Buy StarCraft II

[Eternimus]

The Terran campaign is complete. Why it was split was because they wanted to make a mini-series. Consider it three books. And it's cool. It's done very well. You do play as Protoss for a few missions, and you don't ~have~ to play online, it just won't save your achievements without it, and that is a big problem for a lot of people. It's by no means perfect, and in multi-player sure you don't get like a gold sticker or something, but the campaign mode, if you manage all 29 missions it's only mmm... well for an SC Veteran I would say 15-20 or so hours if you want to do everything. If you just want to start-finish the game then you can do it in under 8 hours. If you want it just for the campaign, personally I think they could have done without the $60 price tag. For everything in it, it's worth it, mainly cause I do comp-stomps and multi-play.

I did think the way you did initially however, as once I heard there was ONLY the Terran Campaign and no LAN play I considered not buying the game at all. But I got into the beta, and had a blast. Against the computer there was only "Very Easy" difficulty, and no campaign to start, but it was loads of fun with new tricks and treats. That's when I decided it was worth getting. And the campaign was one of the best done in an RTS> They quit with the "Every mission you go kill x amount of bases" to interesting objectives, specific things you need to kill, etc. And you can play the campaign on Hard too, if you want an extra challenge.

Just boils down to personal preference.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

While I enjoy frustratingly difficult video games (Demon's Souls, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, etc.), I don't enjoy playing frustratingly difficult games that give you no sense of satisfaction upon clearing them.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma was frustratingly difficult for you?!  Son, you need to go play the first Ninja Gaiden on the NES.

That being said, my initial turn-off was that I was more interested in the non-terran aspect of the game, and learning that the base game is only terran made me kind of sad. I was afraid of getting a game that wasn't "complete", if you catch my drift.

If it makes you feel any better, the "Heart of the Swarm" and "Legacy of the Void" expansions will probably be in the $25-$30 price range and the campaigns in those are likely to be just as long as the first one.

P.S. - And I do enjoy FarmVille, thank you very much.

Then I'm willing to wager that your Y chromosome is actually a V chromosome.

It's by no means perfect, and in multi-player sure you don't get like a gold sticker or something, but the campaign mode, if you manage all 29 missions it's only mmm... well for an SC Veteran I would say 15-20 or so hours if you want to do everything.

Took me closer to 24-30 hours to complete 26/29 missions on Normal, and I'm not exactly a slouch.  I haven't yet gone back to do the other half of the binary choice missions.  Considering all of the missions also offer Casual, Hard, Brutal, and Insane difficulty levels...there's actually a lot of replay value in SC2's story mode.  That doesn't even include all the Challenges and the player vs AI skirmish gameplay (where you can play as any of the races, Keph).

[Goman Fox]

Crazy Korean SC Skills:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbpCLqryN-Q" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbpCLqryN-Q</a>

[Taylor-MadeAK]

I've seen APM (actions per minute) pop up in my SC2 replays, and after watching numerous replays of both myself (16 APM) and pro gamers (LiquidTLO: 150 avg, MaDFroG: 190 avg -- BOTH are spamming ground clicks for unit movement, rally points, etc. to get those high APM numbers), I've come to one conclusion: APM is bullshit.  Pure unadulterated bullshit.  That crazy Korean?  Yeah, most of his clicks and keystrokes did nothing but boost that imaginary APM number.

I look at it this way: if APM really were an accurate measure of your RTS skill, then why can my piddly 16 APM self beat a "hard" mode AI who is doing 500 APM?  Why can Eternimus's whopping 10-12 APM stomp my 16 APM ass into the ground every time I play against him?

Because APM is bullshit, that's why.  As an indicator of your StarCraft skill, the number is absolutely meaningless no matter what anyone else says.

[Eternimus]

Yeah he's right. I don't need to click spam or key press spam to win a match. All it does is speed up your tempo and give you more chance to screw up. I don't need haste. I have a good solid build order for early game rush, with ANY race, and if that fails I've already backed it up with base defense. One good solid series of moves is better than a million meaningless actions. I.E. ctrl+click on my 60 hydras, attack-move to the heart of your main base. Wait. Profit. If they count keystrokes and clicks at the same time, since I usually group my units so they're easy to pick up, then it'd be ctrl+1 as well, so that's what, 6-8 apm? And will totally f*** up an unprepared opponent.

Yes, ninja speed is good. On something like Rock Band or Guitar Hero. And anyone who sees me play those on expert knows damn well I do more than 10-12 APM. But in a game like StarCraft, it's pointless. It's just to make the replays look like they're important. But no matter what, you won't get a barracks up in less than 50 seconds. APM's don't help your miners harvest. They don't help your buildings spawn units.

You know why as good as I am on the original I was never showcased online or in a battle report or something? I don't DO that stupid APM padding. More than once with my original Hehatchi b-net account they wanted to put me in a magazine or on a web page or something. But wouldn't. Because I didn't ninja click to make it look like I am doing way more than I actually did. I was told if I did that, they'd have showcased me as one of the best, and I would become famous. But since I didn't, only people that know I am that good are the countless faces I have ground into the dirt. And you know why I didn't, even though it would have netted me lots of Korean teen ass and probably money?

I didn't want to lie.

The way you win a SC match, against ANY opponent, is not clicking around like you're having a seizure. It's to build right so you can attack your opponent before they can defend. Or seeing what they're using, and countering it. And if those fail, overwhelming them with brute force. It's not clicking around the map like you're playing with a blindfold on hoping to hear the sound of the unit you're looking for. And if I was going to have anyone learn to play like I do, they are going to do it right.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Interestingly, have you watched the replay of us three vs the "insane" AI last night?  James was doing three times the APM of you or I, yet he was the weakest link in our defense.  O.o

Oh, and:

And you know why I didn't, even though it would have netted me lots of Korean teen ass and probably money?

Japanese teen girl ass > Korean teen girl ass every time.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

[polarassasin]

o.e cant sleep, dreams of being zergling rushed.... too scarry.... gahhhh! o.e

*twitch*

*twitch*

[Taylor-MadeAK]

By who?!  You keep chickening out of any games I challenge you to!

[polarassasin]

other people, i just havent played you cuz you always wanna put me with the AI