StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (Windows, Mac)
common sense media says
Exceptional strategy sequel with some mature themes.
parents & educators say
- 63% say it's educational
- 50% say there are positive role models
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that StarCraft II has content inappropriate for little kids. This includes plenty of violence (with blood and gore), foul language, and scenes with drinking and smoking. Violence will likely be the big concern, as players are battling rival factions to the death -- with blood and limbs flying. However, this violence is clearly within a sci-fi story that takes place in the future and on another planet (as opposed to shooting police in a New York City-like environment a la Grand Theft Auto). Plus, the angled top-down view is less "visceral" than an up-close-and-personal first-person view. Also be aware that this game supports open online text and voice communication.This is a very deep and long game, so families will want to pay attention to the addictive nature of this type of game.
Educational value:
There is plenty of stategy and logical thinking required to play this game well.
Positive role models:
The lead character, Jim Raynor, is a tough fellow who is rough around the edges. He's fighting to protect the human race, but he's also a drinker and a smoker. We learn at the beginning of the game that he was incarcerated (for "desertion under fire"). He's probably not the best role model in video game lore.
Ease of play:
Thanks to many optional tutorials and videos, StarCraft II is easy to click through -- especially for those who've played the original game (or other real-time strategy games). That said, the game's missions can get quite tough at times.
Violence:
While seen from an "eagle-eye," top-down perspective, and therefore less graphic, this game does contain a lot of violence, blood, and gore. The sci-fi story pits three races against each other (one of which is human) and you can see red blood splatter from guns and limbs and other body parts on the ground. Some of the non-interactive cut-scene sequences also show battles or the aftermath of bloody battles.
Sex:
A suggestive drawing of a half-naked woman can be seen on the military suit of a lead character. It is reminiscent of drawings on the side of airplanes, as a tattoo or on the backs of some leather jackets.
Language:
While not over the top, there is plenty of cursing in the dialogue spoken between the human soldiers, or in cut-scene sequences. Words such as "s--t," "ass," "bitch," "hell", "damn," and "damned" can be heard.
Consumerism:
Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
In many cutscene sequences, especially early on in the game, you can see a character drinking from multiple bottles at a bar (one clearly says Cognac on it), as well as a pack of cigarettes on the table. Another character has a cigar in his mouth (even while wearing his spacesuit helmet).
More on StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
Screenshots
Review It
Based on 8 parent & educator reviews:
- 63% say it's educational
- 50% say there are positive role models
- 38% say violence is an issue
- 38% say there are positive messages
- 38% say language is an issue
Most useful reviews by all members
FusionElement
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
Incredible game that's rated T for a reason.
I absolutely love Starcraft 2, I play it all of the time. I like it because you can tell the game is well thought out and the amazing feeling of finding the best strategy to crush your opponent. I have not played the original Starcraft, but I must say that this game is excellent.
CONCERNS:
Violence- This game is about a war between three races, The Terrans (Future Humans), Protoss (Advanced yet dying alien race), and Zerg (scary, parasitic aliens, "bad guys"). This war takes place in space in the future, so SURPRISE! this game is violent. Units must engage in combat with other units and deaths are a small explosion of blood where the unit used to be and possibly a scream. The only way to win in this game is to eliminate all enemy armies.
Language- In cut scenes there are mild swears..
HIGHLIGHTS:
Educational: This game is NOT a shooter game, in this game you are a commander of one of the three armies mentioned earlier (In single player you are always human, online you may choose). You must find a good strategy and divide your resources wisely to help this plan. I find it sort of to be like chess, but not exactly. In 2 vs. 2 cooperative mode the people online are surprisingly very friendly and teamwork is strongly encouraged.
Good messages- The protagonist of Single player is an outlaw. But it is because he is leading the rebellion against the dominion because they have become corrupt. Even when it seems the almost all of the terrans are brainwashed to hate him by the media, he still fights for what he believes in. I would also like to mention teamwork again.
Safety isn't a concern- profiles display your achievements in the game. That's it. Not like facebook at all.
