Hell it was about time to:Crush the Zerg, see them driven before you & hear the lamentations of the Protoss

User Rating: 9 | Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty PC
Adjutant Online...
* (dead) SPOILERS EVERYWHERE *
* YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED *

Basically this is what Starcraft II-Wings of Liberty is all about.The Terran Campaign.Blizzard used the same formula found in Valve's Half-Life 2 & divided Starcraft II into 3 Parts, made it a Trilogy, a stand alone game for each faction:Terran, Zerg & Protoss.A 3 way war, first seen in the RTS Realm in 1992 in Westwood's Dune II-The Building of a Dinasty...but ironically it is often said that Starcraft is basically "Warcraft in Space" but i think it's very similar with the AvP Hybrid Concept where the Terrans are the equivalent of Marines, Zerg-Aliens & Protoss are like the Predators.So Blizzard made in these 12 Years, since Starcraft: Brood War from 1998, 3 Games, not only one.Brood War had 30 Missions, 10 for each faction.Here we have almost a total of 90 Missions, almost 30 for each faction so this sequel, Starcraft II Trilogy contains more missions than the original game + Brood War Combined.It was a smart decision.It makes the experience a little more interesting.The game is very similar with the Original:"-If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"& thank god they included Arnold Schwarzenegger's Great-Great-Great Grandson that pilots the New Unit called Thor, it's like a bigger version of the Goliath.He speaks in a strange germanic accent & asks you:"-What happened to you commander?They got you pushing too many pencils?" & i reply:"-No, i took an arrow to the knee..."
You are required to create a Battle.net Account in order to register the Game & if you want to play it you need to Log In & always be connected to the Internet.If the Internet falls into a pit or something the game interrupts & you have to start again from the last auto-save.When Installing the game, the Terran Adjutant keeps you entertained, briefing you with the past events that happened in the previous 2 games.The Multi-Player doesn't support LAN Play anymore but it's full of features to keep you busy for a long time.You get Ranked after you play at least 5 Matches, the same system that Metacritic & GameRankings use.You can create a party, Friends via Facebook or Twitter & other stuff like that.The Single-Player campaign has 4 Difficulties:Easy, Medium, Hard & Brutal.The Briefing Room has been replaced with the Hyperion, Jim Raynor's Ship, a place where you can Interact with lots of panels & characters.The Hyperion is divided into 4 Sections:Cantina, Armory, Bridge & Laboratory.At the Cantina Section you have a Bar where lots of people are drinking & where you can hear the News at the TV & you can hire Mercenaries from a Dude in Exchange of Credits that you earn during the campaign by unlocking several Achievements & stuff like that.There is also a Jukebox that plays Country Music & also a playable Arcade game, a Space Shooter specifically, you know, it's "a game within a game." At the Armory Bay you have a panel where you can upgrade your units & buildings, also in exchange for credits.In this Section you also see displayed the New Units you unlock as you progress through the campaign.By the time you finish the game, the Bay is loaded with the New units found in Starcraft II & you can also see the description for each of them.At the Laboratory you Research stuff at an interactive panel by doing the Bonus Objectives from every mission.There is also the Terran Adjutant that looks very similar with Jenova from Final Fantasy VII...what did you expect?It's Cyberpunk.& other stuff.
& the Bridge section where the game is playable from & where you can choose what mission you can complete.There is also a panel that shows you the progress you've made so far through the game.When you begin Starcraft II, you can create your own Abadah...i mean Avatar & you can see it later walking through the Hyperion among Raynor & the others even interact with them.
The Graphics are Great, High Quality HD Stuff that WOWs you especially during the cutscenes.Lot's of Eye Candy.I've noticed the Graphics look the Best, you can say they've put the most detail into the Introduction Sequence where Tychus Findlay gets "Jam-Packed" & the last Cutscene of the game where Jim (SPOILERS, i've warned you from the begining about this) saves Kerrigan & Tychus dies...of Disentery "sniff-sniff"...he just wasn't the Chosen ONE, he couldn't dodge Bullets at all!The rest of the cutscenes also look impressive but you can tell that there they've put the most detail here.The In-Game Graphics are also Very Impresive especially on the Ultra Settings where they can even Hypnotise you.This time we have real 3D Graphics, no more Pseudo 3D, isometric like in the original.You can even pan the Camera In/Out, like in Warcraft 3 for example.
