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xerox
Promising
Undefeatable Hero
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posted July 26, 2010 10:11 PM |
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Edited by xerox at 12:08, 27 Jul 2010.
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omfg had to fake dc my raid in wow for now you can install Starcraft 2!!!
im installing it right now and if you failed at sc1 like me, the story of Starcraft 1 is told as you install the game which I do right now!
lol wtf must wait untill tomorrow to actually play it, atleast its installed
edit: damn X persons credit card doesnt work -.-
Anyway you cant really pirate the game as you need to authenticate it to your free battle.net account
____________
Over himself, over his own
body and
mind, the individual is
sovereign.
- John Stuart Mill
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Doomforge
Admirable
Undefeatable Hero
Retired Hero
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posted July 27, 2010 01:04 PM |
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Cracking authorization is a piece of cake for those highly skilled cracker groups on the internet, such as the legendary razor1911, which now specializes in cracking DRM protected games.
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We reached to the stars and everything is now ours
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xerox
Promising
Undefeatable Hero
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posted July 27, 2010 01:35 PM |
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we shall see
____________
Over himself, over his own
body and
mind, the individual is
sovereign.
- John Stuart Mill
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OmegaDestroyer
Hero of Order
Fox or Chicken?
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posted July 27, 2010 04:13 PM |
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I am torn with Starcraft II. I hate almost everything about Starcraft, namely the banal characters, uninspired units, and the token Blizzard plot intricacy of a Dr. Seuss story. However, I want it to do very well because I want the PC gaming industry to be strong.
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The giant has awakened
You drink my blood and drown
Wrath and raving I will not stop
You'll never take me down
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xerox
Promising
Undefeatable Hero
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posted July 27, 2010 11:51 PM |
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Starcraft 2 First Non-Fanboy (xD) Impressions. Mostly spoiler free.
So if you are not extremly familar with the Starcraft lore with me, who was like 5 when Starcraft came and it is a really hard game for a 5 year old then no problem.
When you install the game, there is a small story recap though it mostly resolves around Raynor and not everything that happened in lets say the Protoss campaign in Starcraft and Brood War. In the manual however, is a detailed summary of all of Starcraft and Brood War.
Once the installation is complete, there is a small patch and then it all starts. You are introduced with one of Blizzard famous realistic CGI cinematics. It shows Tychus Findlay, a criminal who is one of the main characters through the campaign. Tychus gets his prison or his Marine combat suit in the cinematic while Emperor Arcturus Mengsk says some lines and then in the end is the famous "Hell, it's about time".
After having tested Battle.Net and player versus player combat in beta, it was natural for me to straight to the campaign.
You are introduced to a new clip. However, this is not a CGI cinematic. This is a cut-scene and those appear all the time through the whole game. It is not like a cut-scene like in Warcraft 3 but it is like an actual cinematic but without the cool CGI.
And honestly, the first cut-scene which shows Raynor drinking in a bar and looking at a photograph of Kerrigan looks like crap. xD
But the others look okay and pretty cool. I am sure there are hundreds of these cut-scenes. However, so far I have not seen a single "Warcraft 3-like cut-scene" where the characters run up to each other in-game and say hi. I think I have only seen Raynor in-game once and that was the first mission.
Without spoiling the story I am going to do a quick, little summary of the missions so far and how they are laid out. Because the campaign is much more than only missions, there is lots of interactive stuff aswell.
At the start, you can interact in a bar in Mar Sara and click around on things and talk to Tychus and watch the propaganda news etc. The news are hilarios. Raynor is a terrorist in the eyes of the Dominion and when the newsreporter is going to say something positive about Raynors Raiders she gets cuts instantly lol.
Anyway, the first 3 missions are on the desert planet of Mar Sara. I think it was incinierated by the Protoss in the original Starcraft but I am not sure.
Basically, you get Raynor and some Marines and slaughter Dominion marines in one of their outposts and free civilians who are sent to the military or something like that.
Then you steal a Xel'Naga artifact and instantly after that the Zerg appears to try and get you but Raynors friend Matt rescues you with the Hyperion. Oh, and between the first and the second mission Tychus joins you. He is stuck in his Marine suit and if he delivers some Xel'Naga artifacts to some researchers, they will take away his suit.
So aboard the Hyperion there are like 5 rooms that are unlocked through the campaign. You unlock them rather fast though.
First you only get the Bridge which after each mission has new dialogue from the Raynor (hes in every room btw) and co.
