IGN is reporting today that Blizzard has stated in an official release that Starcraft II will indeed hit store shelves the week before black Friday.

Small excerpt:

'We figured it was only appropriate on the 10th anniversary of the original ground-breaking computer game to finally satisfy the fans with a release date of the much anticipated sequel." said Bill Frost, lead programmer for the Starcraft II design team.

When Starcraft was released on March 31, 1998, it took the computer gaming scene by storm, winning numerous awards as well as changing the very way RTS games would play forever. After Blizzard's announcement last year that Starcraft II was already in the works, fans have been eagerly anticipating the sequel.

'Of course we want to release a game that is 100% ready and deserving of the Starcraft name," continued Frost, 'and with the vigorous testing and balancing we have been running since the beginning of the year, we feel we can safely say the game should hit store shelves before the 2008 holiday.'



Starcraft fans rejoice! In the immortal words of Jim Raynor "Glad to see you, boys. Time to kick some serious butt. "

You can read the full interview Here

Somewhat of a forum post, but I wanted to hear from the C-Bloggers on this. Sadly, I wish I could say I got into because my Girlfriend was as supportive as this



But really I started playing because of Starcraft and Final Fantasy 3. Over time my tastes have changed, like I never played FPS until my friend introduced me to Halo (With this Break.com video of a triple sniper kill).

In the end, I am pretty sure I will never stop playing video games, unless LolCatz crash my computer. So why did y'all get into gaming? Was it because of a specific game, or the escape, or something else?

Also, side note, how do you embed your Gamercard under the profile, such as on Snaileb's C-Blog, MrSadistic's C-Blog and NSFW orkman's C-Blog. Thanks for your help!

So four new maps are being released for Call of Duty 4 on April 3th, and i myself think this is great timing. The old maps have had just enough time to become almost completely memorized by everyone, and the new maps should definitely breathe new life into the online play, especially because of the unique atmosphere each embodies. Here are the new maps (they will cost 800 microsoft points).

Broadcast


Finally, the first of two predominately indoor maps. I was raised on Goldeneye multiplayer, and as we all remember, the best of those maps were "indoor" (although temple still feels like a damn rat maze). Broadcast takes place in an expanded version of the tail end of the "Charlie Don't Surf" single player mission. The main TV room is easily recognizeable and it is nice to have all the other doors open as well.



The best part of this map hands down is the tactical nature of it. Now of course Call of Duty and tactical together are only a loose description, but the indoor fighting environment coupled with the two story nature of the building brings up many possibilities. Would you prefer to take the high ground and try to hold it although your shooting angles are not as good, or would you prefer the low ground and it's lack of cover? This is a perfect map for Headquarters/Sabotage because you can either assault/defend from either floor, and if i remember from some write up, one of the sabotage points has a skylight above it, which offers an interesting defensive high point or an easy way to get the drop.

The only downside to this map is definitely Martyrdom. But really, that's always an annoying perk, so that won't change.

Creek


On the opposite end of the spectrum, more of a jungle/environment map with a few buildings thrown in. Sure, there is Overgrown, but that basically is nothing more than a wider Downpour during the day. From what i can tell, this map seems to have alot more open spaces, which could be a boon for snipers. More importantly, this seems like a perfect hardcore map with overkill, because you could just go sniper for the camo, and then another weapon as your main gun to help blend in.



Although probably not my type of map (i prefer Crash and Crossfire), it is nice to see that the developers are trying to add some uniqueness to the maps instead of just making four more bombed out city landscapes. I don't know how well this map would work for the objective based gametypes, but it is definitely a solid Hardcore/Team Deathmatch level.

Killhouse


I will admit, when i first heard the title of this map, i thought somehow Activision got the rights from Ubisoft to use their Vegas 2 map. Although not as cool as that, this map is definitely awesome. It is basically an uber version of the training you run through in the first mission of single player. Pretty much everything can be shot through, and there lies little in the way of protection.



This of course presents a few problems. This map is definitely a free-for-all style map. It is a bit hard on a smaller map with less cover to really host a large out and out brawl. A deathmatch will work, but it will be one of those annoying dying quite soon after your deaths, so you better carry a RPD with hip-fire to cause some damage (AKA Shipment clone). Another major problem is i can definitely see some 3x Frag + sonic boom abuse going down. This might actually be the easiest and most efficient way to get kills. Maybe my view of the place is a bit small, but I could definitely see this as an awesome every man for himself style play.

Chinatown


This map is based on the Carentan map in Call of Duty 2. I must say I am partially amused that a map based on one of the pivotal battles in the D-Day+ advancement in Normandy could be reimagined as a cultural district in San Francisco. It seems similar to the normal building house to house style gameplay we have come to know and love for the game, although the map seems a bit darker (literally) and less bombed (but no less fabulous!) than the currently offered fair.



although it seems a bit of the same old recipe, that recipe is extremely satisfying. Plus, it will provide a respite for about a week before people have the whole place memorized and have already found three spots where a sniper can run-tap A - jump on a window sill to reach the best sniper spot ever on the map.

