(Its 4 in the morning here, the grammar is probably non-existent)
I will try to justify to you all why I believe BW is the better game (unlike some others with their pointless complaining)
At the heart of any game is its gameplay, and SCII fall short of the benchmark its predecessor. I'm sounding like a pompous ass but I have played a ton of SC on ICCup (the international gaming platform, the place to face the best) and watched the pro scene in Korea (Grand Finals is this Saturday!) That being said, I am really disappointing by the mechanics in SCII. Starcraft has always been about the careful balance between micro and macro, a thin line only the best can tread. This balance is something that must always be in the game, built into the game engine and be the foundation of the game. In BW the greats showed how to play, iloveoov the alltime macro beast and pros like Bisu showing fantastic micro. It is here I believe SCII fails. The micro.
Watch Nada's insane micro. Could a hellion reproduce the awe and fear the vultures caused?
The greatest deficiency in SCII micro is with the air units. In the before mentioned video Savior has mutas, capable of the moving shot. This technique allows the attacking force to attack without decelerating. For units like the muta and corsair this was an invaluable tool, ensuring their usefulness. The moving shot is so vital in SC, the idea that Blizzard would take it out in the sequel is mindblowing. It allows players with the skill to control their units and dominate their enemy by moving, shooting, moving shooting etc. There is NO difference between a 50 apm and 300 apm player in SCII. In SCII there is no unit capable of this moving shot. Maybe the Void Ray but then again, it got nerfed. The Protoss air unit Phoenix is pretty much useless. Rarely seen in pro games (idra/TLO might use em in a couple of matches) the Phoenix instantly begins to decelerate as soon as it attacks. The first lasers come out and the Phoenix becomes a shiny dead duck in midair, unable to move. A unit without any mobility is a useless one no? This leads to the point that a smaller force can NEVER engage a greater one. If it dares to fire off one volley, it has to take the chance of receiving even more damage. This lack of micro is unbelievable. The vulture and Fantasy's uncanny control of them can never been seen in SCII.
To make up for this lack of micro Blizzard played with the balancing of unit stats throughout the entire beta. Ranges were increased/decreased, damage was heightened/lessened, blah blah blah. Yes it was a beta and ofc balancing will happen. But the frequency and magnitude of some of these changes show even Blizzard is not sure of the balancing. They can keep releasing patches, jiggling with the balance until the end of time. Never going to fix the lack of micro. I don't want to trash Dustin Browder and his team. SCII is a fine RTS, one of the best this year. But being of the same lineage as one of the best RTS of all time it stacks up short. Real short.
Additional Notes:
In SCII there are units that are useless after a point in the game. The reaper is the prime example. After the early game, why would anyone invest the time and gas into a weak low-tier unit when more powerful units are avaliable. This is a unit whose sole purpose is to harass, yet he is useless after the first 5 minutes. Watch any pro game and the reaper is rarely used. All units in BW are viable throughout the entire game.
PS. If anyone wants me to add more, answer questions, elaborate, I will continue with this topic.
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