StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (Mac & PC) - July 27th, 2010

[CKMorpheus]

The wait is finally over. Mark your calendars. The world-wide release of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty happens on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010!

Press Release:

Spoiler:

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that its highly anticipated real-time strategy game, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, will arrive in stores throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Mexico, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau starting on July 27, 2010. Players will also be able to purchase StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty directly from Blizzard Entertainment shortly after the retail launch.

"We've been looking forward to revisiting the StarCraft universe for many years, and we're excited that the time for that is almost here," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "Thanks to our beta testers, we're making great progress on the final stages of development, and we'll be ready to welcome players all over the world to StarCraft II and the new Battle.net in just a few months."

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is the sequel to Blizzard Entertainment's 1998 hit StarCraft, which has been hailed by players and critics worldwide as one of the top real-time strategy games of all time. Sporting a vibrant 3D-graphics engine, StarCraft II will once again center on the clash between the protoss, terrans, and zerg, with each side deploying legions of veteran, upgraded, and new unit types. Unparalleled online play for StarCraft II will be available through a new version of Battle.net, Blizzard Entertainment's world-renowned gaming service. Battle.net has been redesigned from the ground up to be the premier online gaming destination for Blizzard gamers, with several enhancements and new features, such as voice communication, cloud file storage, leagues and ladders, achievements, stat-tracking, and more.

The solo campaign for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty will continue the epic saga where it left off in StarCraft: Brood War. The story line chronicles the exploits of marshal-turned-rebel-leader Jim Raynor and features both familiar faces and new heroes. Players will be able to tailor the experience, choosing their own mission path and selecting technology and research upgrades to suit their playing style throughout the 29-mission campaign. Several challenge-mode mini-games will also be included, with focused goals designed to ease players into the basics of multiplayer strategies.

Screenshots:



Video:
Seven Minutes of Single Player gameplay:


Full HD Single Player cinematic:


Even though it will only have the Terran campaign, it will be 29 missions. For comparison, StarCraft 1's three species each had 10 campaigns. Word on the street is there will be a Protoss mission or two sprinkled in.

So which species is your favorite? Terran, Protoss, or Zerg?


Purchase:
Standard Edition - $59.99
Collectors Edition - $99.99

The Collectors Edition includes:

# The Art of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, a 176-page book featuring artwork from the game
# An exclusive 2GB USB flash drive replica of Jim Raynor's dog tag, which comes preloaded with the original StarCraft and the StarCraft: Brood War expansion set
# A behind-the-scenes DVD containing over an hour of developer interviews, cinematics with director's commentary, and more
# The official StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty soundtrack CD, containing 14 epic tracks from the game along with exclusive bonus tracks
# StarCraft comic book issue #0, a prequel to the comic series
# A World of Warcraft mini Thor in-game pet that can be applied to all World of Warcraft characters on a single Battle.net account
# Exclusive Battle.net downloadable content, including special portraits for your Battle.net profile, decals to customize your units in-game, and a visually unique version of the terran Thor unit

[fumanstan]

I play Protoss

[asabase]

I enjoyed protoss, but am really waiting for D3 to get released. It is turning into a duke nukem forever wait.

[Deftones]

$60 fucking dollars for a PC game, though? I know it's Blizzard and it's going to be a quality product, but damn, gina! I'm going to buy it, because I loved the first, but I was taken aback at the price.

[CKMorpheus]

Originally Posted by Deftones

$60 fucking dollars for a PC game, though? I know it's Blizzard and it's going to be a quality product, but damn, gina! I'm going to buy it, because I loved the first, but I was taken aback at the price.

As far as I remember, almost all Blizzard games were released at $60. I know Diablo 2 was for sure.

[fumanstan]

I can't really see how $60 for a console game is OK but not for a PC game

[Supermallet]

$60 isn't okay for either! And, let's face it, how many of us buy games at full face value all that often anyway?

