Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty

 PC
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3772 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,975 out of 3772
  2. Mixed: 410 out of 3772
  3. Negative: 387 out of 3772
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. PLib
    Aug 6, 2010
    7
    Starcraft is a fun game, if you're into Starcraft. That's about it. This game feels like a rehash of the Starcraft the first, just with updated graphics and interface. Quite frankly, that's not enough to compel me to buy this when their are other great RTS's still out there, like Dawn of War and Company of Heroes.
  2. JamesE
    Aug 6, 2010
    5
    I suspect many of the people giving this '10' are WOW players who've not played many RTS's before. I can see how they'd be impressed. Its not bad, but its nowhere near 10. The story seems to have been written by George W. Bush with extra inputs from Oliver North. I know originality has never been big for Blizz's writing staff, but this seems to be a new low. I suspect many of the people giving this '10' are WOW players who've not played many RTS's before. I can see how they'd be impressed. Its not bad, but its nowhere near 10. The story seems to have been written by George W. Bush with extra inputs from Oliver North. I know originality has never been big for Blizz's writing staff, but this seems to be a new low. Lowest common denominator anyone? The business model is pure greed. Won't be too long before MW is integrated into Battlenet and we'll all have to pay subs for the privilege of using the service. The graphics could pretty much be sprites and viewing angle (especially compared to Total War, SupCom, CoH and the Dawn of War series) only allows for a small amount of the pretty small maps to be seen at once. Online is completely unbalanced (even if the units are fairly well-balanced), seeing as Blizz decided who was going to be good at it months/years ago and gave them alpha + beta access while the rest of us will have to play SC1 or dry as dust skirmish maps against the PC to even learn the names of Zerg or Protoss units. Of course the potential reviewers were included in the beta as well. So glad they all had a good time.… Expand
  3. meh
    Aug 11, 2010
    5
    Meh. 10 years. Blizzard spent the better part of a decade working on the next installment of the Starcraft franchise and this is all they came up with? A boost to the graphics, fancy CG cutscenes, no apparent change in gameplay, and a total reliance on micro-management. Whoop-dee-do.
  4. DavidS
    Jul 28, 2010
    6
    Highly overrated. Almost exactly the same as SC1 with only updated graphics and an expansion's pack worth of content and tweaks. Plus Blizzard is being extremely greedy forcing you to buy 3 separate full price games instead of just one. Would not buy again.
  5. MIkeM.
    Jul 27, 2010
    6
    If this game was released 5 years ago, it would have been wonderful. Oh wait, it was basically release 5 years ago with all the beta testing that was happening year after year... I don't know, feels kind of anticlimactic now.
  6. bobg
    Aug 6, 2010
    6
    I just don't get it. The story is boring and doesn't grab you, the graphics are nothing amazing and the game is lacking a number of important features, e.g. LAN play. Sure this is a decent game if you want the same gameplay you had 12 years ago, but no way does it deserve the kind of perfect scores it's getting.
  7. SilentHightimes
    Sep 12, 2014
    7
    Decent campaign mode good multiplayer lackin Graphics and material for how long fans have bin waiting for this game, and how long it was in development, it lacks a lot of anything new. A pretty big disappointment for a fan waiting years for it to finally come out.

    Worth $50 Bucks only if your multiplayer fan if not than i think the games only worth $17 max.
  8. Archimedesx
    Sep 12, 2014
    7
    I really like this game. RTS is my favorite genre, and Starcraft has always been a really cool universe with nice diverse selection of units to play with. Starcraft II is really a rehash of the original game with a major graphics upgrade. There have been some changes to the way you command and use units, but only to uniquely identify itself from the original game I feel. For something thatI really like this game. RTS is my favorite genre, and Starcraft has always been a really cool universe with nice diverse selection of units to play with. Starcraft II is really a rehash of the original game with a major graphics upgrade. There have been some changes to the way you command and use units, but only to uniquely identify itself from the original game I feel. For something that looks and feels like a remake, it's done very well though and deserves the high if not optimal marks I give it. The combat is fun and engaging, the race, unit, and upgrade choices make for many interesting games and possible situations, and the always online play system isn't as encumbering as some people make it out to be.
    The main reason I don't give this higher marks is because it is more of a rehash than a sequel, though if you just play single player mode maybe you might interpret it more like a sequel. I would have really liked to see some innovation though, RTS desperately needs it. Especially on the scale or diversity of the maps. The maps in this game are very plain for the most part. I also think the editor and the way custom games are listed in multiplayer is a step back from the way it was organized before. There's a lot less appeal to keep playing this game.    … Expand
  9. Mogul
    Apr 22, 2012
    6
    This game is good, and kind of fun, but it didn't really seem special to me. It felt very outdated and required way too much micromanaging for my taste, and everything was a bit more stressful than fun. I can see why people enjoy this game, but for my part, I actual like watching Starcraft II competitive matches on youtube much more than I like playing the game myself.
  10. whitespider999
    Feb 16, 2012
    7
    Blizzard is quite good at getting something that worked, and then tweaking it into something slightly evolved in the best way possible. You either like this incremental approach, or you don't. I don't. However me simply saying I don't like this games approach to evolution and then slapping a 0 on it, is exactly the kind of critic I don't want to be. Besides, I am a huge fan of diablo 2 -Blizzard is quite good at getting something that worked, and then tweaking it into something slightly evolved in the best way possible. You either like this incremental approach, or you don't. I don't. However me simply saying I don't like this games approach to evolution and then slapping a 0 on it, is exactly the kind of critic I don't want to be. Besides, I am a huge fan of diablo 2 - and while I know that they will do the same thing they did with starcraft II - for diablo 3. I am fine with that. So it would be a double standard to simply dismiss starcraft 2 because A: It's a genre that I don't prefer. and B: Because it's incremental, when that's exactly what I want from the genre I DO prefer. (Action rpg).