The Sound Quality is Fantastic, Great Music as you'd expect but not quite on par with the original.There are some "Heavy Tunes" that get you pumped.
The Campaign is divided into 7 Tiers: Mar Sara Missions, Colonist, Covert, Rebellion, Artifact, Prophecy(which can be accesed from the Crystal found in the Laboratory) & the Final Missions which are the only ones that have the briefing outside the Hyperion, specifically on planet Char, on the Battlefield.The Missions are Interesting.There is a mission where the Low Altitude surfaces get flooded by Lava at every 5-10 Minutes & you have to get your units to high ground.There is another mission where the planet you're on is attacked by Solar Flares, the Planet get Burned Gradually as time goes by.Everything in the Fires path is destroyed so you have to gradually move your buildings & units to the Right Side of the Map.Here, they were inspired by the upcoming event from next year, 2012 which i hope it won't bring the End of the World-Aughhh!!!!!!!!!There are also other missions where you have to make decisions, to choose which path you want to go, which Characters Assignment you want to take.Basically when you go with somebody, the person that you refuse becomes your enemy.As expected, the last mission is the hardest & requires Crazy Fast Multi-Tasking, basically you have to make decisions as fast as a robot, or should i say as fast as the Terran Adjutant.Great Campaign Overall.
OK so the Story is about the rebel Jim Raynor & his team called" Raynor's Raiders" that fight against the Terran Dominion lead by the Great Emperor Arcturus Mengsk.While fighting against his army, Raynor discovers a piece of...a piece of an ancient Xel'Naga Artifact & as you progress through the Campaign you find more & more pieces of this Artifact which gets displayed aboard the Hyperion in the Laboratory.When the Artifact is Complete, it has the Power to (don't tell me i didn't warn you) restore the QUEEN OF BLADES back to her normal status as Sarah Kerrigan, the former Terran Ghost Unit, close to Jim Raynor's HEART, that was betrayed by Mengsk & then the Zerg captured her & made her look like...Regan MacNeil, something like that so now Jim Raynor, the "Priest" must Exorcise her with this Artifact.Yes, there is a Flashback during the Campaign, shows you that particular event from Starcraft 1 where Sarah is betrayed.
During the Campaign, you get involved into the Story so deep that you actually begin to give a damn about these characters, Jim Raynor & his redneck friends, Tychus, Swann & the others.&(SPOI...) Tychus dies at the end because he was a Mercenary Hired by Mengsk to kill both Raynor & Sarah.He was promised Liberty in exchange.Yeah, &...Jim Raynor actually has Hair Grown on his head.In the First Game he was Bald, now he must've made a Hair Transplant or something.& in every cinematic he holds a Glass in his hand & drinks something.
During the Campaign, Zeratul comes aboard the Hyperion & allies himself with the Terrans & gives Jim a Crystal which can be seen in the Laboratory.Now 4 Protoss Missions can be played in the overall Terran campaign, a campaign that brings the Doom of the Protoss as they are invaded by the Zerg & destroyed...a sneak-peak preview into the Protoss Campaign, Legacy of Void which makes me anxious to play it.
Another character that comes & goes aboard the Hyperion is a strange looking guy named Peter Tosh, that is specialised in Voodoo Magik & occult stuff like that.At some point, you have to make a decision whether he stays with 'cha or he becomes your enemy.
Near the end of the campaign, Raynor attacks Mengsk's ship & tried to kill him but it turns out to be Valerian Mengk, Arcturus Son...well i'll be damned!He makes Jim a proposal & they become Allies to kill the Zerg on Planet Char where the Queen of Blades awaits them.Valerian wants to succed where his father failed in order to become a worthy succesor to his throne, something like that.In the end, the Zerg are Destroyed thanks to the Artifact, Sarah is saved, Tychus dies & Mengsk is still Alive.Let's see what's "in store" for us in the upcoming 2 sequels:Heart of the Swarm & Legacy of the Void that end the Starcraft II Trilogy.
END OF BRIEFING.