Wings of Liberty

The world-acclaimed real-time strategy (RTS) game StarCraft is coming out with its sequel, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, later this month. This release has been one of the most anticipated of its kind ever since the rumors of its development started five years ago. Officially, the release of StarCraft II was announced officially in 2007, to the elation of the gaming community. Developed exclusively by Blizzard, the gaming studio that brought you Diablo, Warcraft and World of Warcraft, it is a given that the the game will surpass  its competition.

In StarCraft II the story between the three main races of the game universe continues with the battle raging on between the Zerg, a monstrous hive-like alien race; the Protoss, a highly developed space-faring alien race; and the Terran, the humans of the 26th century. Given control of these races’ armies, the player is pitted against a computer-controlled AI (NPC) or another online player (PC) from anywhere in the world.

As StarCraft II neared release, closed beta-testing invites were sent to various lucky gamers in North America. Beta testing is a key process in which selected gamers in the community are allowed to play the game months before release to fine-tune its features and game play. I was fortunate enough to be selected for the testing period and, let me tell you, this game will absolutely dominate the gaming world similar to the way its predecessor, StarCraft, did. In testing this game I found the game play, graphics and performance to be some of the best I have experienced, from the in-depth unit control to the now streamlined Battle.net that allows players from around the world to wage epic battles against one another.

Some new features introduced to the game since the original StarCraft are multilevel terrain, a grid system for the positioning of units and buildings, and precise control over individual units and entire armies. system for the positioning of units and buildings, and precise control over individual units and entire armies. Given the precision of the building system and unit placement controls, players can now build perfect fortresses in which to defend against the armies of their opponents. This, of course, comes along with a huge leap in graphics technology, making the game depth more captivating and intense.

The real genius of StarCraft II is the success of maintaining the essence of the StarCraft universe introduced by the first game. From the flowing single-player campaign, where the player is introduced to the storyline of the game, to the fast-paced multiplayer battles, it keeps the same core game play that we all know and love, yet brings a more evolved gaming experience.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty comes out July 27, and many game stores across the country will be hosting a midnight release where the gamers, sometimes hundreds of people, stand in long lines to attain the game the second it is released. I don’t know about you, but hopefully I will see you in line.