| Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty | 
| From: Blizzard Entertainment
Category: Video Games
List Price: $59.99
Buy New: $51.00
as of 9/8/2010 22:12 EDT details
You Save: $8.99 (15%)
New (33) Used (5) from $50.00
Seller: WorldofGamers
Rating:  1100 reviews
Sales Rank: 23
Format: DVD-ROM
Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows XP, Mac OS X
Genre: real_time_strategy_games
ESRB: Teen
Media: Video Game
Edition: Standard
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Number Of Items: 1
Batteries Included: No
Operating System: Windows XP
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.3 x 1.6
MPN: 72838
Model: Starcraft II: Wings
UPC: 020626728386
EAN: 0020626728386
ASIN: B000ZKA0J6
Publication Date: July 27, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Fast-paced, hard-hitting, tightly balanced competitive real-time strategy gameplay that recaptures and improves on the original game | | • | Three completely distinct races: Protoss, Terran, and Zerg | | • | Units and gameplay mechanics distinguish each race | | • | 3D-graphics engine with support for visual effects and massive unit and army sizes | | • | Full multiplayer support, with competitive features and matchmaking utilities available through Battle.net |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Starcraft II PC
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1100
 Great game. Welcome to modern gaming. July 27, 2010
J. J. Marino (Rochester, New York)
61 out of 83 found this review helpful
This new iteration of Starcraft is very good.
This is the collectors edition. Its about thirty dollars more than the base version. While that may seem like a lot being one third more cost, you do get a ton of really cool extras. I will put a + next to the ones I think are good. Whats different in this version vs the other version. For your thirty dollars you get:
..>> A nice art book with paintings, character models, sketches for behind the scenes look into the art of the game.
+ >> A making of DVD with behind the scenes movie of how the game was made.
..>> A CD of the music from the game.
+ >> A 2GB Flash drive shaped like Raynor's dog tag. In the drive there is the original Starcraft plus the Broodwar Expansion. You can use this drive for anything its still a 2GB drive in the end.
..>> A Starcraft comic book
+ >> A different icon for your character on Battlenet.
+ >> Special Icons and logos for your units in the game
+ >> Special collectors edition of the Terran Thor.
+ >> MY favorite a MiniThor pet for WoW that is for all characters on your Battlenet account. Just like the Pandaren monk or Mountain Dew promotional pet.
Its alot for only a few dollars more. I spent that much on 3 WoW pets, so if your into unique items this may be the upgrade for you. I have too many books now as it is so the extras are not IMHO worth it all that much. That being said the DVD has a nice production value to it and the other pieces are well made so if you are into that aspect you may enjoy it more.
The review of the game:
Blizzard has taken this game into the modern time with a new look, 3D engine and new strategies. You do not have to have played the original Starcraft to understand what is going on here. Blizzard has made this game to be completely stand alone and to train you as the player from the ground up. This means that if you may be new to the story then you will be brought up to speed quickly. If you are a veteran you will appreciate the new and exciting look and feel plus the new units.
3D:
+ For the first time you can swing down and check out your units and see what they can see with regard to the terrain.
+ Beautiful 3D terrain and environment. You really feel immersed in the fantastic vistas and look of the game.
+ Smooth performance even with low end graphics cards. I played this on my PC which has a GTX 470 and of course it was beautiful. I then tried it out on my wife's Macbook Pro (with old ATI card) and while not as rich looking it was very playable and smooth. Which means Blizzard cares enough about their fan base to let older slower computers play this game.
Sound:
+ Zerg squishy noises are awesome and make me nauseous to hear them. The clink of the space marines are so fitting and the phased sounds of the Protoss are spot on. Great sounds that add to the immersion.
+ Voice acting is some of the best I have heard in a game. It has a cinematic feel to it as you play.
Single Player:
+ The single player mode is fun and it is what I have played most sofar. It is challenging and without using any cheats (I am sure they are there but not released as of yet), it means I really have to watch my resources and units well.