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TrevP
teen, 17 years old
teen, 17 years old
Best game ever
depends on what setting you have model on for graphics, the higher the model, the more blood and gore will fly.
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Adrian Teigen
kid, 13 years old
kid, 13 years old
Perfect for beginners and experts and also includes cheats
This is a great game to play real time strategy and has an amazing video definition
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owenator1234
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
Great for teens.
Awesome game. Played it a lot when it first came out, and still play. story encourages killing the bad guys(zerg) and saving the dying good guy(protoss). Kinda gory, and involves shooting, but is a third person game, where you act as a kind of leader of your minions. I definitly agree with the rating.
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c0rsana
parent of 17 year old
parent of 17 year old
Awesome game.
Requires thought, strategy, and practice to master online. Players work their way through the ranks whilst besting online peers in the community. A great Starcraft player is best described as someone with the mind of a chess master and an ungodly amount of dexterity. Absolutely the best game you can buy, for it teaches how to manage time wisely as well.
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Jester™
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
Ideal for older, mature teens, not for tweens.
This is a really superb strategy game. However, it does contain relatively graphic violence, with humans and aliens engaging in warfare. If you have the graphics on maximum, there are considerable amounts of blood and gore that stain the field of battle for some time, i.e, when a certain unit dies, blood spills and you can visibly notice bit of gore twitching in the blood. Units are also burnt with fire and acid and can be seen writhing on the ground in agony before slumping over dead.
A particular main character can be seen smoking and consuming alcohol on regular occasions. Also an instance in a cutscene where a drunken barfight breaks out, no one gets badly injured tho. The game also contains 3 instance where b**ch is used, and 2 where s*it is used.
The upsides are how entertaining the game is to play, and to learn and master. The multiplayer is fun and competitive for those who really want to put their skills to the challenge. Overall a great RTS with a steep learning curve and enough challenge to keep you entertained for many, many hours.
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yay4anime
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
The Best Game of the Summer, but Not for Young Kids
This being my favorite game of all time, I had to review it.
I'll first say this: if you play the single-player portion of the game, I strongly suggest you play the original StarCraft and its expansion pack, StarCraft: Brood War, or look up the events that took place in them.
Moving on, the game can get very violent, with a lot of (not-too-realistic) blood, shootings, and frightening imagery.
When you shoot humans (Terrans) and the aliens (Zerg), there is some blood, but it's not realistic, and it's not excessive. I'm not sure if there is blood when you attack the third race featured in the game (the Protoss), but if it's anything like the first game, they either vanish in a puff of blue smoke or spew blue-colored ooze.
The Zerg will look incredibly frightening to younger kids, especially Kerrigan (also known as The Queen of Blades).
There is also a fair amount of cursing in the game, but it's nothing you wouldn't hear in an episode of The Simpsons, or even a PG movie.
The characters drink and smoke, but in my opinion, this is the thing to worry the least about.
There is one suggestive thing in this game, and it's that one of the main characters has a tattoo of a woman lifting her skirt up on his armor (but nothing explicit is shown).
Surprisingly, through a field of violence and cursing, the game is educational. Players have to carefully devise stratedgies for each level, and it takes quite a bit of concentration, thinking, and creativity.
The main character, Jim Raynor, can be a good role model, as he never gives up on his goals, dreams, and is always willing to help those in need.
Also, the game's controls are VERY easy to master, as their are several tutorials and videos to learn from.
I strongly recommend this game; it'll keep you playing for a long time, because there are a lot of missions, features, and a multi-player online mode that always holds something new and fun for players.
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Zagzig184
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
A great way to stimulate the mind
This game is a great way to stimulate the minds of people of all ages. There is a fair amount of violence, but it isn't like playing Call of Duty or even the original Mortal Kombat games: You don't shoot someone's head off or tear them limb from limb. With regards to the blood and gore, there is practically no blood unless you run the game on a high graphics setting, which requires a very high-end computer and is still near-impossible. Another object of note is that the game can be extremely frustrating for those children with minds conditioned by Call of Duty-esque games. It requires strategy, planning, and high levels of concentration. All in all, a great game.
