Well, it's about time.

Or;
A shotgun, the Zerg, and you.

Two words; Starcraft II (<- okay, it's a numeral, but it works all the same.)
I can't remember the last time I preordered a game. If memory serves... Never. That's just how much I wanted this game. Enough to shell out 65 bucks just so I could have a decent single player campaign and mind-blowing multiplayer. And the new Battle.net? Ahh... (Refreshing, if you didn't get that). But I'll get to that in a sec.

If, heaven forbid, you are reading this with no inkling of what I speak, allow me to enlighten you. If you've played SCI, go ahead and skip down to... Down there. I'll let you know when to stop skipping.
To sum it up nicely, humankind has a knack for getting themselves caught up in the biggest, most brutal galactic wars this side of Alderaan (See what I did there?). And this war is no exception. Three races, the Terrans (clever name for humans... psh) the Protoss ( a psi-wielding cybermen-ish race) and the Zerg (the nastiest bug infection you've ever seen) have all decided that they don't like any of their fellows, and have picked a small sector of the galaxy to wage total war. And since I myself never really played the single player mode of part 1 of what is becoming quite the franchise, I won't try to regurgitate the already regurgitated backstory that was fed to me during the installer.
Which, by the way Blizzard, didn't last nearly long enough. I ended up sitting there for a good half an hour listening to the soundtrack. Which, from what I can tell when things are calm enough for me to pay attention to the music, is quite good. Just though I'd point that out.
Anyway, the game itself is a continuation of what many people have called the definition of a RTS (Real-time-strategy) game. I have to agree. You are the mastermind behind what will eventually amount to an army (hopefully) by the end of any given match. You build, organize and deploy units in a frantic attempt to blow the living snot out of your opponent before he gets a chance to do the same. It's chaotic, ridiculous and  downright amazing

Veterans, you can resume reading here.

You can buy this game, if you like, solely for the single player mode, but don't think that gets you out of taking your escapades online. The new Battle.Net (the latest version of what the old system used for its multiplayer hosting, and what is now Blizzard entertainment's main hub for what they like to call "social network gaming") is fully integrated into the game. That means that when you unlock achievements in the single player campaign, the whole world, should they care to go find out, can read about it in seconds. Battle.Net keeps track of kills, deaths, units produced and lost, resources gained and spent, and just about anything possibly relevant to the game that you could think of (and some that isn't). And apparently, if you've had your life eaten by World of Warcraft (WoW) you can chat with your guildies online whilst rushing with copious amounts of Zerglings. And isn't that just special?

The three races have been balance out a bit more than they were in the old game (though I have developed a certain fondness for the Protoss and their Void Rays), and there are enough new units and abilities to keep each and every unit from reaching obsolescence. Except for the Terran SCV's. Other than for building things, those guys are useless in a fight...

The maps are well built, and there's enough variety that people shouldn't get bored before the first real patch/expansion.

All and all, I'd give it a 9.5/10

Later Days
-B