StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty (SC2WOL) was release on July 27 2010. It is a science fiction real time strategy game built by Blizzard Entertainment as a sequel to StarCraft. It has sold nearly 4.5 million copies since its release. Various platforms have rated the game with a score from 9 to 10. In this analysis, I hold the view that despite SC2WOL may be the most successful RTS game we have in recent years, it is far from a very good RTS game.
Lens 36 Competition
SC2WOL makes Battle.net the only legit platform to play multiplayer games, both quick matches and custom games. In quick matches, players play against each other in a chosen set of maps competitively to gain ladder points. And the players are constantly ranked according to how many points they have. Based on players’ abilities, they are put into different brackets, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, diamond, master and grand master. Brackets and rankings within brackets are made very clear with distinct icons. The Battle.net system ensures that players will not have to face someone from a much higher or lower bracket so that quick matches are fair. Both professional players and new players can compete meaningfully in quick matches. The professional circle of SC2WOL is made of extremely skillful players. The community looks up to players who win games at professional level.
Battle.net Season1 ranking icons
Lens 20 Judgment
In ways described in previous analysis, SC2WOL does a very fine job judging players based on their skills. However, it backfires because such design has made quick matches extremely competitive. A large number of players developed “ladder anxiety” where they are too anxious to play on the highly competitive ladder and they developed fear of losing and being demoted. Players also start judging and laughing at each other based on their brackets. Overall, the ladder system has made the game very painful to play for casual players.
Lens 30 Fairness
As a continuation from the previous analysis, the ladder system designed for quick matches may have made the quick matches fairer. The complete lack of a ladder system has made custom games a total disaster. Custom games are where players play unofficial fan made maps. Most of these maps are competitive in nature. Without a proper system to match players with similar skill level, custom games become extremely painful. Skilled players looking for a quality match with worthy opponents often find themselves tangled to carry new players in games. The custom games in SC2WOL are simply unfair most of the time.
Lens 68 The Hero’s Journey
SC2WOL’s storyline follows that of StarCraft 1, it features a universe ravaged by alien creatures “the Zerg”. And human know as “the Terran” and another alien life form “the Protoss” are trying to save the universe. The plot is very interesting with a lot of twists. It features a number of heroes from different races; some sacrificed themselves for the greater good. The main character featured is named Jim Raynor in SC2WOL. He started off seeking his own revenge against the emperor of Kuprulu sector. After realizing humanity is in danger, he set aside his personal interests and worked with his enemy’s son on a quest to save the world. His best friend betrayed him in the end. The plots of StarCraft series were so good that the fan community has been asking years for a movie to be released. Personally, I bought the game just to play through the story line.
Jim Raynor sitting with Tychus in one of the cinematics
Lens 86 Community
SC2WOL has a very good players’ community. They have invented BarCrafting where fans sit together in a bar and watch StarCraft tournaments together. This almost never happens for other games. The community is very happening too. A lot of people work very hard to expose people to the game and a lot of major tournaments are going on throughout the year.
In conclusion, SC2WOL did a very good job bringing players together and give them a good enough reason to play this game. However, there are aspects people expect from a RTS game that SC2WOL fails to deliver. The quick matches which should be the main attraction of the game deters casual gamers because of the mechanics. The balance in custom games is simply broken. Sequel to SC2WOL will be coming out during March, lets hope enough is done to mend this franchise.
Link of community page: http://www.teamliquid.net
Link of sample gameplay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev6BMKLH82g