StarCraft 2 is a fun game. It’s within my favorite genre, real-time strategy, specifically the base-building variety. There aren’t many more base-building, resource-gathering RTS’s anymore. C&C 4 really changed that up, and DoW2′s base-building is extremely on the light side – in favor of unit customization, but still a ton of fun. But this is where my point comes in; StarCraft 2 is still the same game from 1998. That’s not a bad thing, but it doesn’t do anything new. But at the same time, base-building RTS’s just haven’t been popular anymore. They have their initial release, some campaign talk, then drop out of existance. That is, except for Blizzard’s StarCraft. But why?

StarCraft is easy. Maybe not against a bunch of Zerg AI or a Korean opponent, but the actually strategy involved is small. Though, the professionals have the math down. There are calculations for build order and such which then makes those higher-level matches about time rather than actual skill to stand your ground. That’s what I dislike about that type of RTS.

This is where Command & Conquer comes in. That RTS really had me pulled in and I’m sure I’ve played much more than StarCraft (though, I can only ever get people to play SC online so it’s possible my multiplayer time is higher in that regard). C&C always had factions with completely different unit types. While SC or SCII may seem that way, you can actually pick any unit and find its comparable counterpart from another faction. And micro-managing. Later C&C’s made it important to keep units alive in order for them to gain veterancy. Also, earlier C&C’s were really about skill in regard to maps. They were assymetrical and the resources were randomy scattered. Tiberian Sun even had a random map generator. It wasn’t about the map or how quick you were – maps were whatever – you just had to create a good army and good defense. I don’t know how to stress this enough – it wasn’t about the map, but how you manage your army.

With that, StarCraft II isn’t doing anything new or interesting, and it’s selling like mad. I think that’s good for the name of base-building RTS’s. I hope to see more devs working on BBRTS’s. Though, I hope they add some innovation. Like in Act of War, purchasing an upgrade that allows troops to use non-lethal combat, so you could then capture enemies and gain a secondary income source. See? That’s micro-managing. Or how about attaching commanders and/or squad leaders to groups of units for bonuses? For the record, I’m not a fan of building infantry as squads. Ew. But, Dawn of War is fucking fun.

What StarCraft 2 did right was with the campaign. It is large, with many possibilities. Path-branching, upgrading, and very story-driven. There’s gameplay here between the missions. It is very cool. I’m about the finish the game so hopefully my review will be up soon.

The last post was a whiny bitchfest. But I thought I was justified in my bitching. Out of fucking nowhere, StarCraft 2 is at my door this morning, delivered by UPS. So, to back up a bit, GameStop had my order on 5-10 day shipping. They were then offering free three-day shipping to CE purchases. I contacted them to see if I could get the three-day shipping, but they said my order has been processed so it’s too late. That sounded like BS.

But now, the very next day, StarCraft 2 is at my door? Either they listened to my bitching and fixed the shipping without telling me, or this is just the way the shipping was the whole time – still not telling me. Still lacking in the customer service, but hey, I now have the game. And it is beautiful.

The CE on my desk.

This is how a Collector’s Edition should be. I wish more games did this as I like gaming memorabilia. There’s a soundtrack, behind the scenes DVD, giant art book, comic, and a USB flash drive that looks like Jim Raynor’s dog tag that has SC and Brood War on it. That’s epically awesome.

As for the game, so far they are doing things right. It runs beautifully, looks gorgeous, and adds just enough – not too much – to keep it more of the same. In between missions, you are in a hub-like environment with little story tidbits throughout and options for upgrading your troops. Kind of like DoW2, but unfortunately not that awesome. The full base-building of SC2 and the customizing of DoW2 would be the greatest RTS ever…if it was in the Tiberian universe (hehe).

I’m not surprised StarCraft 2 is awesome, but there’s a part of me that wants the upgrading of the single-player to some how work in the multiplayer, only to give the multiplayer that deeper level of play. C&C4 tried it, but they didn’t really make a game with that one…

I’d normally be at something like a ‘StarCraft II Midnight Launch’. But I’m not this time. I mean, I guess I could be there to watch everyone buy the game and take it home to play, but I won’t be a purchaser. I’d feel left out. See, back in April Gamestop had a promotion where you could buy the Collector’s Edition of SCII for only $80 – a good $20 off the regular price. This Collector’s Edition is pretty badass. I’m all for waiting on the shipping. Though, at the time there was an option for free 5-10 day shipping. I was down with that. Now, there’s an option for free 3-day shipping. I contacted Gamestop about changing the shipping, but they say they can’t since the order is already processed. I say that’s a bunch of BS. My account doesn’t even show the game as shipped. There’s a two day processing…process as well. That seems like plenty of time to change the shipping.

