Watched MSL last night - Page 2

On December 31 2010 23:21 niteReloaded wrote:
What I don't get is - How is it possible that Blizzard fucks up in something as obvious as this??

Scarabs, spidermines, scourge and similar things turn a regular second into a gamebreaking moment!!

Without stuff like that SC2 can't possibly match BW.

On January 01 2011 01:03 Slakkoo wrote:
What does he do in the vid? Drops zealots so tanks and mine splash?

On December 31 2010 16:30 Macavenger wrote:
In case it isn't obvious from the title, this post contains spoilers from MSL groups F and H. If you haven't seen them and don't want to be spoiled, now's your chance to quit reading.

So I hadn't watched much BW in a while, due to both being somewhat more interested in SC2 and trying to keep my sleep schedule relatively regular during college. Last night I had time, and a couple of my favorite players were playing, so I decided to stay up and watch. It really reminded me just how much better of a spectator sport BW is relative to SC2. Watching Perfectman harass Midas nearly to death with DTs, then somehow manage to throw away the huge advantage as Midas desperately countered (maybe he overcommitted to the DTs?). Bisu and Kal's first games were both awesome. Even Bisu stomping Kal in a build order win was very enjoyable to watch (possibly moreso because I'm a Bisu fan). I think the only time SC2 has ever entertained me as much as those games was the TLO-Hyperdub game in GSL with tons of nukes. And this despite the fact that I apparently missed the game of the night, as I went to bed after Bisu 2-0'd.

I got to thinking about why these relatively simple BW games could be so much more exciting than many of the better SC2 games, and I really think it's the tension of game changing abilities. It's Reavers, Mines, and Scourge. Seeing Kal destroy Really with terrifically placed Scarabs just has no equivalent in SC2 right now. Even after the wildly successful DTs in the Bisu/Kal game, there was tension watching the Reaver harass, thinking "well Bisu is way ahead, but if Kal can get a couple of these Scarabs to land..." SC2 needs more moments that can change an entire game in an instant. It's far from hopeless. Forcefields have the potential in some situations. Seeker Missiles might be able to if they were reworked significantly. There's hope for expansions, though Blizzard will need to reverse the current trend of making units like Colossi, Thors etc. high DPS but low(er) damage per shot.

I don't hate SC2 or anything. I find it at least as fun to play as BW was, possibly more so. Certainly, for all the things Bnet 2 got wrong, the AMM makes it so much easier to just hop on and find a game if I want to. But I've yet to pay for GSL and just don't see a lot of reason to at this point. SC2 just isn't up to par for spectators yet.

I think I'm going to start watching Brood War more often again. Last night was fun.