Gamepro has gotten their hands on the new SC2 Beta version of the Terran single player, and are making some bold claims. First up, they claim that the decision to split the game into three releases was a good thing – that the single player mode for Wings of Liberty is so expansive and in-depth that this will end up being a dream come true for Blizzard fans.
Next, they believe that the game is much more friendly for beginners. This can certainly be a good thing, as the more players drawn into SC2 means the broader online play will become. SC1 is now so old, that there is an entire generation of gamers that grew up on Halo, not Starcraft.
Additionally, they write ""That’s really something the player can get immersed in and it becomes this thing where there’s storytelling and mechanics, and they’re not their own elements. They become one." From what I played, that certainly seems to be the case. I saw depth added to Jim Raynor’s character when the fate of Sarah Kerrigan came up. He was visibly moved at the mention of her name, and clearly troubled by his failed attempt to save her. (For the uninitiated, Kerrigan was a Terran psychic, trained as a spy and an assassin. Over the course of the original StarCraft it is revealed that she is captured by the Zerg and turned into a Terran/Zerg hybrid that is completely under the control of the hive mind. Later, she usurps the Overmind and becomes the predominant Zerg antagonist; The Queen of Blades.) I was even treated to a level in which I played Zeratul (the primary Protoss hero character,) and had to escape from the clutches of the Queen of Blades and pass word to Raynor of her plans to wreak havoc across the galaxy. If nothing else it certainly hints at the possibility that it may be possible to stop, and ultimately save Kerrigan from her fate."
Next, they believe that the game is much more friendly for beginners. This can certainly be a good thing, as the more players drawn into SC2 means the broader online play will become. SC1 is now so old, that there is an entire generation of gamers that grew up on Halo, not Starcraft.
Additionally, they write ""That’s really something the player can get immersed in and it becomes this thing where there’s storytelling and mechanics, and they’re not their own elements. They become one." From what I played, that certainly seems to be the case. I saw depth added to Jim Raynor’s character when the fate of Sarah Kerrigan came up. He was visibly moved at the mention of her name, and clearly troubled by his failed attempt to save her. (For the uninitiated, Kerrigan was a Terran psychic, trained as a spy and an assassin. Over the course of the original StarCraft it is revealed that she is captured by the Zerg and turned into a Terran/Zerg hybrid that is completely under the control of the hive mind. Later, she usurps the Overmind and becomes the predominant Zerg antagonist; The Queen of Blades.) I was even treated to a level in which I played Zeratul (the primary Protoss hero character,) and had to escape from the clutches of the Queen of Blades and pass word to Raynor of her plans to wreak havoc across the galaxy. If nothing else it certainly hints at the possibility that it may be possible to stop, and ultimately save Kerrigan from her fate."