I’m pretty pissed.

I don’t need it right away, but after all the good Gamestop has been doing as the largest gaming retailer, a little customer service problem like this should have been handled similar to – oh, I don’t know, how Amazon works?

Something as simple as changing shipping on an order that is still ‘open’ with a two-day processing…process, should be taken care of.

Here are the official BlueGamer forums. Now, there might be something better pretty soon, but for now I’ll still with freeforums. I’m unsure how long it’ll take for the other project to be finished.

I’ve decided to go a different route with the Bluecast. Directly using the radio station is awesome, but it’s also costly and limiting in a way. So, I’ve decided to go with TinyChat, a program that allows for multiple people to broadcast while hundreds can join in on the chat. Pretty much the same experience for the listeners…but I have yet to test it out. The Bluecast link for TinyChat is here. As for when it broadcasts, it may be a bit random. It will definiltey be on the weekend and I’ll let you know via Facebook or Twitter before hand and during. It will still be recorded and uploaded as a podcast, so again, there may not be much of a change for listeners.

Also…this summer so far has been dead. I know that’s normal for the gaming industry, but I’m resorting to Lego Star Wars – and loving it.

I briefly talked about the PSP in my previous post. The Slim models have TV output, but no bluetooth to allow use with a DualShock 3. I like that because it’s much easier and more comfortable to play games that way. With the PSP Go, I can do just that. Again, with the Slim models, I can play all UMD games and PSN store downloads. But playing games on that handheld just cramps my hands…it’s uncomfortable. Slim models allow custom firmware which allows you to play ISO’s. This was an idea I’d use to put all of my UMD’s on the PSP’s memory so I didn’t have to lug around said UMD’s. The PSP Go doesn’t have any hacks that allow for play with ISO’s. Also, there are only a limited number of PSP games on the PSN for the PSP Go, meaning, the Slims have the full library of games – not the Go. My plan was to buy the UMD and download the ISO for the Go.

This puts me in a tough spot. I can’t stand playing games on the Slim/Phat and with Bluetooth and form factor, I’d play more on my Go. But there’s less I can play. This is a universal paradox that is slowly destroying my brain. Let’s hope an exploit gets released soon that allows me to enjoy my library of purchased UMD games on the PSP Go. I still think the Go is better.

We’re finally settled back in after the weekend in San Antonio with the Bluecast crew. Three days of the Texas Comicon and a little bit of drinking made for a good time. The Comicon itself was a lot more exciting than I figured it would be. Now, it was no San Diego Comicon, but that is the goal here – a viable option for a Comicon in the south/central United States.

While we only had a broadcast on Saturday, we still hung around the booth and met with people. I wished I was loaded with cash at the time as there were many awesome action figure that I don’t need, but want. There were a few good video game items there too. Cosplayers, hot girls, and tons of comics. I even met with a comic book artist in which we may come up with some sort of agreement to get a webcomic going on here. There was also a group there with mechcorps.com. They have Mech simulators set up; actual cockpits to sit in while playing Battletech or Mechwarrior. I think that’s something I can get into.

There are a few fun PSP games out there that I need to play. Problem is, I’m not in a situation where a handheld is necessary, and even sitting on my couch, the PSP is uncomfortable. Well, I came up with a plan. PSP Go + Component TV-Out cables + DualShock 3 connectivity. I traded in my Slim 2000 plus a bunch of games and got the Go for nearly nothing. It even included three games. Now I can sit on my couch playing PSP games on my HDTV.

Well let’s see. I didn’t watch every ones entire press conference (even though I have the time too, not working and all), but I watched what interested me. So here are things that interested me. Let’s start with the worst.

PS3: 2 things I liked the PS Move thing and Twisted Metal. Although, the controller looks like a toddlers karaoke mic, I can deal. I didn’t see any Twisted Metal demos, but all you need to say is Twisted Metal and I’m down like a clown (catch the Sweet Tooth reference).