    So in that light. Starcraft 2 is reccomended for people who enjoy two things, a well balanced and tightly playing rts, and a superb online competitive mode. And while the story is well presented, well written, and relatively engaging. It's not the long term highlight of this package. Frequent online play is. If you do end up enjoying this game competitively - This is a 10. I enjoyed playing singleplayer, and since I am not a competitive person - I did not enjoy the hardcore requirements or thought processes of multiplayer. So I judge the part I can judge. And it's a 8.    … Expand
  11. Auctane
    Feb 24, 2014
    5
    While continuing the story of Starcraft, Starcraft 2 is a modernization of the original title. With other RTS games offering innovations in the way RTS are played, emphasizing on the strategy, Starcraft 2 offered a clean UI & intuitive interface but nothing new. Having good marketing is important, the popularity of this game proves it.
  12. Slipfeed
    Jul 8, 2011
    7
    Having finally picked up starcraft 2 about a month ago, having succumbed to the endless hype from rabid fans and excited shoutcasters, I now find myself in an interesting position.

    Starcraft, you see, has become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon in the gaming community. Boasting one of (if not the most) zealous fanbases this side of Justin Bieber. Professional tournaments are played    Having finally picked up starcraft 2 about a month ago, having succumbed to the endless hype from rabid fans and excited shoutcasters, I now find myself in an interesting position.

    Starcraft, you see, has become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon in the gaming community. Boasting one of (if not the most) zealous fanbases this side of Justin Bieber. Professional tournaments are played world wide. Small numbers of fans line up for hours to watch this game being played.

    And here is where my previously mentioned position becomes interesting. I don't understand why....

    The game itself is nothing short of mediocre. All of the otherwise exciting portions of the game, the combat in particular, are forced to take a back seat to mundane tasks like constructing supply depot's, or consistently pressing a certain series of keys on your keyboard as fast as you possibly can throughout the game.

    This leaves little of the players attention for combat, and oh man does it show.

    Imagine if you will, a football game where the action on the field is constantly covered by an overlay of the plays that the two teams are running, and might run next on the screen. Furthermore, the players on the field are not allowed to deviate from those plays for any reason. they must attack move the enemy, because the coach has something more important to do. We need another supply depot.

    And here in lies the folly of choosing starcraft as the worlds electronic sport. It's boring. Listen to the commentators during a match at dreamhack or NASL. They're talking about minerals, and gas, and bases. Production facility's and APM, and that drone that's been circling the map for the last three minutes scouting. When a fight does occur, its an afterthought. The player has pressed a couple of buttons, and moved on while the commentators do their best to make it sound like the players are fully engaged, but the way the actual fight plays out tells the true tale. There is little to no tactical creativity involved. Like our football players that are not allowed to make snap decisions on the field, starcraft players don't have the time or the mechanics available to win a battle through tactics or strategy, because if they allow too much of their attention to flow into the battle, they will loose the war.

    Said war mostly involves the construction of buildings. More harvesters, more barracks, more command centers, more hatchery's, with more queens to repeatedly spit on them for more larvae, inducing a near trance state for more work and less fun.

    E-sports will never take off like this. Not in a mainstream sense. When the game you choose as your flagship relegates the excitement down to a distraction meant to draw a players attention away from the repetitive and monotonous tasks that must be performed to actually win, the combat will never be engaging enough to the viewer to hold their attention.

