@m9105826: Release dates are there for a reason, stores get advance copies all the time, and digital distribution could obviously deliver the full version right now. The thing is, they have the 27th set as the hard date for getting B.net 2.0 up and running, getting tech support specifically for SC2 online, all that…

@Golgari:

@SapnaKolling: It's loads better than Starcraft 1.5, man you trolls are getting old. It's not like it's every single unit from the original hamfisted into the sequel, each race has a mix of more new units than old.

@leno40: I was in the same boat as you with an 8800GT and Core 2 Duo. My beloved 8800 started going on the fritz though (cost me about six ladder games due to artifacts leading to a full system crash), but even then I could run mixed high/ultra at 1920x1200 at a good clip.

@A GIANT SMURF: Looks good, Starcraft 2 is as much CPU dependent as it is GPU dependent. Depending on the resolution you might not be able to max everything, but you'll definitely get mixed high/ultra at a lower resolution.

@Fata1moose: The only thing surprising about this would be if Caps fans still found a way to be pompous about it. Ha!

They still don't have the correct level of ugly down for Malkin, step yo' game up EA.

They still don't have the correct level of ugly down for Malkin, step yo' game up EA.

@Naveral: Nova is in SC2, and the devs say that she serves a purpose instead of being thrown in there just to say "hey, it's that chick from that PS2 game that never came out!".

@Dave Harris: Just like how RPGs ten years ago couldn't tell a good story without CG, right? I guess Blizzard should tone back the cutscenes, lest it be presented -too- well.

@ArmyofJuan: Even better is waking up that day to it in your mailbox, thanks to release-date delivery. Plus, you get a cool box.

@Snoozey: Side-by-side won't really do anything because we're not really judging by anything quantifiable. I'm a big fan of both Square and Blizzard, so I'm hopefully unbiased. In Blizzard's I always notice that their attention to detail is insane. Hair always flows very realistically, animation (as of late) is…

@Madnoir: Every frame of this trailer acts as innuendo, you're not over-analyzing anything.

@scrapking: Implying "Direct Download" hasn't been used for years as a term for downloading the game directly to your hard drive.

@Snoozey: They're all rendered on workstation PCs, I'm talking about the pre-rendered cinematics. It's all done in Maya, 3DStudio Max, and all that.

@KingSnorky: Oh I know the context, but around that time you also had Final Fantasy VII/VIII's cinematics, and while VII's were closer to Starcraft's quality (but still higher I'd say), VIII's were on a whole different level.

@GhostWhoWalks: Could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I've read in interviews that Battle.net would be subdivided with each installment.

@Carey.Laius: (I woke up shortly before replying to you, that'd explain the oversight).

Man those cinematics sure have come far. Blizzard's moved from a bit of a joke in the cinematics department to, I believe, the best in the industry. Games like Final Fantasy may have more cinematics per game, but they don't have the polish that Blizzard's do. I picked up the art book from just the Wrath of the Lich…

@Batman: Ah, but the keen distinction: there's no one to fill their RTS gap.