Singleplayer: Blown Away, Content, or Dissapointed?

Well of course they don't mean the main plot.. They mean small details... Picture this, if the Supernova concept did not work, they might scrap the whole planet and Tal'darim mission for that artifact and instead make one with the zerg. They wont change the main plot. Actually I'm glad they have been creative with missions this time. The Supernova mission and the mission with the day/night cycle are really awesome.

As i said my only disappointment was the lack of new units for Protoss and Zerg.
Scout, and Scourge..Thats it?, no Reaver, Dragoon?

EDIT: I thought the Lurker was missing but it is back, it was just under Melee instead of Campaign.

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Originally Posted by ZealotPowerade

Comedic relief is good when used sparingly... Sc1 was pretty dam dark and serious. Warcraft was the comedy. Why didn't they keep that approach? Oh wait, to make it more marketable... meh that's lame. I wish I could have a talk with blizz about artistic integrity. They need to learn from bioware storytelling.

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Amen!

I thought the voodoo doll scene was cute, they didn't overdo it, and after Tychus mention Tosh's interest in dolls to build him up as uber-freaky, seeing it played for laughs, having Tychus get tossed around during an otherwise very serious scene was funny.

And Raynor's response to Ariel's talk of psionics. "Slower please. And with smaller words"

The writing for Vermillion was absolutely retarded. I didn't buy any of his lines.

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Originally Posted by Gradius

The writing for Vermillion was absolutely retarded. I didn't buy any of his lines.

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Some of the dialogue is downright terrible. Zeratul in particular was annoying to listen to, with the way he commentated everything along to the last detail as if he were talking to a child.

I'm really enjoying single player, however. Probably half way through right now and like all the options we're being presented with in regards to upgrades and researches. Plus it's fun being able to choose your missions instead of progressing in a linear fashion.

Can't wait to get home and continue the story!

Yeah, I didn't get that. For gameplay purposes of course, Zeratul has to explain to the new players "hey, check out my uber skills, here's how cloaked and detector units work!", but couldn't they just have pop-up tips like they did in the first game explain that? Or like that Protoss guy he meets go "Zeratul, be careful for up ahead *blah blah blah*" and Zeratul replies "no prob, I can *blah blah blah*" Would have been much less awkward.

I can only surmise Zeratul is going senile that he has to constantly talk to himself and remind himself of stuff he already knows.

Who remembers that homestarrunner where he is like "I musst fufffilll the profecy!" I was reminded of that every single time :P


All in all I think Zeratul is probably one of the better voice acting. Raynors acting in the begining of the caimpaign (and just the whole awkward intro in general) does terrible terrible damage to the immersion.

My feelings right now: campaign isn't worth a decade long wait.

I have to agree actually. The campaign is good, and its fun, but worth ten years of anticipation? No. But to be fair, what game *is* worth that long of a wait?

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Originally Posted by Drake Clawfang

I have to agree actually. The campaign is good, and its fun, but worth ten years of anticipation? No. But to be fair, what game *is* worth that long of a wait?

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Duke Nukem Forever.

Oh shit...

If I could, +rep. :D

I just finished the zeratul missions and must say that alone made me very impressed. I still have a bunch of raynors to do now :)

so far im impressed with the quality and detail. the story telling/dialogue could use some work however i feel like there's a slight disconnect with everything.

all in all i give this game a 9.5/10

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Originally Posted by DemolitionSquid

My feelings right now: campaign isn't worth a decade long wait.

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Originally Posted by Drake Clawfang

I have to agree actually. The campaign is good, and its fun, but worth ten years of anticipation? No. But to be fair, what game *is* worth that long of a wait?

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It's nobody's fault that you guys built up unrealistic expectations for yourself though, or sat around and waited for this campaign. You should be a little more pragmatic in your expectations. Also, it's erroneous to think that Blizzard employees "have been working on this game for ten years".

