The last two weeks have been pretty painful in terms of new games. At least this should have given you a nice chance to get outside, breathe some fresh air, get a sunburn, and maybe even do some of those sports things that people always talk about. Thankfully, that’s all over now. This week gives us a new fighting game, an RPG for the Wii, and a real time strategy game that’ll keep you in front of that glowing screen for days.
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (PC)
Twelve years after the release of the original ‘StarCraft,’ a sequel is finally here. There are tweaks here and there, and Blizzard’s new approach to the single-player campaign is still untested, but based on the multiplayer Beta, it’s safe to say that those who loved the first one will feel right at home. Let’s be honest here, Blizzard hasn’t made a bad game since ‘Justice League Task Force’ in 1995. I’m not saying you need to rush out and buy the somewhat excessive collector’s edition, but it’s a safe bet that ‘StarCraft II’ is well worth playing.
BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (360, PS3)
‘Continuum Shift’ is a direct sequel to the original title, ‘Calamity Trigger.’ It’s one of the very few 2-D fighters around these days, and it has a much different approach than tag games like ‘Marvel vs. Capcom.’ You won’t get to pick from a roster of fifty different characters, and you won’t be able to figure each of them out within seconds. There’s a depth to the gameplay that really sets ‘BlazBlue’ apart.
Arc Rise Fantasia (Wii)
The Wii is a system full of innovative, exciting games and lots of shovelware. It lacks the games that have become tradition, especially RPGs. ‘Arc Rise Fantasia’ helps. It’s your standard turn based RPG, taking inspiration from the games of yesteryear. There probably won’t be any big surprises when it comes to story, character or battle systems, but there doesn’t need to be. It’s a nice traditional RPG on the Wii, and that’s gotta count for something.
William Henley
I think I am going to hold out just a bit on Starcraft 2. I was so excited, but I had some friends pick it up at midnight, and the complaints are numerous. The three biggest (and these are from my friends who bought it, not from internet boards) are 1) the game is so loaded with DRM, they are having trouble getting it to load, 2) you don’t get all the campaigns unless you buy multiple editions of the game, and 3) they removed lan support – multiplayer is only available over Battle.net I am thinking I am going to wait at least until a good crack comes out before I pick it up – I got several games that I either stuck the serial code in to Steam, or got the cracks from various places, simply because the DRMs and other copy protection systems on the game discs are so horrid.
JoeRo
Personally I’m loving on some Starcraft 2. It’s a good game, although honestly not worth the 12 year wait. Sorry to hear your buds are having trouble installing. I’ve read a few threads about a handful of problems, but contacting blizz customer support seems to be the way to go.
As far as your DRM related comments are concerned I hear you. I’m not a big fan of DRM, but I do think it’s necessary. The truth is that games cost a lot of money to make, and games are pirated so quickly, often before a given titles release date, that these companies have to do something to protect themselves. Hope you get things worked out.
William Henley
Yeah, my problem is, DRM doesn’t stop piracy – in fact, it seems to increase it, because some are so draconian, it keeps legit buyers from being able to play. What happens in 5 or 10 years when I decide I want to play the game and the authentication servers are long shut down? I still play games from ten years ago and older – Alice is my favorite, probably followed by the Kings Quest series. If Kings Quest V had of had DRM, I seriously doubt that, almost 20 years later, I could still play it.
Still, I will probably pick up Starcraft 2 eventually – I LOVE Blizzard’s Games – well, most of them, anyways!