StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty

So I've been torn about what to say about this game for some time, and I've delayed this post for a week and a half thinking of what I should say.  At first, I was very reluctant to buy SC2, thinking it was just a slightly tweaked SC1.  I was pissed that Blizzard is releasing the campaign as 3 separate games, a total money grabbing move.  I've spent a decent amount of time with it now, and I've finally started to make up my mind.

SC2 is a solid game.  Unlike my initial opinion, enough has changed from SC1 to justify picking this up.  Several units have been removed and added, including units that are staples to all races. The core gameplay, flow, and many iconic units (siege tanks!) still exist as they were, so fans of the original need not fear.  The gameplay as a whole is really solid.  There are counters to just about everything, and counters to those counters, however micro and macro management remain important enough that it is not simply a game of rock paper scissors.  Far from it, SC2 is massively skill based, and it is quite easy to spot the better player.  The races all have a unique flavor, and play VERY differently.  Finding the race that fits you will be essential to multiplayer success.

The campaign in SC2 is fairly well executed, but not particularly impressive.  The length is nothing to get excited about.  The cinematics and between mission banter do add some depth if you enjoy the StarCraft story.  While the missions aren't really BAD in anyway, I just felt it was unremarkable.  There was nothing that stood out about the campaign that made it particularly enjoyable.  It was just pretty bland.  There are plenty of achievements to pick up, many requiring play on high difficulties, so if you do enjoy beating on RTS AI there is some replayability here.  If you aren't interested in SC2's multiplayer, don't bother picking up SC2 just for the campaign, it just isn't worth it.

Multiplayer is the heart and soul of SC2, and it delivers.  The matches are intense, and quick enough that you can squeeze one in during half time of the Viking beating Dallas (woot!).  As I said, these are VERY skill based, with little luck involved.  The maps are diverse, and there are teamplay and solo matchmaking queues.  Matchmaking, however, is what really pisses me off in this game.  SC2 has you play a few placement matches to figure out which of the divisions of skill to place you in (copper silver gold platinum and diamond in order of least to best).   I was placed in Silver division after doing my placement matches, and proceeded to play vs platinum, which is TWO divisions high than me, for the next several games.  After a few matches against equally skill opponents, again I landed vs platinum.  I'm not stomping in silver, in fact my current record is something like 9-12 (I suck at RTS games, and have never played vs real people before, so shutup).  Overall, I've probably hit platinum around 25-30% of my games, with another 20% vs gold (one division above).  Gold is forgivable, but platinum is just a stomp and it is stupid.  I would understand if I was winning a lot and the match making wanted to see if I should move up, but this simply isn't the case, not even close.  This makes no sense, as I was queuing at regular gaming hours, and there are a TON of SC2 players that it could match me with that would be a far more fair fight.  The matches I play vs opponents of close to equal skill are INCREDIBLY fun.  However, after I have 1 or 2 good matches, it throws a platinum in and I get stomped so hard I want to quit SC2 forever.  To sum it up, if you are an above average RTS player, you will have great time playing SC2 online.  However, if you are average like me, or below average like the poor copper players, match making hates you, and you will get put in matches you don't stand a chance in fairly frequently. I don't understand why SC2 has such crappy match making.  If all my games were vs silver, the DIVISION IT SAYS I SHOULD PLAY IN, I would have a blast, as they are mostly around my skill level.  Alas, Blizzard finds it necessary to put me vs far superior foes, TWO DIVISIONS above me, so often that I just don't play much SC2 online anymore.

My experience with SC2 is quite mixed.  While I enjoy the game, the match making frequently makes me forgo playing SC2 for something that isn't such a crapshoot.  If you don't mind losing, or are a skilled RTS player, you will love SC2.  If you aren't very good, or are just average like myself, and you don't like losing, avoid SC2.  Poor match making will make you rage, a LOT.  Also, don't even think about picking up SC2 for the single player.  The campaign is acceptable, but definitely not worth the price for the full game.  If all 3 campaigns were included, it might be a different story, but with only 1/3 included (the Terran story) I can't recommend SC2 for its singleplayer.

Edit:  I forgot to mention, SC2 multiplayer is so fun that the current tournament games are being broadcast.  They have actual commentators, and the game is so popular that the prize payout in the 1st major tournament was roughly $86,000.00 to first place.  Watching these games is actually quite enjoyable.

Edit 2: I should note that I have been playing vs platinum players less frequently as I've logged more games, however my statement about match making still rings rather true.  Many of the matches I play are annoyingly lopsided one way or the other.  If Blizzard worked on the matchmaking a bit this could be a really great experience.