The most important feature here is the Star Map which is where you get new missions. Usually, 2-3 planets are shown and each of them has a mission you get the choose. You get a new thing in each of the missions aswell as Credits to buy new tech which you do on the Hyperion and not in-game. Much of the new tech and units do not exist in the multiplayer game and only in the campaign.
After a mission you get access to the cool Firebats from the original Starcraft and use them to incinerate Zerg.
There is a news report that the Queen of Blades Kerrigan and the Zerg have returned and are spreading through lots of worlds. Of course, the Dominion while respond instantly to the Zerg threat.
One of the first trasmissions you get on the Hyperion is from Dr. Hansom from the planet of Agria (agriculture anyone?). The fertile planet is under attack by the Zerg and the female doctor needs your help to evacuace her people.
You rescue them and they board your ship.
Hyperions Armory and Laboratory unlocks. In the Armory, you spend your Credits to upgrade your units and buildings. There are a lot that do not exist in the multi-player game such as Reapers getting Mines etc. After the Laboratory unlocks, missions will often give you Zerg or Protoss research points which you get to use to get general upgrades in the Laboratory. There are two trees. Zerg and Protoss. For each tier of the two trees, you get two choose between two techs. For zerg tech, my first choice was equpping turrets on my bunkers.
Tychus missions involve getting more Xel'Naga artifacts and after each artifact, the Zerg comes so it is obvious Kerrigan wants them.
So in your ship you now have Raynor, Tychus, Dr. Ariel Hanson to name a few and then there is a cool mining mission that is a spectre (ghost 2.0) called Gabriel Tosh is sending you too.
Its on a volcanic planet and the goal is to gather 8000 minerals. Every 5 min or so, the lower ground on the map is flooded by lava - killing everyone. Plus you get Reapers here that jump around on the cliffs and collect rescourses.
After this, Gabriel Tosh joins you on the Hyperion and nobody trusts him.
Dr. Ariel Hanson seems to fall in love with Raynor though they didnt do anything to me yet. Ariel finds the world of Haven to give a new home to the Agria refugees as the Dominion won't accept them. But the planet is being infested by the Zerg and here you are presented by a very important choice.
Protoss forces have surroanded the planet and are saying that they purify the planet of Zerg which would kill the refugees there aswell. Raynor contact their commander, the female protoss (this part and the part after it were the coolest for me so far) Executor Selendis. Selendis offers Raynor to go and kill the infestation himself, including killing infected refugees. But Ariel Hanson begs Raynor to save as many refugees as possible and that she is close to finding a cure for infested terran (it was something like this).
If Raynor chooses to purify the planet instead of the Protoss, the Protoss will honor him but Ariel will be heartbreaken by seeing her people die. If Raynor chooses to save the refugees, he will be at odds with the Protoss who will try to purify the planet themselves but make Ariel closer to finding a cure to Infested terran.
Since I love the Protoss, I choosed to listen to their executoress Selendis and purge the planet for them. I had hoped that you perhaps would be able to play as the Protoss in this mission then or atleast have them as allies. I also thought that Raynor does not need any more enemies than he already has.
Ariel rushes into the Laboratory and locks herself in.
So I asume the mission would be different depending on your choice. But the consequences of my choice were very dramatic and I have been thinking a lot of the choice I did.
It was really cool and I will not spoil what happens.
That is pretty much as far as I got.
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In the normal Starcraft II box you also get three Blizzard game invites. If you want to try Starcraft 2 for 7 hours or WoW for 14 days, I got 2 invites to SC2 and 1 to WoW.
I think this is smart of Blizzard. It encourages Starcraft players to make them addicted to WoW aswell and as such boost sovereign Blizzards supreme profits.
____________
Over himself, over his own
body and
mind, the individual is
sovereign.
- John Stuart Mill
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OmegaDestroyer
Hero of Order
Fox or Chicken?
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posted July 28, 2010 01:29 AM |
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I wonder how long it will take one of Jim's crew to sell him out?
One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.
____________
The giant has awakened
You drink my blood and drown
Wrath and raving I will not stop
You'll never take me down
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blizzardboy
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Nerf Herder
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posted July 28, 2010 03:20 AM |
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You people actually care heavily about the campaigns? It's all about the intense B.net experience 
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"Folks, I don't trust children. They're here to replace us."
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winterfate
Supreme Hero
Water-marked Champion!
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posted July 28, 2010 04:07 AM |
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Quote:
You people actually care heavily about the campaigns?
Um I don't actually PvP, so my RTS game time is usually divided like so:
Campaigns > Custom Games
(and some comp-stomping with my dad as well)
I don't PvP in RTS games. Not a fan.
