, the pre-release promo material is as good as playing the campaign itself anymore minus the gameplay.

Doesn't necessarily mean Narud is coming back. And, no, I still refuse to believe that Narud is Duran. One day, Blizzard will redeem the most wasted character in all fantasy fiction. (/joke)

[Alar]

"Good job, you killed him as Kerrigan! ...too bad that didn't do jack shit, because he's back again for you to kill as Protoss!"

Probably more of a 'he was revived by his Master' situation. Either way it seems kind of lame. In fact, his whole characterization seems silly and off compared to what we saw in Brood War. There he was calm, savvy, and devious as fuck. I mean really, the dude pulled one over on the Queen of Blades, which is no small feat considering what she tended to get up to.

[ragnarok]

"Good job, you killed him as Kerrigan! ...too bad that didn't do jack shit, because he's back again for you to kill as Protoss!"

Probably more of a 'he was revived by his Master' situation. Either way it seems kind of lame. In fact, his whole characterization seems silly and off compared to what we saw in Brood War. There he was calm, savvy, and devious as fuck. I mean really, the dude pulled one over on the Queen of Blades, which is no small feat considering what she tended to get up to.

Actually fooling Kerrigan wasn't too hard in BW given her arrogance in thinking she was without limits no matter what....

[Nissa]

Actually fooling Kerrigan wasn't too hard in BW given her arrogance in thinking she was without limits no matter what....

I never saw that in Kerrigan. Generally Kerri was good at knowing her own weaknesses. She was just also good at putting up a false front when other people were around.

[TheEconomist]

Maybe post-Tassadar ass whoopin', but, even then, there are points for either way. She was arrogant, but she got better. Now's she full retard though, but some how the fictional universe bows to her genius.

For the record, did you play the StarCraft campaign or did you just Let's Play that too? Not trying to dismiss you, just wondering.

[Gradius]

Question: the physical CE is available in stores on launch, right? I don't have to pre-order that via. Amazon or anything right?

[Nissa]

Maybe post-Tassadar ass whoopin', but, even then, there are points for either way. She was arrogant, but she got better. Now's she full retard though, but some how the fictional universe bows to her genius.

For the record, did you play the StarCraft campaign or did you just Let's Play that too? Not trying to dismiss you, just wondering.

I played SC/BW. I'm not great at it, but yeah. I go through it periodically to remember the story.

And yeah, I definitely meant more BW.

[TheEconomist]

Question: the physical CE is available in stores on launch, right? I don't have to pre-order that via. Amazon or anything right?

Right. Everyone will tell you that, they'll be incredibly rare shortly after launch. Could not be more wrong. I run into them all the time and even now they're pretty cheap on Amazon. So, take your time, get it when and where you want.

[Alar]

I also played the original and Brood Wars when they came out. I remember being young at the time, but I had followed the game's development due to being a big fan of the Warcraft series. I'm not saying Kerrigan was ever a genius, but she did manage to keep things from the Overmind and the Cerebrates, and while she's said and done some really stupid shit, I would say it still takes a large amount of guile, cunning, and raw ability to deceive her on the level Duran did. He was basically manipulating her and grabbing up her troops for experimentation right underneath her nose without her figuring it out until it was too late.

[ragnarok]

I never saw that in Kerrigan. Generally Kerri was good at knowing her own weaknesses. She was just also good at putting up a false front when other people were around.

Not from after the BW. She forgot she wasn't without limits after that, until WoL's defeat

[Nissa]

Not from after the BW. She forgot she wasn't without limits after that, until WoL's defeat

Dude, keep in mind that, unless I say otherwise, everything I say about the characters excludes SC2. SC2 ignored characterization, so I'm ignoring it in analysis of character behavior.

[Sheliek]

Blizzard is the only company I know that is excellent at preventing leaks (ending leaks not included, other companies have worse all the time) but then proceeds to spoil everything on their own. I swear, the pre-release promo material is as good as playing the campaign itself anymore minus the gameplay.

Case in point, let's watch the release trailer for Wings of Liberty!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_E83GfWM-A

First thing we see is the fact that Raynor is most definitely going to change his mind about killing Kerrigan (which is the exact opposite of what the end of the first game outright stated). We know Raynor will board a Dominion vessel and that the Dominion will mount a ground invasion of Kerrigan's base of operations. Fair enough. But wait, Raynor's on Char too, and a Banshee lands behind him, the same kind of ship we see aiding Dominion troops (who, as of the beginning of Wings and the end of Brood War, are Raynor's main political enemies in the series). Lastly, after we've been heavy-handed with Raynor longing for Kerrigan, we see Raynor entering Mengsk Jr.'s flagship's bridge and Mengsk Jr. says 'I can offer you what you've always wanted.'

[TheEconomist]

I remember thinking, wow, they revealed so much in the trailer, there must be tons and tons of story and cut scenes in this game, so much that they don't even care about spoiling so much. But, nope. That was pretty much the entire campaign.

Much like Patton Oswald joking that the day after Star Wars: Return of the Jedi was the perfect time for George Lucas to die, the day before StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty's release would be the perfect time for all of the single player only content to be destroyed by a nuke. Then I'd be going on about all the lost promise that the game had shown instead of the destruction of promise of the final product.

[Nissa]

Truer words, friend, truer words.

Honestly, I loved SC2's trailer. Tychus Findlay was a great marine flavor character. Bringing him into the plot as an important figure -- especially after much of the campaign was written -- was highly symbolic of the issues going on in storytelling. Namely, really bad ideas.

[TheEconomist]

That's another thing. As if the trailer didn't have enough spoilers in itself, the damn introduction cinematic to the game spoiled the rest. Imagine, if the Megsk/Findlay relationship was revealed like a competent story line like a spy thriller of something, or, at the very least, like Duran in BW. But, nope, Blizzard had to make sure that the player knew everything about it long before most players even knew who Mengsk or Findlay was. It's like if, while you were watching the Sixth Sense, the story telling was like, "Okay, you're about to meet this dude named Malcom Crowe. We're going to act like he is really there. Just in case not immediately knowing this causes you some discomfort, he's really dead and only the kid sees him. Carry on, viewer." Viewer: "Who the hell is Malcom Crowe?"

[Nissa]

I meant the trailer without Mengsk's monologuing. I hate the monologuing.

Not that you're wrong or anything, just sayin'.

[TheEconomist]

I know what trailer you were talking about. It just happened to remind me of the introduction. I've skipped that one so much that I had forgotten about it for years.

[Sheliek]

That's another thing. As if the trailer didn't have enough spoilers in itself, the damn introduction cinematic to the game spoiled the rest. Imagine, if the Megsk/Findlay relationship was revealed like a competent story line like a spy thriller of something, or, at the very least, like Duran in BW. But, nope, Blizzard had to make sure that the player knew everything about it long before most players even knew who Mengsk or Findlay was. It's like if, while you were watching the Sixth Sense, the story telling was like, "Okay, you're about to meet this dude named Malcom Crowe. We're going to act like he is really there. Just in case not immediately knowing this causes you some discomfort, he's really dead and only the kid sees him. Carry on, viewer." Viewer: "Who the hell is Malcom Crowe?"

I'm genuinely convinced the Tychus-Mengsk twist would've been SC1-level in terms of impact had it not been spoiled in the opening trailer, and then jammed into our faces every couple of missions.