Buy or Download?

[JustJJ]

I'm a new here, and I have had warcraft 3 and frozen throne for a really long time. I was looking around at Starcraft 2, and I was just wondering if it's worth the buy, if i should pass it up, or download it from the internets. Anyways, opinions?

 

[Muhahahahaaa]

the galaxy editor is much more powerful and thus more and better mods will be created than in wc3. you will need to buy it to play any multiplayer maps.

 

[Dr Super Good]

If you have a good internet connection, then you are probably better off downloading the game as that way you save a trip to the shops. You need to register the game with your battlenet 2.0 account anyway to play it so you lose nothing not buying a disc copy. It may even be cheaper the downloaded version than the disc version as it has no production costs.

Ofcourse, you will have to pay for it eithor way as it is impssible to fully play the game without purchasing it. If you considered even pirating such a great game, you are not a very nice person.

 

[Super-Sheep]

Try out the demo?

 

[Alterlisk]

Tea Party Answer:
WAAAAAH!!! They took my QBotU away! And she took my job with her!

My Answer:
Meh, relax your redneck, dems and repubs will tell you the same... ROFL! SCII is alright.

Get the download, my disc from the store was useless and I had to DL anyway using the disc's product key. "Why not just save money by not burning faulty discs and give me a key in a box, Blizz? I just wanted to save you server load so everyone else could enjoy you too!" *Cries into the cookie dough ice cream alone later that night.* (We have a weird love/hate relationship.)
$$$ <==>

Fun Factor-
Campaign- The first time through I was pretty impressed with the gameplay. It is StarCraft 2, some new building and units but same core game. I love the armory and lab upgrades, though it takes a while to get access to them. Blizz also did a great job with the victory conditions. It's not just keep plot hero alive until the uber happens! It's use plot hero to throw down strategically for great justice. (Jailhouse Rock. Mmm, Marauder brains...) or Take the Objective... While Outrunning The Wall of Fire Steadily Advancing! (Supernova. I said Lift Off NOW!!!)

Replayability- About once every few months just to hear top-grade overacting in some spots. "Looks like it's time to kick this revolution into, overdrive." And to play with the fidgets, upgrades, and story choices. "Yes *Deceptively Cute Potential Corrupted Main Squeeze #2*, they must all be burned. Mwahahahaha!" {see Plot below unless you like surprises.}

Multi- As with most blizzard games it is not the amount of balance work that went into making it that matters, it will eventually boil down to who cries the most and what gets nerfed to death. Casters are freakishly strong if microed well. (i.e. Hey, siege tanks. Infested terran egg right next to them. B-B-B-B-B-BOOM! LOL! Or ghosts pew.pew..pew.pew.pew.pew...pew snipe ability. And EMP still pwns toss like nothing else can. At least they lost lockdown... LOL!) Tier 1.5 units like marauders and roaches need less coffee, but that's just my opinion. Take it as you may. Over an entire decade and Protoss can STILL tower rush you for a cheap win. At least Hydras are less op now...
<== means work in progress, but you will probably be disappointed in the end.

Graphics/Sound- Lots of ambiance including slurping creep noises, wildlife loops, etc. puts you more in the environment than SC1 or WC3 ever did. (The units make noise when they fidget if you are watching them instead of fighting a battle.) Specular, Diffuse, and Luminosity textures create very beautiful objects in the world. (Terrans never looked so pretty when they died, creep appears to be an ocean of purple slime, protoss glow like crazy.)
all in all... looks nice, doesn't kill my last, last gen video card.

Editor- Almost ideal, lots of power, lots of potential, lots of crashes! Patch 1.3 is going to address some of these. You can import ANYTHING! Downside is the editor only recognizes certain file formats, as expected since little in this world is universal. Upside is if you want your marine to knife someone to death you can attach the model knife to their hand. Provided you have a modeling software that exports as .m3 to make the knife. As usual blizz gives you a hammer and forge but says you can only use it without coals. (And periodically slaps you with a crash or desist order when you try to weld things together in the name of their proprietary rights while simultaneously eating anything you manage to get working if it suits them.) [In the distance a pig squeals]
However, folks that get mods up and running have made some phenominal works such as Aiur Chef. . . Oh wait that was done by Blizz and is thus exempt from red tape navigation...
ChessCraft is nicely done though and I think programmer did it all itself. (I'm just trying to be gender-neutral programmer. *this content has been removed by Alterlisk's discount lawyer as it is base and non-Politically Correct. Reaganomics!* You have made a wonderful chess game.)

Plot- !!!Tried to De-Spoiler Names with ** but the plot doesn't deserve to be unspoiled imho...
Mixed bag, plot seems rushed in places. Parts of it seem half-baked. Almost as if the original plot was to overthrow *Archetypical Hero turned Tyrant* while raising money and unlocking technology through side missions offered by various other residents of the Sector.

[Until the DoHS showed up and said, "Waaaaaah! That sounds Un-American Blizz! Change it, or we'll Lynch ya!"]
So blizz hit a pipe and came up with this junk.

So...
Halfway through *Ol' Ominous Alien Buddy* shows up and tells *Our Beloved Protagonist...[spit]* to check out a cool rock and jack-knifes what would be a smooth, beautiful story of humanity's struggle against it's own nature even while surrounded by other threats to their survival with needless garbage.

Then later...
*Randomly Inserted Megalomaniac* shows up and further distracts *Our Beloved Protagonist...[spit]* from his Path of Retribution with Crazy *Dead Alien Gods* Juju to restore *Corrupted Main Squeeze* to her former foxy red-head psychic assassin self. Truly love conquers all! Even a good storyline... But it all kinda works out in a humans are silly apes sort of way.

