User blog:Hawki/Thoughts on StarCraft: Remastered

So, I've been toying with doing a blog on this for awhile, especially since a lot of what I'm going to say would probably be down-voted to oblivion on the game's forums. That isn't really a slight though - if the last seven years have taught me anything, it's that fanbases are passionate across the spectrum making blogs like this somewhat redundant at best, and melodramatic at worst. But, well, just going to post some thoughts, and as always, discussion is welcomed. So, general thoughts:


 * I'm fine with this existing, even though I feel Warcraft I/II and Diablo I need remastering more, as there's currently no way to obtain the games legally. Not that I'd want to actually play WC1 that much (2 and D1 are still reasonably enjoyable though), but, well, yeah. I'm fine with remasters/re-releases in principle, for that matter.


 * Gameplay: Okay, I get it - Brood War has a lot of quirks that have become part of the meta. I think it would be nice to at least have an option to incorporate SC2-style gameplay into at least the singleplayer campaign. Because I did play some Brood War multiplayer not long before the announcement, and...yeah. It hasn't aged perfectly. Course BW fans could just as easily say that SC2 is for dirty casuals, but, well, I don't see anything wrong with the best of both worlds, at least for singleplayer.

(And yes, I know Mass Recall exists, let's not go there.)


 * The use of comic-style interludes for the game? Well, onbaord with that. I will say now that I don't think I'll get the game, as paying for a graphics upgrade isn't something I'm too interested in, and fact of the matter is, I can view the interludes on YouTube. It does raise an interesting question though as to the presence (or lack thereoff) of player characters, as to whether we'll see the magistrate or whatnot. To be honest, I've never been fond of player characters/silent protagonists in general, and while SC1 isn't the most egregious use of the 'silent commander' format (Brood War doesn't work quite as well), I've made no secret that I prefer the SC2 format, of having distinct, actual main characters and whatnot.

I will say that I'm actually more curious about the interludes being applied to Brood War though - we've had plenty of material fleshing out the Great War, so while it might be nice to see, say, Michael Liberty in such interludes, it won't be groundshaking. Interludes fleshing out Brood War though? I could get behind that.


 * I really like the art style. Now, how I feel about SC2's art style could be a whole other blog post on its own, but short version is, I've never agreed with the claim that it (or D3) are cartoony or anything, especially when actual cartoony art styles exist to contrast against them (contrast SC2 with WC3, and D3 with Torchlight for instance). I will say that I do feel it serves the setting to have differing appearances, especially with the terrans, who go from kind of schmucks in SC1 (lore-wise) to, while not losing their space cowboy elements, do feel more professional and better armoured in SC2 (which ties in with WoL's secondary theme well enough). I also generally like the more curved protoss aesthetics and the zerg's more muscular appearance, not losing their insectoid edge, but feeling a bit more 'bulked up' as well. I say this because it does feel natural to the universe, that the 'big three' have improved themselves over time (even if actual in-universe explanations vary for this).

But, back to Remastered. Like I said, really like the artwork - it captures the essence of the original game, but does present actual models rather than sprites, and that's a big plus. So, well done there.

So, at the end of the day, I'm kind of "meh" about the game, but I can't resent its presence. I know that there's people who'll see this as the second coming, and more power to them, but as for me, well, it's nice. Nice to know it exists at least, and hey, it does keep me busy.