@Omega: I'm not going to say that Starcraft had an epic storyline, but it was far from terrible.
For terrible, see HOMM5 (among other games).
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If you supposedly care about someone, then don't push them out of your life. Acting like you're not doing it doesn't exempt you from what I just said. - Winterfate
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OmegaDestroyer
Hero of Order
Fox or Chicken?
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posted July 28, 2010 09:49 PM |
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Ah, it's good to be right. I can only wonder what mind-boggling plot twists will be in the second $60 chapter? Will the Grinch have a change of heart?
I find it ironic how a lot of RTS games get knocked in reviews for not being innovative and yet SC2 is praised for it.
@Fate
No joke about HOMM5. I think it ties with Starcraft for insipid plots.
____________
The giant has awakened
You drink my blood and drown
Wrath and raving I will not stop
You'll never take me down
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Cepheus
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Far-flung Keeper
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posted July 28, 2010 09:59 PM |
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Edited by Cepheus at 21:59, 28 Jul 2010.
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I'm in the same position as Winterfate. Even eleven years don't lead me to expect any Shakespeare or even Jack Vance to come out of Metzen's quill - only Bioware and Legacy of Kain have ever delivered on that front - but some kind of semi-competent plot which won't end up rehashed in Warcraft 4 would help the campaigns.
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"Those who forget their history are inevitably doomed to repeat it." —Proverb, Might and Magic VIII
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xerox
Promising
Undefeatable Hero
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posted July 28, 2010 10:47 PM |
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Yes, there are twists. I regreted a choice I made because of one of those twists. The storyline really gets on like after the 10th mission.
There is a new enemy and also the Overmind and Tassadar appears in a Protoss mini-campaign that takes place after like the 10th mission.
I am not really saying in what state the Overmind and Tassadar are in now though...
____________
Over himself, over his own
body and
mind, the individual is
sovereign.
- John Stuart Mill
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winterfate
Supreme Hero
Water-marked Champion!
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posted July 28, 2010 10:56 PM |
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So yeah, I got the game (if I reserved it more than 2 years ago I better have gotten it. ). Also, I got Dragon Quest IX, but that's beyond the context of this thread. 
Anyways, I'm installing it, so let's see what happens.
Will play a little today, but can't do much more than that, since College beckons. 
EDIT: Yeah...this install is taking forever. -_-
The ability to download games you own digitally is +1 Point for Blizzard though. They have to work hard to restore my respect for them though.
Recent Blizzard = Uncool
EDITEDIT:
Quote:
No joke about HOMM5. I think it ties with Starcraft for insipid plots. Except Starcraft has no plot holes and is less clichéd.
Fixed (fanboy style)!
To be fair, I do have a point with the plot holes. HOMM5 was so littered with them that I'm surprised that it didn't divide by zero out of angst. 
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If you supposedly care about someone, then don't push them out of your life. Acting like you're not doing it doesn't exempt you from what I just said. - Winterfate
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OmegaDestroyer
Hero of Order
Fox or Chicken?
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posted July 29, 2010 12:40 AM |
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Being less cliché than HOMM5 doesn't really mean a whole lot. That's like saying you're less fat than Elvin.
____________
The giant has awakened
You drink my blood and drown
Wrath and raving I will not stop
You'll never take me down
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Elvin
Admirable
Omnipresent Hero
Endless Revival
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posted July 29, 2010 12:45 AM |
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Hey I'm not all that skinny.
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H5 is still alive and kicking, join us in the Duel Map discord server!
Map also hosted on Moddb
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winterfate
Supreme Hero
Water-marked Champion!
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posted July 29, 2010 02:05 AM |
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@Omega: LOL! Now, now, don't get Elvin riled up.
Ok, I played a bit of SC2:
Initial impressions:
The plot, as many of you could've predicted is pretty much standard fare mercenary (as of 3 missions I've done). Basically, you're a loner (Jim Raynor) who's trying to change the world (well galaxy I suppose, but still). That said, gotta give Blizzard props since the plot itself is more immersive what with mission interludes (where you can interact with NPCs, among other things) and in-game events that aren't just the "you get 8 troops for no reason yay" (now at least you get the reason. ).
So, honest opinion: Overhyped to death, but a good game in its own right.
Like I predicted: Poor sequel but a good game.
(I mean, ok the Terran campaign layout is pretty clever...but it still doesn't forgive the fact that it's essentially Starcraft 1.5.)
Also, it's not worth $60.