While all the while...
*Ol' Confederate Fall Guy* talks trash and attempts to turn your people against you. Can't blame him though, the prison system is not a good place to enhance your social skills or make quality friendships that will last a lifetime. And it is *Our Beloved Protagonist...[spit]* 's fault he got sent there.

*Our Beloved Protagonist...[spit]* Shoots him in the face sucker punch style (like a real hero.)
I paid money for this? Why didn't I just hand five cents at the local lady of the evening and ask her to tell me a story? (hand not toss, ladies of the evening deserve more respect than that.) Bet she'd get a movie offer if you took her story to Hollywood, Blizz.

Anyway, hope this has impacted your choice of entertainment investment.

Alterlisk (your local taco salesman)

P.S. The Good Doctor is right. You steal it, you are stealing from video games as a whole and are less than a dog. *hissssssssss* Throw your dice like the rest of us. And if you are debating the value of a game vs. feeding your kid, the protocol should be obvious... or else next time the tooth fairy comes for you. ;,,; j/k. LoL, I love you, with waffles, FOREVER!!!

 

[BattleMaster1]

Don't DL it - that's illegal and 99% it won't work.
I remember on wc3 people who got it illegally then used CDkey genners got their IP banned.

I'd say buy it though. The normal game is fun and if you don't like that there are always custom games. Galaxy editor is much better than warcraft 3 editor (If you know how to use it)

 

[Dr Super Good]

Don't DL it - that's illegal and 99% it won't work.

We are in the year 2011 and not 2005. Blizzard allows you to download SC2 after you buy the game online or attach a phsical CDkey to your account. The download is 100% ligitimate, powered by blizzard and yields the same version as people who brought the game. Prety simlar to how steam works actually which I am sure you are aware of.

 

[BattleMaster1]

Pretty sure he didn't mean download it with a cdkey from blizzard website.

if it's worth the buy, if i should pass it up, or download it from the internets.

That sounds like he doesn't have a cdkey or game at all to me.

 

[Dr Super Good]

The game is as good as unplayable without a CDkey attached to a battlenet account which requires a purchase of gifting of the game. Thus he definatly did not mean that.

 

[BattleMaster1]

and I was just wondering if it's worth the buy

What does that mean then?

Sounds to me like he has not bought the game.

 

[Dr Super Good]

I am guessing his language skills are not the best. Remember that not everyone can speak perfect English. He can not definatly mean pirating the game as it both violates this site's rules to talk about it and also it will do nothing as pirating SC2 does not allow you to play the game properly.

 

[AionCannonzSC2]

yes it is worth the buy

not worth buying just for the editor, unless you are really committed to relearning most of what you're used to in war3

for the gameplay it is worth it. if you are bad, there are a lot of videos to help you get good at teamliquid.net especially day9tv.blip.tv

 

[Super-Sheep]

Or how about: Buy and download.

I didn't buy it myself because it is more macro and less micro. So me no like. :/

 

[Dr Super Good]

If you want micro, go zerg, that race was designed with micro in mind (queens need a lot).

 

[Alterlisk]

Yes, Cerebrate. This should be in discussion not help zone.
I'd just bit bucket it now myself. And that's part of why I play Zerg.

Zerg is definitely a lot more micro intensive this time around, much to my chagrin. Med your ultra's queens and roaches, spam Fungal until the ball dies, (Why does that get a buff in 1.3 anyway? Long Mass Snare + Damage is too weak? Hell, I remember when psi-storm and Siege Mode were OP too. I made due. I just clogged the barrels with lings XD. "CEREBRATE!!!" *in "Infested" Duran voice* Ol' Schoolers will understand the quotes...)

So much for being the disposable macro legion I grew to know and love.

Even the armored support fliers have castables! While it is nice to do more than mass, flood, and spam units; that is kinda what zerg is. We are "The Swarm", the single-minded fury of innumerable nightmarish creatures bearing down upon you relentlessly. We are meant to leave you wondering if that thumping you hear is the pounding of your feeble heart in your chest or the synchronous footfalls of another as-yet-unseen wall of fangs, claws, muscles, and spines. You rejoice that you finally felled the last zergling only to see a larger dust cloud roaring in from the distance. We are assault- and infiltration-oriented.

We do not spit out little eggs that take time to hatch, we don't release control of a body once taken, we don't make easily detected trash spies. WE INFEST YOUR BASE! WE TAKE THE FREEDOM OF YOUR FLESH AND MIND FROM YOU UNLESS YOU CAN BURN US BACK! WE STARE HUNGRILY AT YOU THROUGH THE EYES OF PRESUMABLY INNOCENT WILDLIFE!

J/K!!! today we sip weak tea and discuss how to best funnel "noobs" into our fungal growths to minimize energy expenditure and keystrokes. Because "fighting tooth and nail against guns is just too hard..." and greasing the enemies ramp with our unit's corpses is not fiscally sound...

I miss The Overmind. He taught us good lessons like, "You exist because I allow it." And "Why send your minions when you could just crash yourself into your enemy's home planet! I Am orbital drop suppressing fire!" A good... psychic squid... cross-slitted... eyeball-thing, he shall be missed.

 

[AionCannonzSC2]

if you play the campaign you will find out that perception of the overmind is not true

 

[Alterlisk]

This really is getting to be too much of a discussion for the help zone. Think I'll drag my torch and pitchfork over that-a-way. So I can rage about unimportant things in a proper medium. It honestly is a pretty good game. A lot of worse stuff to blow your cash on. I'll be back here in help zone when I got good data or a snappy tutorial to feed the broodlings.