Wii and 360 kind of tied for me, so I will be biased and save my favorite system for last.

Wii: Me and Adam agree on a lot of games, but when we don’t agreed it is crater-like. Zelda!!! Put me down as an A OK. It does look like more of the same, but when it works it works. Kirby Epic Yarn looked stupid at first, but then reminded me how awesome Paper Mario was on the Wii, so I think this will be great. The Mickey game has a lot of promise. The 3rd person level seemed kinda hard to control so hopefully they fix it. And the 3D DS seems cool, unnecessary, but cool.

360: Kinect…I’m on the fence. Most games seem kiddie like, but saber battles with Darth might give it a go for me. It seems like there are more games for my girlfriend (Kinectimials, Dance Central, Yoga, etc.), but I need her playing more anyway. Plus if she likes it I can buy it to battle Mr. Vader…..Mr. Vader you have a telephone call. Fable 3. Yes. Halo:Reach. Yes. More so Halo space battles. Yes. Metal Gear slicen up watermelon. Yes. GOW 3. Yes. Stick-n-kick bombs. Yes. I’m leaving a lot out but the games are what did it for me.

so out of 10.
PS3=6/10
Wii=8/10
360=8.5/10

PEACE

I will start by saying they were much more boring than MS’s (talk, talk, talk), but brought a lot of better games to the floor.

Nintendo:

Sony:

And there were a few more things, but nothing amazing. No new IP’s but the big three tend to go that route outside of the trade show.

Thursday night I’ll post my favorites of the week.

Yes, I just finished watching the live stream of the MS E3 conference. Nothing much of a big deal to me, but this is E3 and not the BlueGamer Expo. What did have me intrigued is the use of Kinect. Originally, my thoughts were just ‘Wii without controllers’. But after the Forza demonstration, a thought occurred to me.

Playing games like IL-2 on the PC, TrackIR is a must. TrackIR is a little infrared sensor mounted on my monitor that tracks my head movements. Using this, I look around in my cockpit and even out across the sky. Now, I’m sure you’re seeing where I’m going with this. Watching that Forza demonstration, I could only imagine sitting on my couch with a 360 Gaming Wheel using Kinect to allow me to look around as I drive. This could make the driving simulation much more of a simulation. Even playing the 360 version of IL-2 irks me without TrackIR.

Will MS make this happen, or is it up to the devs?

So last week I was pretty damn sick. Not sure if it was the Memorial Day feast or the beginnings of a zombie outbreak, but I caught a nasty stomach virus. This lead to quite a bit of non-gaming. This realm does exists, and I accept it with warming arms, but not in the state in which I don’t intake, but out-take. Constantly. If that was too much information, I don’t apologize. I try not to hold anything back here.

But with the little time I found to indulge, I did. Namely, IL-2 on the 360. Not only is this game gorgeous, but it is a competent flight sim for a console. Something I don’t think has ever been done before, but is achieved here. As you may know, Brandon got me into flight sims recently with the PC version of IL-2. This 360 port is more of a new game with 2011 graphics (they are that good). Coupled with the Hori Ace-Edge flight stick, the living room’s big screen LCD makes flight-siming an experience.

Because of the weekend deal, I was able to finally try some Shattered Horizons. This game is great, taking FPS’s to a new level. Not that they all need to follow, but playing an FPS with no up or down is really something worth trying. And it’s a lot of fun when you have teammates to help call out enemies. If you recall, this game is developed by Futuremark who created a Benchmarking tool for PC’s.

And lastly, a lot of time was spent with Eastern Front. The Russian Army expansion to Company of Heroes. I guess it’s really a mod, but it looks and feels like a retail release from a backing publisher. The dev team is in need of help too. Brandon and I will hopefully be chatting with one or more creators of this masterpiece soon.

As this week wraps, we’ve got E3 next week and Comicon the weekend after. The Bluecast will be broadcasting live. If you’re going to be in San Antonio, stop by and see us. While we’ll talk about what’s happening at Comicon, there will certainly be a lot of E3 talk. This could then create more than one show.

For the remainder of the week, I hope to get into some Splinter Cell co-op with Sean, and maybe play some more Snoopy Flying Aces – it’s really damn fun.