Exactly, I enjoyed it alot and it was worth the wait :)

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Originally Posted by Gradius

It's nobody's fault that you guys built up unrealistic expectations for yourself though, or sat around and waited for this campaign. You should be a little more pragmatic in your expectations. Also, it's erroneous to think that Blizzard employees "have been working on this game for ten years".

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I know its only been in production for 5 years. That's not the point. The point is that they didn't meet the bar. From 1998 to 2008/2010 our technology has surged forward, but SC2 looks pathetic, when compared to other RTS games like Dawn Of War 2.

The storytelling is also lackluster. We are in a storytelling golden age. Bioware creating sweeping masterpieces like Kotor, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age. Games like Bioshock and Heavy Rain drawing you in with twists and turns and emotions you never knew you had. What does StarCraft 2 do? Resurrect dead characters >_<

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Originally Posted by DemolitionSquid

My feelings right now: campaign isn't worth a decade long wait.

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Reinforcements have arrived :P I figured we would have similar feelings about the campaign. Is anyone else also somewhat annoyed by the fact that the Terran adjutant's role is completely pointless. I realize that alot of the new characters end up telling u the things u need to hear to finish the game. But yeesh why even have it still in there then?

ZealotPowerade just wondering how would you rate the WOL campaign from 1 to 10 ?

If anyone cares I'm giving the campaign a 7.5, and the whole game (campaign, b.net, multiplayer) an 8.5.

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Originally Posted by DemolitionSquid

If anyone cares I'm giving the campaign a 7.5, and the whole game (campaign, b.net, multiplayer) an 8.5.

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Interesting so 7.5 for the campaign. So in your opinion which rts games in this decade have had a bether campaign experience than sc2, which would you rate higher?

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Originally Posted by Perfecttear

Interesting so 7.5 for the campaign. So in your opinion which rts games in this decade have had a bether campaign experience than sc2, which would you rate higher?

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I'm not basing it against other games.

I'm basing it on what was promised, what was expected, what I received, and how satisfied I felt after playing it. Was the price reasonable, was the story solid, were the graphics up to snuff? Stuff like that.

A 8.9-9 out of 10

A really good game with some glaring issues

But over all works very very well

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Originally Posted by Gradius

It's nobody's fault that you guys built up unrealistic expectations for yourself though, or sat around and waited for this campaign. You should be a little more pragmatic in your expectations. Also, it's erroneous to think that Blizzard employees "have been working on this game for ten years".

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Yah its our fault for expecting starcraft 2 to be as good or better than starcraft 1.



Unrealistic expectations....:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by ArcherofAiur

Yah its our fault for expecting starcraft 2 to be as good or better than starcraft 1.



Unrealistic expectations....:rolleyes:

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that's debatable, i feel like the campaign tells the story way better than SC1 did.

The Protoss mini-campaign, imho was very well done.

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Originally Posted by ArcherofAiur

Yah its our fault for expecting starcraft 2 to be as good or better than starcraft 1.



Unrealistic expectations....:rolleyes:

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Well for one thing SC2 WOL is a lot better than sc1 in mission variety and gameplay.

After replaying the first one before playing this one I have to admit that sc1 story wasn't that well told or great to begin with. I mean, unless you took the time to read the stories in the manual, nothing is really clear in this game. The missions were most of the time pretty lame and over-simplistic. Did sc2 do a better job? In every single aspect: a solid yes.
-The story is far easier to follow without losing too much complexity.
-The different difficulty levels are all extremely well balanced for every type of players.
-The missions all have their little twist to them that make them unique and enjoyable.


Overall, I am content with the game. I can't say that I am blown away but I will say that Starcraft 2 is the best RTS on the market at the moment. I give a 10/10 for the single player portion of the game.

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Originally Posted by Noctis

that's debatable, i feel like the campaign tells the story way better than SC1 did.

The Protoss mini-campaign, imho was very well done.

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I would put any sc1 mission briefing and dialog above any from sc2. The charectors are flatter than a zergling in a thor mosh pit.



Not the prerendered cutscenes. ill give Blizzard incredible credit for those. But it only highlights how teribad the acting is in the non prerendered portions of the story.

