Starcraft: Ghost

[The Preacher]

I'm a bit disappointed, but not at all surprised. It appears Blizzard's next game will be part of the Starcraft universe, but will not appear on the PC or Mac. It is being designed for consoles only.

It looks like the game will be called "Starcraft: Ghost" and will be a 3rd person tactical shooter in the vein of Metal Gear Solid or Hitman. I think that's a good game design decision, as I think this type of game will fit Blizzard's story heavy game style, but allow a more "intimate" style of game play than what was experience with Starcraft.

It appears that you will play a female Ghost (a stealthy assassin with psionic abilities) and have some pretty interesting game play elements. Nova (the Ghost's name) will be able to cloak, read minds, go at supersonic, use various Starcraft weapons, and use Starcraft vehicles such as the Vulcher or Wraith.


Here's the press release (http://www.blizzard.com/ghost/pressrelease.shtml)
and here’s a preview from IGN.com (http://ps2.ign.com/articles/371/371543p1.html.).

The question that I have is this:

Do you think that Blizzard’s decision to not release Starcraft 2 next year and focus on a console game will have any impact on Homeworld 2's sales? I have always believed that one of the reasons that HW did not have the spectacular sales that Starcraft and Age of Kings were having was the fact that everyone was buying Starcraft and didn't have time to play a game as involved as Homeworld.

I'm also curious as to whether or not people support Blizzard's decision to ignore the PC marker in favor of the console market and question whether you think this will effect other game manufacturer's decisions about whether or not they should release games for the PC.

[Edited Spelling Of Topic (sheesh, can't even spell Starcraft)]

[boolybooly]

I am not buying a console !

[Vaarok]

Don't you worry, it'll devolve into Diablo with guns, just like WC3 went from NWN with a party to Age Of Empires With Orcs.

I hate blizzard.

[GhostTX]

I don't think the delay of Starcraft 2 will impact HW2 much, if at all. HW2 sales are going to come from fans of HW and people looking for that "new kind of RTS." Some Starcraft devotees might buy HW2, but I doubt it.

I believe one of the main reasons HW lacked in sales wasn't because of SC or AoE or any other RTS of the time, it was the learning curve. 'Traditional' RTS', like SC, WC, C&C did not take that much talent to learn. Simply band box, and click where you want them to go or attack. They're all 2D Iso-view, which is easy to comprehend. My experience with those people who didn't play HW, was they couldn't figure out how to make units moves, or would simply get 'lost' and not be able to find anything (or places to go). Many never got beyond the demo. HW took me probably a week of constant play to learn how to effectively use the 'M' key.

This 'learning curve' is why I believe consoles are becoming so popular. 'Plug-n-Play' so to speak. No drivers to download. No video resolutions to adjust. No patches to install. Put the CD/DVD in and start button mashing. Because of the ease of use, more people are going to consoles (not to mention the 'wow' factor of the graphics now). Since more people are going to consoles, its a better business decision -> more volume in sales.

3rd person shooters and other arcadish games are easy for consoles. FPS is making the leap (though I contend a WASD/mouse control versus gamepad control would win any day), but I believe RTS is fairly safe from the console grasp. Just the sheer number of commands, group numbers, fast scrolling rate, and quick, precise picks would keep it from becoming too popular on the console. Red Alert was tried on the PlayStation1 I believe...dunno how well it did though.

Well...my $0.02.

[Higaran]

Yea it would be kinda like playing lemmings on sega instead of the pc, it sucked. The control was too slow, and you could never really play it like it was supposed to be played.

[Edric O]

Why is Blizzard so stupid? :banghead:

They make great games, but it's so damn hard to squeeze those games out of them!

GRRRRRR, I WANT STARCRAFT 2!!!!!!!
:madashell :madashell :madashell

[Murph]

jesus guys patience. Remember how long we waited for Diablo 2.

[Higaran]

I really didn't like diablo 2 that much, don't get me wrong it was a great improvement over diablo 1. But there is only soo much going around an killing ever thing that attacks you that I can take, there are only soo many batches of minions I can take. For the type of game that it is it's great, but I don't see that much replay value after you beat it once or twice.

[ceejayoz]

Personally, I think it looks great. I was actually hoping it wouldn't be Starcraft 2 - I think they need to wait a while before doing something more in the WC3 engine. I really didn't like the looks of the WC3 engine, it wasn't appealing to me. SC looked better in 2D, IMO.

I'll definitely be buying SC:Ghost

[Daggerhawk]

Hmm,starcraft meets metal gear solid...IM IN!
That is...as long it comes out on the cube...

[Dyntheos]

i think it looks great

[CruiserCarrier]

I think that console game is a BIG mistake on Blizzard's part. Most that play PC games stay playing PC games. They don't go play "lowly" console games. . . Don't get my wrong, but I don't think consoles have the quality that most PC games have. . . And besides, I like tweaking the graphics to look better, and THAT is something consoles will never have. Another thing is patches, which addresses fixable issues that consoles can never get. The bottom line is Starcraft is a PC game. Anyone that plays PC games stays playing PC games. And nearly all of Blizzard's fan base is in the PC gaming realm.

It's almost like having Starcraft on the N64. . . Oh wait, it did happen, and the result was that it sucked like heck.

I was expecting the Warcraft III Expansion. I KNOW it is coming, that is for certain. WHEN is another matter.

I never liked console games. They lack longevity and the depth that some PC games have. Seriously, no matter how good Ghost is, I won't be playing it over and over for years to come. So how come PC games enjoy this great honor?

I dislike the fact that it's a console game.

[SvK]

The Goliath is wicked cool, and I was surprised and pleased by the direction they've taken the Zealot. I'm also glad that hands and feet were the features the art guys decided to exaggerate.