+ Units are easily queued and respond with amazing AI. Give them a general order and they follow it and can think on their own better than any other RTS I have ever played, thats saying alot because I have played probably most of the RTS games even back to the original Civilization ( yes I am dating myself here).
Online play:
+ Games are quick to get into and feature a nice interface that makes the waiting time pass.
+ The ranking system thus far seems very fair and well thought out. I am sure it will change in the future but for now is very good.
Summary:
This is more than an update of the original. It is more like a movie playing homage to an old classic. What you get here is a brand new game with a history behind it as being one of the best video games of all time. Don't believe me ask one of the professional SC1 players. This game will grow over time and by the time the last iteration comes out it will be so polished that it may surpass SC1 as the seminal RTS game.
In closing:
I am not an employee of Blizzard nor am I a Fanboy. I merely purchased a game, enjoyed it wrote a review here on Amazon. Nothing more nothing less. I am passing on this information to you the consumer in hopes you will find this to be the case for you too.
It is great RTS game, get it.
UPDATE: August 1 2010
Ok Multiplayer just rocks. I spent 10 hours today playing head to head with my friends and against others. Its really good. From time to time people may crash and then the game gives you the win after 45 seconds. The chat is great, you can talk to your allies, your team mate and the opponents by just hitting tab. The achievements are great and really fun. I am still doing the unranked challenges, you get 50 total then you are ranked. By then you should know what your doing. You can create your own custom games, maps and setup. Very customizable.
Overall this is fantastic and really engaging. I haven't sat this long in one sitting since raid nights on WoW. I still don't get where people say you cannot chat with the other team, your team or whatever? I think its a ton of misinformation that is spreading. Oh well I am enjoying the heck out of this.
Get this game and get in the battle!
Thank you for reading my review.
Beautiful July 29, 2010
Terrance Shaw (Virginia Beach, VA USA)
16 out of 22 found this review helpful
Before I begin, I want to make this perfectly clear: AS THIS REVIEW IS TARGETED AT THE COLLECTOR'S EDITION OF THE GAME, IT'S REVIEWING THE COLLECTOR'S EDITION MATERIALS. There's a small afterthought of a review of the game at the end, but the reviews of the game already are Legion, so why remake the wheel?
That being said...
Honestly, I've been a fan of StarCraft since I found out about it back in 1993. That being said, I think it only fair to warn you that I've never been any good at it, or for that matter, strategy games as a whole. I can and do, however, enjoy the games on a somewhat more artistic level, which is something that saddens me to learn isn't the norm. More people are concerned with just getting into the game so that they can "melt other people's faces", and "roll their faces across the keyboard" to victory.
Again: I've never been a good strategist, and I put this out there as plain as the nose on my face.
That being said, the Collector's Edition of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is perhaps the most beautiful CE of any game that I've ever purchased in the history of ever. I consider myself fortunate that I was among the first to pre-order when Amazon started sales for it back in April, and I don't, for one minute, regret my decision to purchase it.
The Box That Rox
So yeah, the first thing that always stands out about a CE is the packaging. The SCII CE is no slouch in this department, and indeed, goes far above and beyond what I've seen before. The cardboard is a thick and dare I say rugged affair, emulating the militaristically efficient machines that the Terrans employ in their warfare. Honestly, the picture of the packaging dfoesn't do it any justice: It actually has some serious depth and feel to it.
It's What's Inside That Counts
Once you hastily peel away the cellophane protecting your treasure, you're given access to the cache of goodies that Blizzard has delivered for your enjoyment. You've got the game DVD itself, a pre-comic of sorts, USB thumbdrive resembling Jim Raynor's dog tag, soundtrack, art book, and extras DVD. What you don't see, that's given to each of your characters in World of Warcraft, existing or yet to exist, is an exclusive Mini Thor pet. Sadly, despite the fact that Mini Thor can fly around you in loops, it cannot fly when you yourself lift off. Though I suppose this makes sense, as Thor isn't an air unit itself.