In the end, the only thing I could ask for more out of Activision would be to change some of the maps to game type specific. There are always some obvious ones, but maps like Downpour are too narrow to be headquarters map, and Vacant is too decentralized to be a search and destroy. I am not saying ban those maps for those game types, but maybe changing the algorithm so that maps that do work well for game types appear more (Wetworks/Downpour for Sabotage, Crash/Strike for Headquarters).

Although nothing beats Crossfire

Short little rant here.

I find it amazing how you can spend a good amount of time creating an article you are proud of. You find or create pictures that work, you try to form a cohesive narrative and a strong message, and once you finally finish an article worth posting, you get almost no hits unless you are some major community blog player. And the ones you do just say "nice write up". Thanks. I know it is. I am looking for a bit more of a discussion where i can learn your thoughts about the topic, not that we agree about my writing ability in its moments when it actually is comprehensible, good and/or both.

And then you can create an article that is nothing more than a string of pictures and a pun using "boobies" and you get 4x as many hits as a normal post. So, unless I am a contributing member of the destructoid editor board or the main page blog, people only want to read trivial trash about things that are superficial at best, and at worst an intelligence killer.

I guess all there is to do is just throw in more pictures and less words. Since actual topics and opinions expressed seem to matter little compared to if you can post some funny picture that shows how much more superior you are, or your dismissive comment.

/rant

And to end on a happy side, Thanks to those who actually leave insightful and useful comments. I appreciate that you actually take the time to read and input your thoughts. Sadly you are a dying breed, but don't change.

Let's celebrate, even though he can't drink (legally).

I finally bought Rainbow Six Vegas 2 on Friday to celebrate the return of my Xbox at the same day. After a weekend of immersion, I must say, although there are some problems (the Private First Class bug, connection issues for the PS3), there are some huge improvements from the last game. So let's focus on the positive!

#5: Carry Over Between Single Player Campaign and Online Multiplayer
Although initially this seems not that big of a deal, this does help with the immersive aspects of the game. When you switched back and forth between the the campaign and multiplayer in the original game, you were either Logan, or your character. The problem was, this ruined the idea that you are Logan. How can you be Logan if your "character" on Multiplayer looks completely different? by allowing the carry over between SP and MP, it allows the idea that you are actually a member of Rainbow Six, rather than some new recruiting training or learning about the past accomplishments of the other members.

#4: A.C.E.S
Similar to the Challenges of Call of Duty 4, the A.C.E.S. system allows you to gain points in three different catagories (Marksman, Close Quarters Combat (CQB), and Assault), that unlocks new guns and gives extra experience. First, the boost in experience is nice, but it also allows a more realistic background for why you gain the ability to use certain weapons. As you get better at Marksman, you get more powerful guns that are high in accuracy and range, compared to say COD4 where you gain better weapons because your rank goes up. Because that's how the real army works.



#3: Realistic Achievements
Depending on the individual, Achievements are either an important part of each game, or the most useless addition to gaming of all time. Although it doesn't really matter what side you are on, the Achievements in RSV2 are nice because they are all achieveable. Although i guess achievements such as the 10,000 kills in versus ranked matches on Gears of War or beating Guitar Hero 3 with a standard controller on hard or expert is an accomplishment, achievements such as this do little but to show that you are either an achievement whore, have too much freetime, and/or both. The most difficult achievements in rainbow six (1000 kills online, rank of elite, 25 kills while rappeling), although take skill, most can be achieved by the casual player. This don't require you to spend an huge amount of time to reach, but merely just playing the game over the course of a few months will most likely unlock the achievements for everyone.

#2: Removal of Game Length Bonus
This is more of a personal preference than anything else, but nothing was more annoying than 20 minute matches in the original multiplayer. I loved to play online, but it was impossible to play a quick game because there was an xp modifier that gave a bonus for the length of time played. This of course made every game 20 minutes so the maximum modifier could be achieved. in this one, you can generally find a game that will last anywhere between a minute to 15. Either way, the greater variety in options is much better, especially when you are trying to sneak a few games between classes.



#1: Xp Gained in Failed Terrorist Hunt Missions
Holy Crap. If there was one thing that killed my spirit and made me want to quit gaming all together, it was getting a terrorist hunt down to one terrorist, and coming around a corner to get Spas'ed in the face, and have to start over from scratch. Sure, you still get spas'ed at the end of a terrorist hunt in RSV2, but at least now i get some 300xp even on my failed Terrorist Hunts.

If you want to play, look me up. I'll probably be noobing it up because i keep messing up my COD4 and RSV2 controls.