StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is a science fiction real-time strategy game from Blizzard Entertainment, released in July 2010 for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It is the sequel to 1998’s StarCraft and its Brood War expansion, and it returned the Terrans, the Zerg and the Protoss to the series.
Trailer, via StarCraft PL.
Jim Raynor and the Hyperion
Wings of Liberty sets its story four years after Brood War. The Terran Dominion rules the Koprulu sector again under Emperor Arcturus Mengsk, and Jim Raynor leads Raynor’s Raiders against him.
The briefing room of the original is gone. In its place is the battlecruiser Hyperion. Between missions you take contracts and spend the money on units and upgrades. The campaign is non-linear; the storyline is not. Rob Pardo, then Blizzard’s vice president, said each campaign would function very differently.
Tychus Findlay and the Artifact
On Mar Sara, Raynor meets an old comrade, Tychus Findlay. They free the local population from Dominion control and find a piece of a mysterious artifact. With Tychus as middleman, the Raiders hunt the remaining pieces and sell them to the Moebius Foundation to fund the revolution.
29 Missions, Three of Them a Choice
Wings of Liberty ships 29 playable campaign missions. Twenty-six are playable in a single playthrough, three are choice-related alternates, and one is a hidden secret mission. The variety holds up.
- Lava floods the battlefield every five minutes, forcing units to high ground.
- Enemy units attack only at night, turning the map into siege warfare.
- Mission contracts fund units and upgrades aboard the Hyperion.
The Ladder and the Map Editor
Competitive multiplayer runs on a matchmaking ladder, with three playable races carrying distinct units and abilities. The map editor supports user-created content.
What the Campaign Slows Down For
The game was criticized for lacking features that existed in the original StarCraft. The non-linear structure also means the story advances in fixed beats regardless of the order you play, which flattens the sense of choice the contract system promises.
Free-to-Play Since November 2017
Wings of Liberty has been free-to-play since November 2017. Heart of the Swarm followed for the Zerg, with Sarah Kerrigan and the question of her redemption, and Legacy of the Void for the Protoss, with Artanis trying to reunite the tribes against the resurrection of Amon.
Release Schedule
| Release | Focus | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Wings of Liberty | Terrans | 2010 |
| Heart of the Swarm | Zerg | — |
| Legacy of the Void | Protoss | — |
The campaign is the part that matters. Blizzard built 29 missions around a mercenary economy and a ship you live on. The missing features and the fixed plot are real costs. The missions outweigh them.
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