    And why should starcraft's combat hold the attention of an audience? It cant even hold the attention of the players.

    The single player campaign, thankfully, is immune to this disease. Giving the player more choices in the realm of army customization, both strategic and tactical, the single player campaign manages to find innovative and interesting ways to make sure the player is always on their toes. It could almost be said that mission mechanics where used as a tool to make the campaigns combat the focus, while all of these tools where stripped out of the multiplayer along with the majority of customization options.

    It's too bad blizzard was so focused on creating a multiplayer experience that south Koreans could use to display their superior button mashing skills they forgot to provide a conduit for creative tactical response.

    All in all, the single player campaign is worth the money, even for those that don't consider themselves starcraft fans.

    Most should probably uninstall the moment they complete it however, because unless you're looking for a second job that will never pay you, and cause more frustration than your mother in law, multiplayer is not for you.    … Expand
  13. Kaaristu
    Nov 25, 2011
    7
    It's an okay game, it's a very well polished game. But it's just no for me. It's for the people who love doing hundreds of things at once, but I'd rather be relaxed, not tensed up doing the same thing over and over.
  14. jim109109
    May 31, 2012
    6
    This is Blizzard's first epically disappointing game, in its plunge to activision mediocrity. It's a remake of starcraft 1 with better graphics. The custom map system is horrible because of the "popularity" system, so if you invent a map you will never be able to play it with anyone because it isn't popular. If you aren't a map maker and just want to play maps, you 'll play the same 20This is Blizzard's first epically disappointing game, in its plunge to activision mediocrity. It's a remake of starcraft 1 with better graphics. The custom map system is horrible because of the "popularity" system, so if you invent a map you will never be able to play it with anyone because it isn't popular. If you aren't a map maker and just want to play maps, you 'll play the same 20 over and over, because the system kills creativity. It feels like Blizzard itself is now enemy to creativity, it's a big ball-less, slow, boring company which issues remakes and cashes in money. Warcraft III was superior in every way, ten years earlier.… Expand
  15. Bobbo
    Jun 21, 2012
    6
    I want to enjoy and savor the moment when playing an RTS, not click like a madman in some pointless E-sports game. Battlenet 2 is designed around E-sports where every online game is on super-fast speed and nobody cares about having fun, just moving up on some pointless E-sports ladder.
  16. Hurzdligh
    Sep 4, 2012
    7
    The overall score for this game is between 6 and 9. Compared to war 3, the latest rts from Blizz, I would say that Starcraft 2 was a letdown for me. Even more if I think that I was in-loved with SC1.
    The graphics are nice, the gameplay even better, but the whole game made me start hating on blizz developments. In hindsight, after the D3 fiasco, I see that I was right then as I am now. My    The overall score for this game is between 6 and 9. Compared to war 3, the latest rts from Blizz, I would say that Starcraft 2 was a letdown for me. Even more if I think that I was in-loved with SC1.
    The graphics are nice, the gameplay even better, but the whole game made me start hating on blizz developments. In hindsight, after the D3 fiasco, I see that I was right then as I am now. My first few hours spent on SC2 were with the campaign. I am sorry to say this, but the design, the story and the entire feeling after I've finished the game was of disappointment. I would rate the campaign with 3. Went through it only in the memory of SC1, with the hope that will get better eventually. It didn't. The multiplayer is good, but the lack of offline gameplay angered all my friends, thus my hours spent on battle.net reached not more than 15-20 since I`ve bought the game. I won`t buy the sequel. Even if it were for free, I wouldn't spend any more time on blizz poor developed games. I am sorry Blizzard, in my eyes you are heading atm straight to the EA levels. 7/10    … Expand
  17. Expospeed
    Dec 3, 2014
    6
    "If it ain't broken, don't fix it." Wings of Liberty does this with improved graphics. My breakdown is as follows:

    1. Graphics: 7/10 - detailed unit models, good relative to other games on the market
    2. Gameplay: 7/10 - great interface and satisfying micro/macro control
    3. Multiplayer: 8/10 - competitive and fun
    4. Story: 2/10 - shallow story, not interesting at all

