I was a teenager when the first StarCraft game was released. I still remember picking up my copy at Costco the morning it hit store shelves. I’d mowed several lawns and washed a few cars in the weeks prior to scrape together the money needed to buy the game. Back then, computer games came in absolutely humongous, glossy boxes full of cardboard and inserts. Digital distribution wasn’t even possible at the time due to the limitations of the telecommunications framework in the United States.

I was one of dozens of people who showed up at the store that morning to buy the game. I’ll never forget seeing other gamers on my way to the checkout lines. We didn’t even have to say anything to each other. We just nodded and smiled, knowing that we may cross paths later that afternoon on Battle.net. Little did I know that the game would absolutely consume my free time for the next several years. (Between SC and Counter-Strike, I didn’t do much else hobby-wise.)

Fast forward more than a decade. Blizzard’s sequel, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, is here and although I didn’t have the same retail experience, I’m already just as addicted as I was the first time around. If there’s one thing Blizzard did right with this game, it’s capturing the same epic and engrossing feel of the original. Granted, a lot has changed, but the fact remains that the game is still very much StarCraft at heart.

The first and most important thing about StarCraft II is the presentation. From the installer to the in-game menus, Blizzard did perhaps the best job any game developer has ever done of laying things out. Despite what some may tell you about the new Battle.net, I personally think it’s a fantastic interface. Adding friends can be a bit clunky at times but I’m otherwise totally satisfied and I now fully understand Blizzard’s decision to require an Internet connection to play the game. I’ve never waited longer than 15 seconds to find a match, of which I’ve played about twenty so far. Thing seem relatively balanced between the races but I’m definitely having a hard time adjusting to some of the new units. The Terrans, for example, play a fair bit differently than they did in the first game – and there are no Medics! Also, the ladder and league ranking system is a bit overwhelming at first, as is the massive achievements system, but once you figure out the basics it all becomes a welcome addition to the game.

I’m only about halfway through the single player campaign as of this posting but thus far, it’s been a wild experience. The cut scenes are jaw-dropping, the missions are unique and highly entertaining, and the plot arc sucks you in right from the beginning. I have to admit that it has a bit of a Command and Conquer feel that occasionally caused me to forget that I was playing StarCraft. However, I think that speaks more to the quantum leaps that video games have made since the first game was produced. There are a lot of familiar faces as well as some new ones this time around, the dialogue is sharp, and the entire experience has a very cinematic feel overall. I was particularly impressed by the attention paid to even the smallest graphical details – and the soundtrack and flavor audio from units is everything that you’d expect from a Blizzard title.

As far as negatives, there are a few big ones working against the game, at least in my opinion. For starters, there’s no LAN support. This was a huge oversight. One of the things that made the first StarCraft so great was the fact that you could spawn up to eight instances from one copy of the game, making it very easy to hold small LAN parties. I was also a bit dismayed by how competitive Blizzard has made the multiplayer side of the game. I realize that the original was competitive but there was at least an air of fun about it. Everything you do in the sequel, however, is now recorded, analyzed, and spat back at you in the form of brutal match summaries and your overall record and stats are sprayed across your Battle.net landing page. It’s hard to ignore, especially if you aren’t doing well. You could spend almost as long looking through the numbers and watching replays as you do actually playing the game. While some players might enjoy this, I think it’s enough to drive casual gamers away. But then again, StarCraft has never been a game for casual gamers.

Honestly, though, none of those issue detract from the total experience enough to make me think for even a moment before recommending the game to anyone with even a passing interest in RTS games. StarCraft II is an amazing game and while some may argue with me, I think it was well worth the wait.