5 reasons to preorder your copy of Starcraft II

Image courtesy of Crispy Gamer

There is no doubt that the hype for Starcraft II is building as I type this post.  With the beta in full swing, and beta keys being given out daily, the number of people who are experiencing the epic enjoyment of this game is on a steep climb.  If you are debating buying Starcraft II to see what the hype is all about, I would suggest you go ahead and preorder your copy right now.  Here are 5 reasons you should take my advice on this:

It carries the torch of the Starcraft legacy

There is no doubt that Starcraft II has some huge shoes to fill.  The original Starcraft, which was released in 1998, has sold over 11 million copies to date, making it the 3rd most popular PC game, and the most popular RTS game in history.  Starcraft helped pioneer the RTS genre that we enjoy today, and it set the standard for nearly every RTS game to follow.  The series has been around for over a decade and is still played competitively around the world.



The fundamentals are the same, yet the experience is new and refreshing
Blizzard has done an incredible job of not fixing what was not broken.  If you played the original Starcraft, you will be able to sit down and begin enjoying Starcraft II to its fullest within minutes.  Even if you never played the original, learning the basics and navigating the interface is quite simple and easy to learn.  However, while all this stays to to the original, Starcraft II offers a completely fresh and new experience, with new abilities, new units, new technology, and much more.



The graphics are great
Graphically and aesthetically speaking, Starcraft II is on a completely different level than its predecessor (obviously, considering the original is 12 years old now).  The detail in this game is incredible and adds a whole new depth to the RTS experience.  You will notice unique death animations based on different circumstances, new warp in animations for Protoss, and random weather effects in certain maps.



The spectator mode overhaul
The spectator mode allows for players to watch matches between other people on a new system that is incredibly robust and enjoyable.  In addition to standard fast forward, pause, and rewind abilities, you are also able to see a standard overview of the entire map, or watch from the perspective of individual players and see exactly what they currently can or cannot see.


In addition, there is the ability to compare between the players economic breakdown, units in production, active units that are in play, actions per minute, and even more.  A replay of every match that is played will instantly be saved to a script file for viewing and reviewing.  This allows players to watch and critique their own performance in order to improve.



Instant access to the Starcraft II Beta
Okay I already mentioned this in a previous post, but just for preordering your Starcraft II through Gamestop and Amazon.com (and as far as I know, only through those two sources) you will get a beta key.  The beta is in full swing, already boasting tournaments, hundreds of videos with commentary, and a healthy and bustling community.

So what are you waiting for?  This game will fill a void that many RTS gamers have had for years now.  And even if you are not an avid RTS geek, but you are just burned out on WoW, you should pick this up and try something new.  You owe it to yourself to preorder this game and claim a beta key for yourself right now!  Even if you don't enjoy it (which you will), the release of Cataclysm will be right around the corner.

Want in the Starcraft II beta?

So, you've been hearing about how sweet Starcraft II is and you want to try it so bad, but Blizzard has been cock blocking you with their beta key handouts?  Want to get your hands on a beta key, get in the beta immediately, and experience the smooth gameplay that everyone has been talking about?

If you're planning on buying the game on release, and are looking forward to getting some practice with your favorite Starcraft II race, here is your chance to get a guaranteed beta key.  Preorder your Starcraft II at any Gamestop location, and you will find a beta key printed on your receipt.  You can also preorder at the Gamestop website, but you will have to wait one business day for your key.  Yes, it is that easy.

A week ago, the keys were selling on ebay for hundreds of dollars (ridiculous, I know).  Now, if you preorder your game, you will get one for free.  So what are you waiting for?  Go take care of business...

Starcraft II beta

Over the easter weekend, I received my beta key from blizzard for Starcraft 2.  I never played the original Starcraft, and to be honest, I've never really played any games in the RTS genre.  But after playing the beta for about 4 hours, I was hooked.  I haven't been sucked into a game like that since I started playing WoW.  It can be frustrating, due to the learning curve that I'm on though.  It seems like everyone who is playing the game is a pro.  I can't really practice vs the cpu because very easy is the only option available in beta.  So I play online, and get whipped almost every single game.  But even still, its fun.  I hope to become a much better player in the near future.  We'll see how that goes I guess.

I can't help but think about Cataclysm being right around the corner.  These games must be releasing fairly close to each other, and to be honest, I think I'm more exited about the SC2 release than I am about Cataclysm.  Don't get me wrong, I'll still be playing Cataclysm and probably will eat these words when it comes out, but I'm just excited to be getting into something that is completely new to me.  Not just a new story line or a new game, but a whole new genre in general.  It's exciting.  I'll be going over a few of my favorite features of Starcraft II in detail in a future blog post.  What games are you guys looking forward to for 2010?