I haven't checked out ALL of the extras just yet, but the dog tag is quite remarkable in that it seems to actually be encased in aluminum. It's got a very solid, very heavy feel to it, and I gotta be honest: If my job didn't expressly forbid the wear of USB thumbdrives on the premises, I'd be all over it. I haven't actually tested the pre-installed SC and SC:BW on the drive, but I'm gonna assume they're there... just waiting.
The soundtrack... this is what I've been waiting for since they first unveiled the cinematic with Tychus earlier in the year (or was it last year?). Either way, I had to get rolling off to work, so I snagged the disc and took it to play in the car. As per the norm, Blizzard seated the track from your title screen as track numero uno. Of particular note would be the tracks, "The Deal", which is the same music from that cinematic, and "I, Mengsk", which reintroduces us to the same opera suite they had from back in the SC:BW intro. All in all, it's a gorgeous set of tracks, and it's just one more in a long line of musical masterpieces by Blizzard's audio department.
It's About The Software, Stupid
So obviously, chances are good that you're not gonna be buying this solely for the box and the swag. I haven't played the actual game itself yet beyond the first mission, but I'll say this: It's a beautiful world that gets installed on those spinning platters. The visuals are gorgeous, the voice acting is phenomenal, and there's a point at which I forget that this an RTS that I'm playing. Controls are familiar (i.e., identical) to the original game, and being able to swoop in to ground-level to put yourself among your units? Amazing.
It's not without its problems, however. Installing requires you to authenticate your copy of the game with the B.NET system. Which wouldn't be a problem, except that now I've got TWO games that require I have my Blizzard Authenticator on hand. And come on, requiring that I use an Authenticator to play an offline campaign? Please, Blizzard. Please. (Yes, I realize that you can sign on as a guest, but that's a copout.)
There've been a lot of complaints about the game only having the Terran campaign available for single player, but really? The Terran campaign from Wings of Liberty is longer than all three campaigns from the original, so who cares? My only gripe here is the serious cliffhanger that the campaign ends on.
All in all, the SCII CE is a beautiful package deal, and I highly recommend it to anyone that considers themself a true fan of the franchise.
Amazing game July 28, 2010
Sazkion
13 out of 18 found this review helpful
I'm going to make this review short.
For everyone who is complaining about only having one side of the story, the story is over 20 hours long! I have read that it can take 25-30 hours to beat, which is about as long as the single campaign was in the original StarCraft for all three races. Blizzard only released one side of the story to go as in-depth as they wanted. They couldn't do that if they had all three races at once.
My biggest problem with this game is one thing. No LAN. Seriously Blizzard? One of the main perks of the original game was being able to play with all of your friends in a basement while drinking soda all night. You can't do that anymore which is a major killer.
However, StarCraft has surpassed all of my expectations, plus it comes with the original game as well which is a great perk.
Review on the Collector Edition Pack August 5, 2010
shadowed heart (United States)
10 out of 14 found this review helpful
I already wrote a detailed review of the actual gameplay in the war zone known as the Standard Edition (SE) - which was a mistake I can't take back. But I wanted to separate the two because someone looking to buy the Collector's Edition (CE) wants to know if it is worth it to spend the extra $40. Ultimately that depends on each person, but I can at least share my views of what I think of the CE.
..:::USB Dog Tag:::..
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This is one good looking custom USB thumb drive and solidly constructed. It is 2GB and over 700MB is used by the original StarCraft (SC) and Brood War (BW) installs. I was kind of praying the games were pre-installed on the thumb drive and I could just plug it in and play off the thumb drive ...but oh well. :) When you plug the thumb drive into your machine the install window pops up. It will auto-populate its CD Key into the install screen, but if you already have SC1 and have the CD Key handy you can use your old SC1 key instead and save the CD Key on the thumb drive for a friend/family member.
The orange portion of the USB Dog Tag lights up with a very cool, calm orange glow. LEDs use very little power so don't worry about that. Some people are sensitive to lights so that might not be a plus to them. I find it very cool and if I was able to use thumb drives at work I would use it for sure. There is also a small blue activity light near neck ring that shows when it is in use or transfering data. When you use your operating system to safely disconnect the usb thumb drive all LEDs turn off letting you know it is no longer in use and safe to disconnect. You can wear it around your neck with same metal beads you'd expect with a real dog tag. The USB connector plug pushes in and out, so there is no need for a cap to it.
