Jacked up and good to go: Why StarCraft 2 is awesome

The moment has finally come. Years of waiting has come into fruition. I never thought the day would actually come but it has and all I have to say is: StarCraft 2 is worth the wait.

For the uninitiated, StarCraft is one of the most popular computer games played today. This is quite the achievement considering the fact that it came out in 1998. Just how popular is StarCraft? Consider the fact that it is basically South Korea's national sport or that it remained popular for 12 years

To put it into context, 1998 was the year 'N Sync debuted.

Is that not enough? Well then consider the fact that a 28 year old man once died from StarCraft related exhaustion. You read that correctly, a grown ass man died over his StarCraft addiction.

Over the years one would always hear rumors about StarCraft 2 but only enough to tease the loyal fan. A game this popular was bound to have a sequel, the question was when it would be released. To be honest I gave up hope on a sequel ever being released. Twelve years is a long time to wait for something. That's what makes July 27th all the sweeter. The second coming of StarCraft has finally arrived.

Hell, it's about time.

The question remains, is it any good? Does it live up to it's predecessor's name? Was it worth the wait or did Blizzard just take a crap in a box and ship it out with a cool cover? With the following behind the series, Blizzard would of still made a lot of money even if the game sucked (Halo series anyone?). Realizing this just makes me happy to report that StarCraft 2 is a complete improvement over the first game. One of the best games ever just got better.

Any possible improvement conceivable can be found in this sequel. While there are obvious improvements like graphics (the game better look better after twelve years in the making), it's the little details that shine. From troop management (using relay points for workers makes things a lot easier) to improved structures (I can't be the only person that was amazed by the supply depots), StarCraft 2 will shock you with how good it is.

Oh my God they go down now!

Some may be upset that StarCraft 2 has been broken up into three different games, one for each of the three races: Terran (the humans), Protoss (the aliens), and Zerg (the insect like cannon fodder). There are some that complain about just being able to play as Terran but I don't mind it since Terran is my preferred race anyway. There are some that complain about having to wait longer for the rest of the game but when you wait 12 years, what's another year? Lastly there are many that see the StarCraft 2 trilogy as a way for Blizzard to charge a player three time for one game. This argument shouldn't last after playing the first game however because there is enough production and playability in StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty to keep gamers busy until the next installment comes out. The single player is challenging, engaging and the fact that your decisions have an impact on some of the story allows for playability that the original game never had.

Simply put, if you have any remote interest in StarCraft or the kind of games that StarCraft represent, you will not be disappointed.