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pdjohnson3
parent of 8 and 11 year old
parent of 8 and 11 year old
Great strategy game for older kids
My son loves this game. While there is a little violence, it is cartoonish and is usually seen from far away in a "bird's eye view". It requires strategy, logic, patience and maturity--not like many other video games that cater to those with short attention spans.
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patton1942
teen, 14 years old
teen, 14 years old
not for 9- good for 10-13 AWSOME for 13+
i've loved this game ever since i saw my friend playing the baita i dont think that sex is an issue at all but there are some problems with cussing overall a very good game in witch you can have fun with everything.
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SithLordBeast
teen, 13 years old
teen, 13 years old
tweens up
This game is AWESOME!!! playing as three different races (terrans, protoss, zerg) u can play online or offline on a TON of different maps. i havent played the first but i know the second is awesome. there is some brids eye view violence. you can go to options and turn the effects on high or low. having them on low effect will make a small amount blood not fall on the ground. but if you set the effects to high, limbs will fly, and blood with splat and bodies and blood will litter the ground. it isnt too gruesome though. my younger brother (whose 9) plays this game too. the zerg are a little bit scary. the language: some swearing in cutscenes is frequent. s--t is said VERY infrequently. but said a lot are b---h, d-mn, h-ll, and a--. The sexual content: an elf woman dances in a bikini in the cantina. but it is just a holigram. its not that bad. also alcohol is consumed frequently and cigars stick out of one dudes mouth. this game is overall the BEST game ive ever played. even though i say all that bad stuff the main character is a really good role model. i say tweens up.
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LeBob
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
Excelent game, while more apropriate for 13+, is hardly graphic.
This is definetly one of the greatest and most satisfying games I have played. Though gore is present, all you ever really see is a slight red mist. Curse words are, for the most part, minor, and infrequent. Good role models and messages greatly outweigh the bad, and the good guys prevail in the end, with a major villain realizing the error of his deeds.
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Cm20014
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
sounds simular to WarCraft III!
I havent play WIII yet but sounds like the best real time strategy games of all time and EVER!!!!!!!
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daniel.nichola ...
adult
adult
I was skeptical about this game, namely from the Battle.Net revamp which left out many key features from the first game, but it turns out that I love it!
A note bingomanatee about the Korean thing: There is no cross-server play (as of now) so if you bought the game in the US, you'll only play people in the US. There is also a nice matchmaking system that puts you against people of your own skill (roughly, of course).
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p23459
kid, 12 years old
kid, 12 years old
AWESOME GAME FOR TWEENS UP
I think this game is epic. I dont have it but I played it at a friends house.It can be pretty violent but you can set the effects.The higher it is, the more blood and gore there is.
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bingomanatee
parent of 13 year old
parent of 13 year old
The zerg are a pretty scary bunch, reminiscent of "Alien" monsters; a bit freaky even with the top-down perspective. One possible concern, which parents should be aware of, is that the entire country of South Korea plays this game with feral intensity, including sponsoring compounds where kids (they start as kids anyway) play day and night - so intensely that their hands move like hummingbirds, too fast to be caught on camera. This means that the competition can be VERY intense! This can be quite demoralizing for kids who just wander into the multiplayer environment. Making sure that your kids play with other kids to ramp up will be better for their self esteem. I'd not be especially concerned about the sexuality - the female of concern (Kerrigan) is kind of a cross between X-men's "Mistique" and a gargoyle.
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BpJohnny79
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
Greatly built game, but keep it to 11-12 and up
Possibly the best strategy game ever created. You control one of three races (two alien, one human) in a massive war where everyone is trying to survive. Story mode takes on the human race, where you use massive array of tactics to worm your way to victory. Whether you win or lose, are incredible or terrible, have a brief or long battle, the game still delivers that awesome feeling of power. I really found nothing wrong with the game. Though there is blood, violence, and language, none are excessive and are woven seamlessly into the gameplay. It encourages thinking, and I found it to be incredibly easy to play. Whether you are a Hardcore gamer or a casual player, 'StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty' is a game that simply cannot be missed.
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