..:::Art Book:::..
..................
Very well constructed - coffee table quality. It is binded well and presented quite professionally. Honestly you can find many of the same pictures on the SC2 website as the website has over 500 artwork images you can download. There are some unique to the book as I didn't see every picture in the book on the website. This can be both a pro and con depending on how you look at it. Part of me would like to have completely unique images in the book, but it is also nice having a digital copy of some of these great images. Also having the artwork hardbound into a nice book is still unique in of itself to the CE. This is something you can show to your friends who are curious what SC2 is and why you spend so much time on it.
The artwork is mostly a mix of artist renditions of the most popular units (not all), some buildings and some planet landscapes. The book showcases all 3 races but has more pages dedicated to the Terran, which makes sense.
..:::Soundtrack CD:::..
.......................
There are 14 Tracks of in-game music. Doesn't beat a real music CD but at the same time my office mates didn't complain. In fact, they asked me what movie it was from. It's decent background music to break up silence while working. About four tracks are 2min long, couple 4min, one 9min, but most are around 5-7min long. In the end, you probably still have to be a SC gear head to enjoy and appreciate it. I like it, as it will be nice to mix in when need a break from standard music. Though I will say 8 - Firstborn - is probably my favorite as it seems more like the iconic SC music I've come to love all these years.
...:::Comic Book:::...
......................
Here is where you will hate my review. I did not look at it as I'm not much of a comic book fan so figured I'd keep it in the cellophane in case it becomes a collectible later on that someone might want. It is issue #0 so I'm guessing at some point Blizzard will decide to turn it into a real comic book. Heard mix reviews on it, most the negative ones came from people who already were negative toward the game so was kind of hard to really gauge from other reviews. Though even if I looked at it, I really couldn't offer a good review for it since I don't read comics.
..:::SC2 In-Game Content:::..
.............................
- BNet portraits (Night Elf Banshee, Tauren Marine, Diablo Marine, Raynor Marine)
- Three decals (Alliance symbol, Horde symbol, Diablo skull)
- Unique skin for the Thor unit
When you edit your profile in Battlenet (Bnet) you have a portrait that shows next to your name whenever you join a game. You unlock different portraits by earnings achievements within the game. This is a way to show off what you have accomplished and also a way to distinquish yourself. The CE comes with 4 portraits (listed above) and they all look good. My favorite is the Diablo Marine. Even though I don't play WoW the female Night Elf Banshee would be second favorite.
Every time you select a race in Battlenet you can also have a separate picture representing that race. If you're military, think of it like a patch for your Regiment/Unit/Wing/etc. Keeping with SC terminology, it would like how there different Broods and having a patch for that. This image displays next to the race name when it shows what race you selected in the game. Just like with portraits you unlock these by completing achievements. For the CE you get 3. They look nice - they could look nicer, though I do prefer them over the default.
..:::WoW In-Game Content:::..
.............................
Cannot comment on the quality as I don't play WoW, but just like with the SC2 in-game content they are tied to your account/cd-key.
..:::DVD of Cinematics and Making of Documentary:::..
.....................................................
This is broken up into sections so you should be able to watch the Making of SC2 without worry spoiling the story of the game. I'm not really a fan of watching the "making of ___" videos so I'm holding off till I finish the single player campaign so I can watch the cinematics as well.
You don't need this DVD to watch the cinematics of the game. As you progress into the game (need to beat Mission #3) you can watch all the cinematics from the game using the Mission Archives you find on the ship's Bridge. You can also save your campaign as a whole and restart your whole campaign and just Load your old campaign if you say want to watch some of the later cinematics. So you don't need the DVD to enjoy the cinematics you watched while playing the game. This just makes it convienent if you want to watch it on your TV in your living room or without loading up the game.
