Photo: Cavalheiro / Flickr

So when StarCraft II shipped, Blizzard packed in editing tools that the mod community went mad with. This is, of course, why someone would make modding tools, yes? Well, kind of. Activision Blizzard has sent out copyright claims over the creation of a user-made StarCraft MMO that Rock Paper Shotgun beautifully dubbed ‘World of StarCraft’.

Shame on you

We get why Activision Blizzard would want to reclaim the ‘World of StarCraft’ name, since it means that, if they intended to make a StarCraft MMO, they couldn’t name it that. But to send out cease and desist letters to a person who painstakingly recreated a game using the StarCraft mod tools is disappointing.

Seriously, why’d you give us these tools?

The mod’s lead modder, Ryan, has since put out a very well articulated argument [via Techland] about his position regarding Activision Blizzard taking this stance.

He says it best: ‘You created a tool that allowed us to do anything with your assets. You encouraged us to use your assets and were eager to see what we might come up with. You had to have seen this coming?

‘I know it’s hard to trust someone you’ve never met to piggyback on your own legacy. The brilliance of StarCraft combined with the multiplayer focus of World of Warcraft. You might be a little worried about your lore being butchered… or even more-so worried about a guy with no supervision tainting the name of your company with poor product.

‘Let me assure you that I am in no way shape or form going to deliver anything less than complete perfection. I’ve been following your work since Warcraft. I’ve worked with every editor you’ve put out since I was 13 years old.’

This is how you treat fans?

While we can’t speak to the quality of the product he will deliver, he does make a good point about Activision Blizzard providing these StarCraft mod tools.

He ends it off with style, saying: ‘If you have a problem with what I am doing… or would like to talk about it. I’m all ears. But please don’t send me some messenger with a cease and desist letter.’ Them’s fighting words right there.

This terrible episode aside, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is a brilliant video game you have no excuse for not owning if you care for PC games, and especially RTS titles.

Photo: Blizzard

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty was released to wild worldwide midnight launches but there was one glaring omission – official reviews from major gaming publications. Blizzard opted to let everyone play the game at the same time – press, too – to truly get a feel for the game, before appraising a critical score to the title.

Now that some poor souls have gone days without sleep, playing non-stop, the reviews have begun trickling in and needless to say, people kind of like the shoe-in PC game of the year.

Timeless

The good folks at Joystiq had nothing but nice things to say about the game, carefully explaining that not much has changed since the appearance of the original classic. They say: ‘It’s proof that games don’t have to be disposable, that some games are so creative and balanced and fun that they don’t go out of style or disappear over the years. Some games, it turns out, really are timeless.’

Flawlessly executed

Gametrailers briefly criticise the fact that the fascinating story arch will only be seen through over the course of three titles, before heaping the praise on the title. They say ‘…with a production so carefully thought out, masterfully designed, and flawlessly executed, it’s impossible to come away from the game with a negative impression. Starcraft II is the sequel that we’ve been waiting for.’

Doesn’t disappoint

Finally, the folks over at CVG discuss what we all feared – whether the folks at Blizzard could live up to the weight of expectation to a title people have been waiting twelve years for. Needless to say, they think Blizzard pull it off with StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, saying, ‘As one of the most anticipated games of all time, Blizzard had a great deal on its shoulders with this. We’re pleased to say it doesn’t disappoint.’

We await the heavyweights

Heavy-hitters like Eurogamer.net, IGN.com, and Gamestop.com have yet to release their reviews, but we suspect that’s down to them wanting to take more time to curate their literary pieces on a masterpiece. Regardless of whether you care for the franchise or not, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is a ‘very big deal’, in every sense of the term.

That’s it: enough writing about and thinking about StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty for us. From now on, it’s all play and no work. (Hope the people up top who pay the bills don’t see that).

Photo: Stock.Xchng

As PC gamers around the world showed up at a myriad of midnight launches, and independent performance tracker VGChartz packed US pre-orders at an almighty 800,000, StarCraft II has finally launched to an unsuspecting world!

A quick refresher

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is the first of the three part sequel to one of the most beloved PC games of all time, StarCraft (the other incoming expansions are Heart of the Swarm as well as Legacy of the Void). Released twelve long years ago, now, PC gamers worldwide are still in a state of relative shock that the sequel has finally seen the light of day.

No reviews

In the build up to the release the folks at Blizzard declined the usual practice of sending gaming publications early review copies of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. The company felt it only fair to review the game after extensive and real-world use of Battlenet 2.0, the online protocol the game, has built up.

In addition, Activision Blizzard has neither confirmed nor denied VG Chartz’ estimation of the number of pre-orders, but the company is set to release its own official sales numbers in the coming days. Reports coming in indicate the title could move 7 million units in this fiscal year, with StarCraft’s spiritual home South Korea gobbling up a huge chunk of those units.

Early impressions

Speaking to a handful of friends and gamers alike, who either played the game extensively during the multiplayer beta, or showed up to work with stinging red eyes because they put in an all-nighter, Blizzard has done well not to disappoint. We expect review scores of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (as well as eventual review scores of Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void) to be sky-high when they start trickling in over the coming weeks.

PC gaming lives

The biggest task StarCraft II has is in reaffirming that PC gaming is, in fact, not dead. Many analysts, critics, and gamers alike have proclaimed the economics of PC gaming – where one needs particularly expensive kit just to have the intended experience – just doesn’t make sense. Add to that the rise of the comparatively inexpensive and hassle-free consoles, you’ve had many people proclaim PC gaming is dead.

But between World of WarCraft, Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty (and likely the inevitable expansions Heart of the Swarm as well as Legacy of the Void) and Steam’s ongoing success, it’s proving rather challenging to claim that PC gaming is dead!

I’ve spent all night with the title and momentarily ripped myself away to write about it. Though this isn’t an official review, my feelings for this game are already evident – buy StarCraft II right away!

Have you played it yet, and was it worth the twelve-year wait?

Photo: Blizzard

Blizzard, the Activision-owned studio behind the hugely popular Diablo, Starcraft and Warcraft series of games, including World of Warcraft, is working on a Mac beta of its next major title, Starcraft 2.

Mac gaming victory

The Mac edition of the Starcraft 2 beta comes on the heels of the same beta running on the PC. More importantly for Mac gamers, this news comes on the heels of the recent announcement that Steam, Valve’s popular downloadable games service, will be arriving on Mac soon. These two announcements represent somewhat of a resurgence of Mac gaming, partly attributable to the increasingly similar computing architecture Macs and PCs have in that their both powered by Intel chips, as well as the recent line of Macbook Pros sporting very decent graphics cards.

The Starcraft effect

Photo: Blizzard

Starcraft 2 beta, which is used as a testing and balancing platform for the game, is the limited public release of one of the most anticipated PC games in one of the most celebrated series of all time. While Starcraft enjoys acclaim in Europe and North America, its popularity in South Korea borders on the insane. The game is so popular in that nation, tournaments of the game are played on live television and the best players of the game enjoy the fame – and some of the fortune – football stars in the United Kingdom enjoy.

Starcraft 2 release date

At present, the Starcraft 2 beta is the only way to play the game, so it is expected Mac fans will rush to reserve their spot once Blizzard announces rollout. The release date is still unknown and Blizzard, who veil their games in secrecy until they’re ready, has remained coy about when to expect it. Gamers and retailers worldwide have earmarked the fourth quarter of 2010 as the big release date, and with the original Starcraft being released 12 years ago come the end of March, it suffices to say the wait is nearly over.