    Overall, average game.
  18. fukery3
    Dec 10, 2012
    5
    I'm seeing a lot of idiotic user reviews here. Truth is this isn't a horrible game and it doesnt deserve anything less than a 5.... but its a **** RTS compared to Starcraft: Brood War. Singleplayer-wise, the story is god awful (seriously blizzard just hire a good writer) and the dialogue is pitiful. But the gameplay is a fun blend of RTS and RPG. If you turn your brain all the way off itsI'm seeing a lot of idiotic user reviews here. Truth is this isn't a horrible game and it doesnt deserve anything less than a 5.... but its a **** RTS compared to Starcraft: Brood War. Singleplayer-wise, the story is god awful (seriously blizzard just hire a good writer) and the dialogue is pitiful. But the gameplay is a fun blend of RTS and RPG. If you turn your brain all the way off its decent singleplayer, nothing to write home about though. Now the multiplayer is frought with problems. According to Dustin Browder the design plan in this game was to "make cool units" and worry about the numbers later. This is pretty apparent in the multiplayer where its a circus of stupidity with units. Also, because the engine makes units clump, there tends to be big balls of units that smash into each other in an A-moved orgy. Add in a lot of cheesing, and you get one of the messiest multiplayers around. Sorry Blizzard, this game is average.… Expand
  19. lolfactor100
    May 29, 2013
    7
    Now i personally hated this game, but I can't deny that the core gameplay and visual looks are good and give the game the fresh look that was needed since the first game. I have never gotten into RTS style games so i don't know how good this actual game is when compared to other games, but for those looking for a widely played RTS game here is a good choice.
  20. McFranz
    Oct 29, 2013
    7
    It's a great game but Blizzard made it a bit, well: they removed some lovely characters that are in the first StarCraft, it's overpriced, short campaign, and overrated.

    Other than that, great gameplay, great voice acting, great plot/story. Good job Blizzard for making such a nice game.
  21. SupaChigga
    Nov 18, 2013
    7
    Single Player/Multi Player (2/2)

    (If the single player is better than the multiplayer, review this section as if it had no multplayer) (If the multiplayer is better than the multiplayer, review this section as if it had no single player) Gameplay (2/2) Visuals/Story (2/2) (If the visuals are better than the story, review this section as if it had no story) (If the story is    Single Player/Multi Player (2/2)

    (If the single player is better than the multiplayer, review this section as if it had no multplayer) (If the multiplayer is better than the multiplayer, review this section as if it had no single player)

    Gameplay (2/2)

    Visuals/Story (2/2)

    (If the visuals are better than the story, review this section as if it had no story) (If the story is better than the visuals, review this section as if the visuals didn’t matter)

    Accessibility/Longevity (2/2)

    (Review this section only on Accessibility if the game has no longevity) (Review this section only on longevity if the game isn’t accessible)

    Pricing (0/2)

    Wildcard (-1)

    This is a guideline for how to properly review games. Many reviewers like to get a “feel” for a game, and arbitrarily give a game a score that they believe it deserves. This results in wildly different scores between different reviewers, and vastly different scores between similar games. This guideline addresses these problems and scores games fairly and consistently. This guideline also gives scores that are usually similar to the metacritic score.

    The review score is based out of 10 points. There are no “half” or 0.5 increments. It is impossible to have a score above 10 or below 0. The review score will change as the game gets new dlc, drops in price, or if more secrets are found through the game increasing its appeal.

    The scoring is split into 6 sections. The first five sections can add a possible 2 points to the final score. The first 5 sections are Single Player/Multi Player, Gameplay, Visuals/Story, Accessibility/Longevity, and Pricing.

    Notice that 3 of these sections have two parts. These particular sections will be scored based on the stronger part of the game of the two. For example, if a game has a lousy single player campaign, but an excellent multiplayer component, that section will be based solely on the multiplayer as if the single player did not exist. This allows games to be based on their own merits, as many unnecessary features are shoehorned into video games by publishers to reach a “feature quota”. Games that excel in both areas of a section don’t receive should be noted in the written review, but cannot increase the score past 2 in that section. However, it can be taken into account in the final section

    The final section can add 1, add 0, or subtract 1 to the final score. This final section is the “wildcard” section. This section is for how the reviewer “feels” about the game, but limits this only to this section, rather than the entire 10 point review. This section can include any positive or negative point that was not covered in the previous 5 sections.    … Expand
  22. Vamrem
    Jun 3, 2015
    5
    A 10/10 Starcraft in 3D with more options and modding possibilities, its only problem is its lack of LAN mode... the mode that I enjoyed more and they can say that is the same because today all people has internet, well is NOT, but even being the same is unacceptable a game with less features than its predecessor. So yes, is the best SC, but with the half of the fun to me and my friends,A 10/10 Starcraft in 3D with more options and modding possibilities, its only problem is its lack of LAN mode... the mode that I enjoyed more and they can say that is the same because today all people has internet, well is NOT, but even being the same is unacceptable a game with less features than its predecessor. So yes, is the best SC, but with the half of the fun to me and my friends, so it has the half note too.… Expand
  23. LimitedEdition
    Jun 8, 2016
    7
    My list descending in personal priority concerning negative and positive aspects:

