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Blizzard replaces StarCraft II demo with Starter Edition
Blizzard has replaced the previously available StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty demo with a newly launched StarCraft II: Starter Edition. To use the Starter Edition, all you need is a Battle.net account and an Internet connection.
Unlike past trial versions of StarCraft II, the Starter Edition does not have any time restrictions. It also offers a wider range of content to players for free:
- The first four missions of the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty single-player campaign, including Mar Sara 1-3 and the choice to embark on Tychus's first mission or Dr. Hansen's first mission.
- The first two Challenge Missions: Tactical Command and Covert Ops.
- Access to the Terran race in Custom Games and Single-Player vs. AI.
- Access to the following custom maps (map selection may rotate over time): Xel'Naga Caverns, Shattered Temple, Discord IV, and High Orbit.
Starter Edition players can earn achievements within the available content, as well as view profile, ladder, and achievements pages. Gamers can also access many functions of the map editor, but the full version of the game is required to use the Test Map function and to publish maps to Battle.net.
Blizzard's goal is to smoothly transition new users from trying the game to owning it. Any campaign progress and achievements you earn while playing the Starter Edition are automatically saved to your Battle.net account, and carry over if you upgrade to the full version of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty.
So what can't you do? Starter Edition players cannot use versus and co-op matchmaking, most custom maps, chat channels, nor the party system. Offline play is also unavailable.
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty was released on July 27, 2010 for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It thus took Blizzard over a year to start offering the Starter Edition.
User Comments (15)
Post a comment|
TomSEA
on August 4, 2011 1:18 PM |
Amazing that this game has been out for a year and still selling in the $35 dollar range. That's one hella popular game with some serious staying power. |
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Burty117
on August 4, 2011 1:30 PM |
I've been meaning to purchase it but the fact that I can reserve a copy of battlefield 3 for £30 or get this for £35+ I'm struggling to justify it :s I've played the demo and agree it is awesome! |
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Lionvibez
on August 4, 2011 1:33 PM |
TomSEA said: Amazing that this game has been out for a year and still selling in the $35 dollar range. That's one hella popular game with some serious staying power. I don't really think its that amazing Tom this is starcraft we are talking about. The first game is legend in korea and people would have waited 20 years easily for the second game. |
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stewi0001
on August 4, 2011 1:34 PM |
I have it and I do like it but I've stopped playing due to multiple reasons which I'll bore you with if you really want to know. I've gone back to BFBC 2 since BF3 is right around the bend and I have no idea when the next SC2 expansion will come out. |
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MilwaukeeMike
on August 4, 2011 1:39 PM |
Doesn't surprise me either... I played through the campaign like 3 or 4 times on different difficulties to complete all the missions/achs/challenges etc. Very cool game and a lot of fun. |
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Burty117
on August 4, 2011 2:28 PM |
stewi0001 said: I have it and I do like it but I've stopped playing due to multiple reasons which I'll bore you with if you really want to know. I've gone back to BFBC 2 since BF3 is right around the bend and I have no idea when the next SC2 expansion will come out. Why did you stop playing it? Thats right, someone who genuinely wants to know |
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Guest
on August 4, 2011 3:19 PM |
SC is still huge in South Korea; they've been slow to adopt and switch to SC2 in fact. SC2 has become a MAJOR eSports player. Last weekend MLG Anaheim (includes HALO and COD, but SC2 was the main stage) had 20,000 in attendance and streamed 2.6 million hours of content with an average stream open for over 3 hours. If you're interested in eSports you already know that SC2 is the current king. Oh, and it's a fantastic game to play, if you're into RTS. The single player wasn't bad, but it's the multiplayer experience that truly defines the game. I HIGHLY recommend checking it out if you like RTS and like playing multiplayer games. |
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catburst
on August 4, 2011 6:21 PM |
sc2 is a great game i haven't stopped playing it since december and MLG anaheim was just awesome i had a great time there. |
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Zecias
on August 4, 2011 6:34 PM |
Guest said: SC is still huge in South Korea; they've been slow to adopt and switch to SC2 in fact. SC2 has become a MAJOR eSports player. Last weekend MLG Anaheim (includes HALO and COD, but SC2 was the main stage) had 20,000 in attendance and streamed 2.6 million hours of content with an average stream open for over 3 hours. If you're interested in eSports you already know that SC2 is the current king. Oh, and it's a fantastic game to play, if you're into RTS. The single player wasn't bad, but it's the multiplayer experience that truly defines the game. I HIGHLY recommend checking it out if you like RTS and like playing multiplayer games. Saying SC is huge in South Korea is an understatement. |
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yorro
on August 4, 2011 7:41 PM |
Blizzard just keep setting the bar |
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Recycle
on August 4, 2011 9:13 PM |
zecias said: Guest said: SC is still huge in South Korea; they've been slow to adopt and switch to SC2 in fact. SC2 has become a MAJOR eSports player. Last weekend MLG Anaheim (includes HALO and COD, but SC2 was the main stage) had 20,000 in attendance and streamed 2.6 million hours of content with an average stream open for over 3 hours. If you're interested in eSports you already know that SC2 is the current king. Oh, and it's a fantastic game to play, if you're into RTS. The single player wasn't bad, but it's the multiplayer experience that truly defines the game. I HIGHLY recommend checking it out if you like RTS and like playing multiplayer games. Saying SC is huge in South Korea is an understatement. One of my friends had returned to Korea two years ago, after being in the States for quite awhile. She recounted to me that a stranger had greeted her with 'how much Starcraft do you play?' |
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Arris
on August 5, 2011 3:48 AM |
catburst said: sc2 is a great game i haven't stopped playing it since december and MLG anaheim was just awesome i had a great time there. Been watching a lot of the games on line. Ret vs Rain MMA vs MVP Some amazing games. Makes me realise quite how pathetic my few attempts at online multiplayer SC2 have been |
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stewi0001
on August 5, 2011 8:01 AM |
I do admit that I love SC2 but at the same time I do have a life (no offence) so I'm not much for the league thing but I do like the decals and it just ticks me off of how annoying they are to get. |
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ET3D
on August 5, 2011 1:50 PM |
It's interesting that what in years past would have been called a demo is now called a starter edition. Still, it's an improvement over a timed trial. |
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Zecias
on August 6, 2011 3:57 AM |
I do admit that I love SC2 but at the same time I do have a life (no offence) so I'm not much for the league thing but I do like the decals and it just ticks me off of how annoying they are to get. yeah its depressing that all the cool ones are insanely hard to get >.>. As of now, i've won 100 games. Only 9 more years to get to 1000. |
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