[Daggerhawk]

Blizzard is simply expanding its horizons.
Bringing the wonderful world of Starcraft to the console,
and thereby to people who may have never experienced
it or even heard of it before,IMO,is not a bad thing.
Person who grabs Ghost becomes interested in Starcraft as a universe,learns about the PC games,and buys them.
This sparks interest in Blizzard as a company,
and whammo! They buy WC3 and D2,plus the expansion packs possibly!
Thats alot of money you just made off of someone
who you would have gotten nothing off of if they hadnt been introduced to Blizzard through the console game!

Makes perfect sense from a business perspective.

I hope this trend catches on.
The Diablo franchise would make WONDERFUL console games!

[Zeenith]

its all about the moo-la $$$ *Cha-Ching*

[The5thElephant]

Look, Blizzard is a brilliant company, they make games for the money, but they are quality games. WC3 is a great game and Starcraft is simply amazing. Just because they are moving into new areas doesn't mean that it is going to fail horribly. Be open to change ppl! I mean everyone expected XBOX to suck, but it didn't, and it brought us great games such as Halo.

I think this game looks freakin great....

[CruiserCarrier]

I forgot to add that the announcement was A MASSIVE DISAPPOINTMENT, at least for me. . .

Tell me, has there EVER been a console game that has engrossed you for years? Anything that matches up to Starcraft? Unreal Tournament (and now, UT2003, YEAH:D)? Homeworld?

The point is that their fan base is all in the PC market. I think it'll be a game that'll rock, but whether it is a game that'll rock for years is unlikely. Even the most die-hard console fans wouldn't love a game that badly. . .

Come on, nearly all PC games released these days are high quality. The ones yet to release soon will be instand classics. UT2003, NOLF2, Doom III, and plenty of other, worthy titles. Can the same be said for console? The ONLY games that have even minorly amused me were Halo, MGS2, and Final Fantasy. The PS2 has been released for several years. The ONLY games worth mentioning are the ones I just listed, and one of them is an Xbox game. Will I love them as much as, say, RTCW and MOHAA? Will I play them for years like Diablo II, Homeworld, Unreal Tournament (and UT2003 next week, as it has GONE GOLD:D), and NOLF? Will they immerse me like Neverwinter Nights? I have always enjoyed PC games more, and it is likely that's the way it'll stay.

I have a console fanatic for a friend. I tell him about the louse controls for a FPS on a console. He tells me to buy a keyboard and a mouse:err: Excuse me, but isn't that the basic tools for the PC? Why the heck would I play Frontline on the PS2 with a mouse when I can play MOHAA in all its glory?

All of you are PC gamers, and my guess is that it'll stay that way also. So if I had a choice, I would much rather get the NV30 over the PS2 anyday.

[ceejayoz]

Tell me, has there EVER been a console game that has engrossed you for years? Anything that matches up to Starcraft? Unreal Tournament (and now, UT2003, YEAH)? Homeworld?
Halo has held me for the past 10 months. Before that, I played Goldeneye on the N64 like it was my job... hmm, that'd be about 2-3 years? Before that I had things like Mario Tetris and other addictive games.
Come on, nearly all PC games released these days are high quality.
Come on, that's bullcrap. Completely not true! All the "instant classics" you mention are sequels to hugely popular games - there's 100x as many games that suck horribly.
I tell him about the louse controls for a FPS on a console.
Actually, I personally love Halo's controls and wish I could use it in every single one of my PC FPS games. The Halo controls are a good example of how to do it right.

Cruiser, if you don't like consoles, just say it - don't make up reasons for it.

[Harmanoff]

The only real problem with consoles is the cost imo. I want PC games and i want console games, sadly i can hardly afford even one side of the two. This makes me feel kind of let down when games i want come out on a console. Silly yes but that's the way it is.

If i had a wad of money i'd go and buy myself an Xbox right now. In fact, i regret i didn't do it while i still had a job. It's great to be back in school but the money is lacking. :/

[boolybooly]

With you there Harmanoff.

No moolah, life is good but the green stuff is a trickle, I am contemplating my next upgrade and realising that I am looking at over £600 for new mobo & ram & CPU & GFX.

I am eating like hedge clippings n' stuff while I save up.

[Skiewalker]

Originally posted by CruiserCarrier
Tell me, has there EVER been a console game that has engrossed you for years?

Chrono Trigger. 7 and a half years, and it's still my all time favorite. I'm playing it again right now, too.

[CruiserCarrier]

Ceejay, I think my post makes it clear what my opinions are. However, I did not say that consoles are bad, either. Don't misinterpret my post.

I think there's plenty of good games on the consoles, but I don't think there are enough of them around. Percentage-wise, the good games are relatively rare. I just state my opinion indirectly. Games such as MGS are few and far between.

And there's nothing wrong with making sequels for games (there's a reason the original is popular). Maybe some would prefer consoles, but I prefer Homeworld and the other PC games. It is perfectly fine to enjoy consoles and I have nothing against them. . . I am talking that from my experience (and I do own consoles), that most of the games that I play for years are for the PC.

Sure, of course not all games are masterpieces, be it console or PC. Maybe it's just me, but I think that good games are rarer to find on consoles.

Note that I am speaking from the perspective of a PC owner AND a console owner.

[IgnusDei]

This is the exact console vs pc mentality that convinced the boys in korea NOT to bring Magna Carta to the americas. O how i loathe you all.

[Altimo]

hmmm.... it is dissappointing for blizzard to make this game only for consoles.. mabye they dont like people modding thier games that could be a reason why this descision was made.. how ever i do think cruiser carrier is right on the fact that the starcraft fan base owns a PC.. so if they chose not to make SC:ghost for PC then it will be sad for most of the fans.. i wont go waste money on a console for just one game.