    Negative: 1. User-hostile policies, the company definitely poses the customer under its own profit 2. The game itself feels a bit too stale and lifeless, units are mostly just a plain tool to work with 3. After a while the game feels quite repetitive and not very rewarding at all Positive: 1. The    My list descending in personal priority concerning negative and positive aspects:

    Negative:
    1. User-hostile policies, the company definitely poses the customer under its own profit
    2. The game itself feels a bit too stale and lifeless, units are mostly just a plain tool to work with
    3. After a while the game feels quite repetitive and not very rewarding at all

    Positive:
    1. The user interface and handling of the game in general is outstanding and it performs very well
    2. The main game is really well balanced
    3. A lot of possible settings make the gaming-experience very customizable

    I give 7 out of 10 because I think that this game is a solid one which offers a lot of challenge and interesting matches, but it just lacks color and soul and playing it feels more like doing maths than playing a video game. The custom games are fine, but the playerbase is still quite small there.

    If this review was helpful to you, please let me know!    … Expand
  24. albodoin
    Sep 23, 2017
    7
    The campaign is fun, I always loved the story aspect of this universe. But the only reason why I play this game is because of a friend otherwise the multiplayer is too hard to be enjoyable.
  25. RazvanClau
    Nov 16, 2017
    6
    So here's the thing.

    I've played this game the first time when it was launched. I've never finished the campaign then (something came up and I had to stop at about 70%) but I've played quite a lot multiplayer and skirmishes. I've also picked up the game again not so long ago and I've played it in co-op, single player, versus AI and multiplayer. It's not that great anymore. I used    So here's the thing.

    I've played this game the first time when it was launched. I've never finished the campaign then (something came up and I had to stop at about 70%) but I've played quite a lot multiplayer and skirmishes.

    I've also picked up the game again not so long ago and I've played it in co-op, single player, versus AI and multiplayer.

    It's not that great anymore. I used to love it but after playing about a dozen co-op games, I've realized that it is exactly the same thing again and again and again. The same build order, the same strategy, the same moves. It is like chess without the mental stimulation. Once you find a strategy that works, you keep repeating it and that's about it. The entire idea of multi-player or co-op (especially co op) comes down to mastering three or four build orders and then massing your troops against your enemy.

    The single player is not that great either. At the time it was launched, it was great. There was nothing like that. A single player with units you can upgrade, multi-path missions, a story-line (even if it wasn't that great) and a feeling of grandness was something impressive in 2010. But in 2017, it feels extremely generic, downright boring and a waste of time.

    I've finished the game eventually. I am sure it is a great e-sport game but I am the kind of person that prefers single player. So from a single player perspective, once the novelty wears off, it is not that a brilliant game.    … Expand
  26. Nekellor
    Aug 1, 2018
    7
    Прекрасная музыка. Отличный сюжет с возможностью выбора. Куча красивых кацсцен. Приятные и живые персонажи. Красиво оформленный корабль, в общении, прокачки и развитии. Интригующие дополнительные задания.
  27. MillersWeeb
    Nov 16, 2018
    7
    Мне понравилась кампания. В мультиплеер не играл, в свое время переплатил за эту игру 1500 рупий.
  28. joglow
    May 16, 2022
    7
    In some way it feels like StarCraft and just a little bit... rushed? I feel I just lack of something there.
  29. Giero
    Jan 3, 2023
    6
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  30. HydrophobikFish
    Jun 9, 2023
    7
    Pretty fun RTS game. Really enjoyed the upgrade systems and the involved campaign missions. Memorable story and characters, but overall campaign was pretty forgettable for me. Somehow feels like less than the sum of its parts.
prev
Page:

Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best PC Game of 2010
2
#2 Most Discussed PC Game of 2010
5
#5 Most Shared PC Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
93

Universal acclaim - based on 82 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 82 out of 82
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 82
  3. Negative: 0 out of 82
  1. PC Zone UK
    Jan 18, 2011
    95
    "Quotation Forthcoming"
  2. Video Game Talk
    Jan 18, 2011
    90
    If you are into real time strategy in any form, it's hard to ignore Starcraft II.
    Read full review
  3. PC Format
    Dec 24, 2010
    93
    Perfectly balanced multiplayer with old school elements intact, and rich and dynamic single player campaigns. [Issue#244, p.102]
See all critic reviews »