Dialog needs work yes, but is it terrible? no, idk i think it's just the terrands cuz i liked the protoss dialog and whatnot, Kerrigan was badass too.

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Originally Posted by sandwich_bird

After replaying the first one before playing this one I have to admit that sc1 story wasn't that well told or great to begin with. I mean, unless you took the time to read the stories in the manual, nothing is really clear in this game. The missions were most of the time pretty lame and over-simplistic. Did sc2 do a better job? In every single aspect: a solid yes.
-The story is far easier to follow without losing too much complexity.
-The different difficulty levels are all extremely well balanced for every type of players.
-The missions all have their little twist to them that make them unique and enjoyable.

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Yeah i completely agree with this. I also replayed the sc1 campaign a month ago, and it was not so great as i used to remember it:(, after about three mision i got bored, and started to use cheats so i could finish it faster. And i think the people that think that sc1 campaign is far bether should realy replay it now, so they can compare it to the sc2 WOL ones.

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Originally Posted by ArcherofAiur

I would put any sc1 mission briefing and dialog above any from sc2. The charectors are flatter than a zergling in a thor mosh pit.



Not the prerendered cutscenes. ill give Blizzard incredible credit for those. But it only highlights how teribad the acting is in the non prerendered portions of the story.

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Didn't expect anything less from you.

Change is bad!

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Originally Posted by Gradius

It's nobody's fault that you guys built up unrealistic expectations for yourself though, or sat around and waited for this campaign. You should be a little more pragmatic in your expectations. Also, it's erroneous to think that Blizzard employees "have been working on this game for ten years".

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You have a point, but then let me ask this question. Why the hell is multiplayer of sc2 so freaking awesome? It had the same amount of time to build up hype but yet (for me atleast.) It has blown me away. It's managed to take my favorite rts and make it better.

I have to wonder if the reason why multiplayer evolved into its current state of awesomeness (albiet far from perfection) is due to the community being involved.

On a scale of 1 to 10...
This is my opinion of sc2 single player.

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Originally Posted by Dauntless

Didn't expect anything less from you.

Change is bad!

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If I switch a perfectly good tire on your car for my flat tire that leaks air, is that change good?

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Originally Posted by sandwich_bird

After replaying the first one before playing this one I have to admit that sc1 story wasn't that well told or great to begin with. I mean, unless you took the time to read the stories in the manual, nothing is really clear in this game.

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The manual was one of the coolest things about Starcraft 1. It was an incredible back story. Which of course only points out another thing SC2 is missing. Why wouldnt you include info about mantis screamers etc...


Oh and Dauntless Ive actually been one of the biggest proponents for change and innovation.

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Originally Posted by ZealotPowerade

If I switch a perfectly good tire on your car for my flat tire that leaks air, is that change good?

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That's just your opinion. Some may see it the other way around ;)

I know i might get flamed for this, but sc1 campaign was never realy "that" good as some as you say it was, and it was not for what sc1 was known for, and which made it such a succes, it was the multiplayer aspect of sc1 which made it so popular. Fun fact do you know that almost a third of people on TL.net never actualy bother to finished the sc1 campaign.

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Originally Posted by ArcherofAiur

Yah its our fault for expecting starcraft 2 to be as good or better than starcraft 1.

Unrealistic expectations....:rolleyes:

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Yeah you're right, talking heads in a box sure beats story mode. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by ZealotPowerade

You have a point, but then let me ask this question. Why the hell is multiplayer of sc2 so freaking awesome? It had the same amount of time to build up hype but yet (for me atleast.) It has blown me away. It's managed to take my favorite rts and make it better.

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Because Blizzard will make more money from e-sports than single player, which people will only play like once. Multiplayer is what made SC a phenomenon for 10+ years, so it's clearly more important.