The cinematics are gorgeous - already re-watched some. Being a Protoss/Zerg fan I loved the Zeratul ones.
Overall this the only CE pack I don't regret buying. But $40 is a lot of money, especially for things I won't enjoy on a day-to-day basis like I will with the actual game. But considering the original SC/BW is anywhere from $10-$20, which I've played almost every year since 1998 and I can keep/gift the cd-key to someone is a nice feature. A non-custom designed 2GB flash drive is roughly $8-$13. I think when Blizzard released a cinematic DVD it was released at $20 ...which I think is way too expensive and never did buy. So between those three things alone, the rest pretty much becomes gravy. But if you're not into bonus stuff just like I don't watch bonus material with movies, than that $40 extra dollars in your bank account might look more appealing. But like I said ...this is the only Collector's Edition I've actually liked.
Far as the game is concerned, my review was posted on 30 July 2010 in the SE copy of the game. I broke it up because I wanted to address the CE material separately. If you don't feel like chasing down my review, to quickly sum it up:
Despite the drawbacks (no LAN, region lock, no unique bnet name, no private channels in bnet, online activation) I not only find the game overall to be so strong that the Pros outweigh the Cons I find the Pros to be so strong I still give the game is a 5 star rating knowing full well those cons are significant ones. So many games these days, some of which are $60 SE, only offer a 6-8hr single player campaign. Even if you are quick enough to beat this game in 14.5hrs (which would be 30min per mission) the amount of replay far exceeds that. There are decision points in the game that may make you want to play it again with a different choice. There are Tech upgrades you may want to try out that you weren't able to try the first time around. There are multiple difficulty levels. The are achievements to earn, and some are actually very fun to try. Then you include Skirmishes and the Challenge missions, which will actually get you better prepared for the Multiplayer experience then the single player campaign will and you throw even more hours of enjoyment on top of that. Then you have a very balanced multiplayer experience that is extremely fun to play if you decide you want to participate. You can also play CO-OP against the computer with friends if you're not multiplayer fan.
Very few games offer both a very solid Single Player (SP) and Multiplayer (MP) experience. And I find Blizzard games to offer the most hours of enjoyment for both SP and MP. With SC2 you can easily get yours money's worth with just the SP. Some people only play the MP aspect of the game and are satisfied with their purchase.
I still play the original SC and BW to this day, since its one of the few games my parents computer can play and I find SC2 to be better in every way. I think some people just remember the fun they had 12yrs ago and don't remember details too well because Bnet 1.0 was horrible. Yeah it had chat channels but my friends and I had to talk on IRC to setup games because Bnet 1.0 was always lagging and caused too much confusion as sometimes it would lag by 5 minutes.
One thing I didn't mention in my SE review is to make sure you use Replay functionality when you play games online. It records everything but the enemey's conversation. You can even watch from your opponents point of view and see how they build their base, what they saw during the game, what they didn't see, etc.. It's a very powerful tool and far more improved than previous Replay tools. Make use of it. The file space is very minimal too as it records actions via a text file and the replay tool reads those files and translates it into a video for you to watch. It's great for learning where you went wrong, what you did right and learning tricks off your opponents. If you want to learn tricks for multiplayer, search for Day9 TV. He is litterally the SC encyclopedia and goes into better depth than anyone else explaining the mechanics of the game. He uses the replay tool to commentate on games.
Ok I wasn't expecting to add the last three paragraphs or it would have been a quick summary on the gameplay. Sorry!
The Truth of the Matter July 28, 2010
Chad D. Jacobson (MN USA)
14 out of 20 found this review helpful
This game is fantastic. It has great single player, great multiplayer, and the kind of depth that should keep players entertained for years to come. Blizzard has made another classic.
Does the game lack simple Battle.net features that Blizzard pioneered 13 years ago (and should have had)? Yes. Does the game lack LAN support (when it should have included it)? Yes. But, even without those features, the rest of what this game has to offer us makes it simply amazing. (People need to weigh the value of a game on the basis of everything it provides and not get overly focused on one issue or another.)
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