Anyway, this will be mine on release day. I've been waiting for this for years. And I play Zerg, and when I want to mix it up I go Protoss.

[dvdjunkie32]

Originally Posted by Deftones

$60 fucking dollars for a PC game, though? I know it's Blizzard and it's going to be a quality product, but damn, gina! I'm going to buy it, because I loved the first, but I was taken aback at the price.

Given the countless hours I played on bnet, still worth the price for me. Wow, I almost can't believe that it is finally coming in a few months.

[edstein]

Do you have to pay to play ala WOW?

[CKMorpheus]

Originally Posted by dvdaddict32

Given the countless hours I played on bnet, still worth the price for me. Wow, I almost can't believe that it is finally coming in a few months.

Believe it!!

[CKMorpheus]

Originally Posted by edstein

Do you have to pay to play ala WOW?

Nope!

[Deftones]

Originally Posted by fumanstan

I can't really see how $60 for a console game is OK but not for a PC game

I never said either was fine. But look at it this way. Most PC games come out at the $39 or $49 price point now, right? What if we got some super hyped console game that bucked the trend and came out at $69 or $79? That wouldn't seem right, would it?

[fumanstan]

Originally Posted by Deftones

I never said either was fine. But look at it this way. Most PC games come out at the $39 or $49 price point now, right? What if we got some super hyped console game that bucked the trend and came out at $69 or $79? That wouldn't seem right, would it?

Nah, I see what you mean. Just saying that a game is a game no matter what platform it's released on. PC games are usually $49, so yeah $10 over the norm.

[timewaster]

blizzard is the only game company i would buy at full price the day it comes out.

[DaveNinja]

They're releasing the story in 3 parts. the first part has the Terran campaign and battle.net/multiplayer stuff so maybe the following 2 parts (protoss and zerg campaigns) will be cheaper.

[Liver&Onions]

You'll never see my upgraded carriers! Just know they are hanging out behind the Arbiter.

[Liver&Onions]

Originally Posted by DaveNinja

They're releasing the story in 3 parts. the first part has the Terran campaign and battle.net/multiplayer stuff so maybe the following 2 parts (protoss and zerg campaigns) will be cheaper.

[Kelkee]

My only beef is that I have give money to Activision.

If I download it directly can I bypass them and give my money right to Blizzard? Have they even announced a direct download option?

[fumanstan]

Originally Posted by DaveNinja

They're releasing the story in 3 parts. the first part has the Terran campaign and battle.net/multiplayer stuff so maybe the following 2 parts (protoss and zerg campaigns) will be cheaper.

Originally Posted by Liver&Onions

I'll bet you a new copy of Part 2 that it won't be $60

[Liver&Onions]

Originally Posted by fumanstan

I'll bet you a new copy of Part 2 that it won't be $60

I will not take that bet, but I will quote this and try to remember to come back to it in a year or so.

[Drexl]

Originally Posted by fumanstan

I can't really see how $60 for a console game is OK but not for a PC game

Aren't the licensing fees for consoles part of it?

[Lastblade]

Activision behind Blizzard, there is no way in hell part 2/3 would be anything less than $59.99.

[fumanstan]

Originally Posted by Drexl

Aren't the licensing fees for consoles part of it?

I think that and the rising cost of game development were cited as reasons for the $10 price increase for this current generation.

And Activision really doesn't affect much of Blizzard's operations. Trust me.

[Draven]

Originally Posted by Lastblade

Activision behind Blizzard, there is no way in hell part 2/3 would be anything less than $59.99.

The only way I think it might be cheaper is if you have to have the first game to play online. If each "chapter" stands on its own with both single and multiplayer modes, then $59.99 makes sense.

[RyoHazuki]

is this game like warcraft? will i need to play starcraft one to get the story? do you think my computer will run the game? what are the multiplayer options like? i've tried playing online once with warcraft but i couldn't find the option. is this more of an action game or a rpg? does anyone know a good place to buy pc games locally?