For the record, I am also not "blown away" by this campaign either, and also expected more when they announced that they were doing a trilogy because they wanted to flex the power of their new storytelling mode. The story mode itself is awesome and has huge potential that I bet few people here recognize, but some of the writing and voice acting are inferior. Voice acting for example, I only had to take a look at some of the stuff they did in their WoW expansions and the fact that they ditched Glynnis for a random celebrity to know it wouldn't be up to par - so I built my expectations around that. Blizzard has been under-delivering on their promises lately (b.net 2.0 for one), so it's foolish to think the single player would be the most epic singleplayer experience on the planet. Again, you guys have developed unrealistic expectations.

I voted content.

I wished the game was a little more "grown up". I personally wanted a deep, disturbing story, this feels a little lighter and simpler than that.

But from another point of view, this is a design miracle. The use of the 3D ingame menu, bridge, armory etc. is awesome. Been waiting for this since X-Wing alliance :)

I'm confused to tell you the truth.

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Originally Posted by Gradius

Yeah you're right, talking heads in a box sure beats story mode. :rolleyes:


Because Blizzard will make more money from e-sports than single player, which people will only play like once. Multiplayer is what made SC a phenomenon for 10+ years, so it's clearly more important.

For the record, I am also not "blown away" by this campaign either, and also expected more when they announced that they were doing a trilogy because they wanted to flex the power of their new storytelling mode. The story mode itself is awesome and has huge potential that I bet few people here recognize, but some of the writing and voice acting are inferior. Voice acting for example, I only had to take a look at some of the stuff they did in their WoW expansions and the fact that they ditched Glynnis for a random celebrity to know it wouldn't be up to par - so I built my expectations around that. Blizzard has been under-delivering on their promises lately (b.net 2.0 for one), so it's foolish to think the single player would be the most epic singleplayer experience on the planet. Again, you guys have developed unrealistic expectations.

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Exactly my point though, blizzard has lost it's artistic integrity. How can they be so devoted to polish in every aspect but this one? I had hoped in my heart that things would be different but I guess I should have expected this after playing the wc3 campaign. It's just terrible to see your favorite characters reduced to a bunch of cash cows.

I LOVE the campaign's gameplay, it's very entertaining and fun, but if playing a collection of custom games was my only goal then I would log into battle.net and play some UMS maps. I really like the in game cinematic work as far as the idea goes. My opinion is that the new storytelling techniques are absolutely amazing but their implementation is only half what it could be.

They didn't even use the talking heads to the fullest storytelling potential. Talking heads seem to be reduced to being used to tell the player what to do or alerting you to some incoming threat.

The first time we meet Kerrigan do you know what we get? A really cool dramatic interaction sequence between JIM and kerrigan building up a beautiful story arc! Including the classic sarcastic comments from Jim and showing the ruthlessness of the queen bi*ch of the universe! No, we get a couple of one liners.

In fact, a friend of mine who never played sc1 was standing next to me when Kerrigan speaks for the first time. I think to myself oh man this is THE moment... After she delivers her one liner and disappears my friend just chuckles and is like, that was dumb. I wanted to facepalm, because he was SO right. It was dumb.

The worst part is that blizzard is going to get away with it, everyone is still going to buy sc2 and its expansions. HotS and LotV were made seperate games to better explore the story... Well after this I don't even really want to play them.(But I probably will because atleast it's a fun game.)

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Originally Posted by Gradius

Yeah you're right, talking heads in a box sure beats story mode. :rolleyes:

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Good acting>>story mode



Id like to see someone put any SC2 dialog up against "Awaken my child, and embrace the glory that is your birthright..."

there's 2 more campaigns, things can change. one thing i think everyone should realize is that this is the terran campaign. they have a certain style. Zeratul's mini-campaign had a different style altogether.

Zeratul/Kerrigan - serious business
Terran - cowboy time

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Originally Posted by Noctis

there's 2 more campaigns, things can change.

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lol ah the old "Theyll make it better next time I know it!"

Well they do read critique...So...possibly.

The -main story- is great. But it's not polished enough... I played the arelia missions first, then the rebellions. Well I also regularly watched the news. I love how you can speak with the characters on-board. But they are not very well updated... only to the last mission you played. This is where they made this story mode fail, otherwise the stories were good.