If you want to play it, wait till it drops a bit, would you?
/opinionated rant
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If you supposedly care about someone, then don't push them out of your life. Acting like you're not doing it doesn't exempt you from what I just said. - Winterfate
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Elvin
Admirable
Omnipresent Hero
Endless Revival
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posted July 29, 2010 02:13 AM |
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Another brand name not worth 60$, I'm beginning to see a pattern here..
____________
H5 is still alive and kicking, join us in the Duel Map discord server!
Map also hosted on Moddb
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xerox
Promising
Undefeatable Hero
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posted July 29, 2010 04:38 AM |
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Really, the campaign story does not really get started untill Zeratul appears around mission 10. Before that, it is basically "introduction" missions. It becomes much better after you leave Mar Sara and get the Hyperion and then pretty epic once Zeratul comes and all the twists etc.
I am on the final missions now. If the Protoss do not do anything in the entire game (I have just killed lots of fanatics and helped zeratul in the past) and do not even help me I will be a sad zergling.
Oh, and there is a nice twist when Dr. Ariel Hanson comes.
Atleast there was for me (it's a choice).
And our favorite Ghost Nova makes a cameo in one of the missions which is also a "choice" mission (you choose to help Nova or a spectre called tosh, and I could not resist Nova).
____________
Over himself, over his own
body and
mind, the individual is
sovereign.
- John Stuart Mill
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JoonasTo
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
What if Elvin was female?
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posted July 29, 2010 08:11 AM |
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If xerox has finished the campaigns soon they better be churning out the second part of the campaigns damn fast.
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DON'T BE A NOOB, JOIN A.D.V.E.N.T.U.R.E.
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xerox
Promising
Undefeatable Hero
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posted July 29, 2010 02:55 PM |
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Edited by xerox at 18:38, 29 Jul 2010.
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There are 26 missions but there are achievements so it is very replayable if you did not do the achievements (I did not focus much on achievements, but will do the second time I play).
Also there are some choices in the campaign and when I play it again later, I will do other choices and see what happens (would suck if the same thing happened though).
edit: I have finished the campaign on normal now which was not very hard at all. I lost two times. Once because of a stupid mistake during the mission involving Nova (unfortunaly, she does not appear after that) and once in the final mission (was a bit harder, but then I found I basically needed 2 unit to win it...).
I thought the ending was bad and I really hope there is a twist in the Zerg expansion, Heart of the Swarm, because what happens is just lame.
The campaign is basically 95% terran and honestly, I prefered Starcraft 1s model of having a shorter campaing for all three races.
It just becomes to much Terran.
Protoss: You encounter a friendly Protoss that is not Zeratul ONCE. After you help her, the Protoss never ever help you again and the only thing the protoss does in the game is being fanatics (the very same faction of fanatics all the time aswell too) and protecting artifacts. There are like 3-4 Protoss missions where you play as Zeratul though, but its a flashback (not something from SC1 remade in SC2 though).
As for the Zerg, you never get to play them. They are still the generic hive mind controlled enemy. I had hoped that you would be able to play them atleast once, perhaps by controlling them with those things the UED had in the original Starcraft.
Some research are a must-have, or will be must-have if you play on brutal or hard difficulity. Like thing that lets your Command Center drop Mules that are like half a thousand minerals and allows you to use Scanner Sweep. I imagine that the game would be really annoying without them and the Flame turrets are really good in the last mission. I felt overpowered with Medics healing my biological units and Science Vessels healing my mechanical units all the time.
I think the Science Vessel returnng would be a great addition for Terran in the expansion pack.
Conclusion: The campaigns storyline was pretty good save for the ending. There are only 3 CGI cinematics. Two of them are amazing and the last one is very boring and the cut-scene before the ending cinematic was more exciting.
The campaign is pretty much only Terran and that is boring. You never really get to know what the sane Protoss are up too and the Zerg are always your enemies.
I loved the interactive things you do on the Hyperion though. Lots of upgrades I researched were like used once, some were very useful for a few missions and some were no-brainers.
I am going to play the campaign again and try to do the achievements and do different choices than I did.
____________
Over himself, over his own
body and
mind, the individual is
sovereign.
- John Stuart Mill
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yasmiel
Supreme Hero
Former Chessmaster
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posted July 29, 2010 07:49 PM |
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I agree that campaign does feel short. Compared to blizzard's own WC3 for example.
Cinematics and cutscenes were all nice.
I missed one of them due to picking "help humans" option at certain level. There is a CGI cinematic that plays if you let protoss purge the planet.
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