First StarCraft II Single Player Campaign Hands-On (With Spoilers)


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We've played one-third of one-third of StarCraft II's single-player campaign recently. Blizzard gave us a full day with the most recent playable build of the game, a seven-mission long journey through the Terran's Wings of Liberty portion of the trilogy.

We took notes. Lots of notes. And in this post, the full no facts-barred details of our hands-on time with StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty are yours for the reading. While there wasn't much in the way of massive story revelations in what we played?we were just getting access to some of the Terran vehicles by the end of our demo?there are some key characters that spoiler-phobic StarCraft fans may want to experience only for themselves.

That's why there's this alternate spoiler-free post, packed with details on StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, but short on plot points and proper names. Read on for our full, unfettered impressions and a blow-by-blow account of our time at Blizzard.

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StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty opens in a bar. Rendered in real-time, the opening cinematic starts intimately, with Jim Raynor drinking alone, his only company a Zerg skull mounted on the wall behind him and a jukebox that plays two kinds of music?country and western. There may be a fly or two on the wall. He's at a run down watering hole, Joey Ray's, watching the news.

He's the subject of that night's intergalactic newscast. Terran Emperor Mengsk is onscreen, lashing out at the rebellion against the ruling Terran Dominion, specifically the group of rebels that follows Raynor, known as Raynor's Raiders.

In between Jim's monologue and Mengsk's televised speech, the player can interact with portions of Joey Ray's bar. Have a drink. Reflect on the previous Zerg war by clicking on the mounted Hydralisk skull. Or click on the nearby cork board, see a bit of history on the Terrans and Raynor's Raiders.

That mechanic gives StarCraft II's single-player campaign a bit of an adventure game feel, even if most of what the game offers during these moments is atmosphere. These moments replace the talking head intermissions from the original StarCraft.

And thankfully, as these moments in Joey Ray's and, later, on board the Battlecruiser Hyperion, make StarCraft II feel less like a cycle of missions and briefings, and something more interactive.

From the bar is where Raynor takes his first mission in StarCraft II, a small force attack called "Liberation Day."

Raynor and his Raiders help to liberate a Mar Sara colony from the Dominion's ruthless occupation. Leading a small band of Terran forces, your re-introduction to controlling a squad of Marines. Simple stuff, no resource gathering. All you really need to do is kill any Dominion soldiers in your path, taking out the propaganda "holoboards" looping Mengsk's occupation message, just for fun.

Of course, with the introduction of achievements to StarCraft II, there are other things to do. Some, like the "Liberator" achievement, reward you for simply finishing the mission. Others are a bit more challenging, like ensuring that not a single Mar Sara civilian dies, or finishing that mission on Hard and in under three minutes.

After finishing "Liberation Day," you'll be rewarded with new tech?access to train Marines at a Barracks. Most missions we played unlock something new, whether its the ability to train Marauders or build Bunkers. After the mission, you'll be reintroduced to Terran Marine Tychus Findlay who joins Jim at Joey Ray's. He comes armed with a job, your second mission "The Dig." You'll need cash to finance Raynor's Raiders' exploits, occasionally taking gigs that aren't just about taking potshots at the Dominion.

Findlay's lined up a buyer for some alien artifacts, which you'll need to get to before the Dominion does. During "The Dig" you'll get access to the Medic unit?the same that was introduced in StarCraft: Brood War?a unit that you won't actually use during the game's multiplayer game. That's not that uncommon, actually, as you'll have access to plenty of units, technology and buildings that didn't make the multiplayer cut.

Once Raynor and company have unearthed those artifacts, we learn that Tychus' buyer is actually an organization called the Mobius Foundation. It's a legit scientific foundation that seems to have an interest in securing alien relics before the Dominion does. Tychus and Raynor have plenty of opportunity wax nostalgic at Joey Ray's talking about the Mobius Foundation, the Zerg, the rebellion.

The voice acting and direction here is top notch, offering excellent morsels of background on the characters and the universe they live in. Blizzard does a good job in the game's first act of doling out a well written narrative, with Tychus' current situation?his involvement with the Mobius Foundation, why he's still in that Terran Marine exosuit?shrouded in mystery.

Our next mission, "Zero Hour" is a familiar base defense chapter. Help Raynor and crew survive a Zerg invasion, holding out for 20 minutes until help arrives in the form of the Battlecruise Hyperion and ship commander Matt Horner. The mission is relatively simple, just defend a few choke points?you'll get access to Bunkers here?while watching out for Zerg air drops and the occasional Mutalisk squad.

The game trades Joey Ray's for the Hyperion after the completion of "Zero Hour," giving Raynor access to the Battlecruiser's bridge, armory, lab and cantina.

The bridge is where you'll interact with Horner. Raynor will be able to view mission briefings and have the option to solicit freelance work. Someone's gotta pay for Raynor's army and the technology upgrades necessary to fend off the new Zerg invasion, so the Hyperion crew does some jobs just for cash.

That's where the armory comes into play. With enough cash?and the help of the dwarf-life Swann?you'll be able to add new unit types to the Raiders' rebel forces as well as upgrade their capabilities. In the armory, you'll be able to buy tech upgrades for infantry, base structures, vehicles, star ships, and beyond.

One of those options includes the option to buy and upgrade units specific to the Dominion itself, alluding to some later game hijacking of Mengsk's own technology.

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So let me understand this, it's probably a stupid question but its also Blizzard.

The single player campaign is Terran but when you're online can you play Zerg and Protoss as well?

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So let me understand this, it's probably a stupid question but its also Blizzard.

The single player campaign is Terran but when you're online can you play Zerg and Protoss as well?

I havent kept upto date on SC2 news but as I understood it, only the Terran single player missions will be released first. So you purchased SC2 next year or whenever....you get the Terran SP campagin and multiplayer access, where youc an play any of the 3 races. Later on at some point, SC2: Zerg Campagin will come out....you purchase it and you get the Zerg campaign and so fourth.

The way you interact with the ship and those things sounds pretty cool,. definitely gives the game a bit more feel to it, I like having choices like that.

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