*** Possibly spoilers ***

… is approval of their single player campaign in StarCraft II Wings of Liberty. Sure, I knew they were going to release this as a trilogy, but come on. It ends so abruptly it feels like a fluke; it’s as if you’re watching a movie on a scratched dvd that just suddenly skips to the credits. I was prepared for a cliffhanger but I didn’t even get that!

I’m just glad I bought the game for the multiplayer and the single player. If I’d bought it primarily for the continuation of the storyline, I’d fume on the battle.net forums like so many other lost souls have done before me. Don’t get me wrong, the gameplay is fantastic, but the way it ends makes it feel like I paid 60€ (that’s 75$) for a game that doesn’t even manage an interesting ending.

Unless you’re eleven years old and seeing a space marine carry a naked chick is all the rage.

I’m disappointed.

Can you tell?

Upon buying StarCraft 2, it has become obvious to me that Blizzard understands me. Not just because the game hit all the right chords from the get go, but also because of the packaging and the included details. 

Inside the DVD box there’s a quick start guide that, aside from the mandatory installation instructions, includes a neat summary of the story so far – perfect for those of us who don’t have a super geeky memory seemingly solely dedicated to remembering every detail of every story we like.

But then Blizzard also included three stylish cards; one for a 10-day free World of Warcraft account (buy one drug and get one for free?) and two cards with 7 hours (or 14 days, whichever comes first) of free StarCraft 2 game time, with full access to all features, including multiplayer, which the also included guest accounts do not feature.

This is fantastic marketing. I am the kind of guy who likes to talk to everyone and anyone I know about games (excluding a few family members), and to be able to give them the ability to experience the awesome game I just rambled on about for an hour or two is pure genius. And did I mention these cards with the codes look awesome? They do. Which is why I want them back after my friends have used them.

Kudos to Blizzard for getting gamers. While a lot of people seem to utterly laud their success, I for one can recognize a good developer and publisher when I see one.