Non-RPG General News - Free StarCraft 2

Rock Paper Shotgun reports that a free version of StarCraft 2 will be available later this month:

StarCraft 2 launching generous free version this month

A huge chunk of StarCraft II is going free later this month as a sort of big ‘ol demo for the wider trilogy. From November 14th, everyone will be able to play the full Terran story campaign from the original Wings of Liberty, the competitive multiplayer including units from all three chapters, and — with some limitations — the cooperative mode too. If you dig it, you’ll be able to buy the other bits of SC2 separately or in one big lump.

Oh, and people who own Wings of Liberty but skipped Heart of the Swarm will be able to get that Zergy instalment free – if they claim it in time.

So! Free SC2, eh? Yup, Blizzard are turning the heart of it free, with one of the three big story campaigns, all the competitive multiplayer, and most of the co-op. There are, of course, restrictions.

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Thanks henriquejr!



More information.

Since I don't have SC 2, I'll surely get this one.

No surprise there. SC2 died when Brood War remaster got released. A good decision by Blizzard.

I played Wings of Liberty but found it so underwhelming that I never bothered with the expansions. It felt like 2/3 of the game was just a tutorial. It was a major disappointment after how great SC 1 was.

They had to change the competition scene funding model.
The idea of getting it funded by players who buy solo campaigns is less efficient than other models.

SC2 was so riveting that I hate yet to play the 2nd campaign (Protoss) that I bought for $50 I imagine there's very few people that will be baited into buying SC2 with this free promo weekend - just might backfire!

Starcraft 1, Dawn of War 1, Supreme Commander 1…. the last good RTS games in my book. ZZzzzz.

In times of past I'd dance happily.
Today… Sorry, so many singleplayer RPGs got released and are getting released, I simply don't feel anything about SC2 news.

Yes I know, I got old. But why in this case I don't have any problem with that?

Originally Posted by Drithius
SC2 was so riveting that I hate yet to play the 2nd campaign (Protoss) that I bought for $50 I imagine there's very few people that will be baited into buying SC2 with this free promo weekend - just might backfire!

Starcraft 1, Dawn of War 1, Supreme Commander 1…. the last good RTS games in my book. ZZzzzz.

This is not a free promo weekend. It is free forever (or until Blizzard decides otherwise).

Oh really ! hmmm. I guess it's a win/win for them then; even if just a few of those test subjects shell out money for the second campaign, it's likely sales that Blizzard would not have had before.

Still a mediocre RTS though.

edit; OMG, that Blizzard website. Fuck smartphones.

Kinda not sincere as it's Blizzard. But nevertheless.



:thumbup:
Advertisment of the year.

Well I got second for free. Had first for a while but haven't played much. Finally not buying many games until backlog trimmed.

I tried getting into the SC2 campaign against my better judgment. The writing was so bad I don't think I got through more than 3 missions or so.

In multiplayer, I still don't think it was all that different from SC1.

I honestly don't get the whole StarCraft craze.

Originally Posted by NewDArt
I tried getting into the SC2 campaign against my better judgment. The writing was so bad I don't think I got through more than 3 missions or so.

In multiplayer, I still don't think it was all that different from SC1.

I honestly don't get the whole StarCraft craze.

Try Coop Commanders.

I tried getting into SC2 a few times, and I share the same sentiments as others here - the campaign feels like a very long tutorial and by the second or third mission, I just lost interest.

Despite the limitations that SC1 has in comparison to modern RTS games, I had so much more fun with that one.

Originally Posted by Ragnaris
I tried getting into SC2 a few times, and I share the same sentiments as others here - the campaign feels like a very long tutorial and by the second or third mission, I just lost interest.

Despite the limitations that SC1 has in comparison to modern RTS games, I had so much more fun with that one.

How do you know how the campaign feels if you lost interest in 2nd or 3rd mission?!

Originally Posted by Archangel
How do you know how the campaign feels if you lost interest in 2nd or 3rd mission?!

It felt like a tutorial through those missions. To me it just seemed to drag on and bored me, so I stopped.

Then again I didn't find the story gripping, either, so that could have contributed to the boredom.

Originally Posted by Ragnaris
It felt like a tutorial through those missions. To me it just seemed to drag on and bored me, so I stopped.

Then again I didn't find the story gripping, either, so that could have contributed to the boredom.

You have not answered my question. Each of the 3 campaigns has something between 20 and 30 missions. You said you quit by 3rd. So you say it is all boring and tutorial based on 3 missions out of 80 to 90? Acting like a little kid much?

Originally Posted by Archangel
You have not answered my question. Each of the 3 campaigns has something between 20 and 30 missions. You said you quit by 3rd. So you say it is all boring and tutorial based on 3 missions out of 80 to 90? Acting like a little kid much?

He wasn't talking about all 3 campaigns, he's referring to Wings of Liberty, and his description is spot on.

It doesn't matter if he quit on the 3rd mission because the 4th, 5th, 6th, etc, are the same way. It doesn't stop feeling like a tutorial until you're more than 2/3 through the game.

Originally Posted by JDR13
He wasn't talking about all 3 campaigns, he's referring to Wings of Liberty, and his description is spot on.

It doesn't matter if he quit on the 3rd mission because the 4th, 5th, 6th, etc, are the same way. It doesn't stop feeling like a tutorial until you're more than 2/3 through the game.

All RTS games I ever played use first few mission as a tutorial. Why do you think it was normal design to give you only a few units at first and then add one or two more units each mission?!

Originally Posted by Archangel
All RTS games I ever played use first few mission as a tutorial. Why do you think it was normal design to give you only a few units at first and then add one or two more units each mission?!

Yes, the first few missions.. not more than 50% of the game like in WoL. By the time it finally stopped feeling like a tutorial, you were in the second half of the game.

Are the Zerg and Protoss campaigns the same way?