Join Editor Chris "Pwyff" Tom as he finally explores Starcraft II and the RTS genre for the first time... ever

Perhaps one of the biggest obstacles that many MMO players will run into, however, has nothing to do with the micromanagement aspect of Starcraft II, rather, it has to do with the macro management skills demanded of the game. In SC2, macro management refers to one's ability to keep up with one's resource intake by constantly producing units and buildings and ensuring that he or she don't end up just stockpiling resources. This is particularly troublesome for most MMO veterans, who are used to focusing entirely on one unit (their character). When I first started playing Starcraft II, I lost my first game with thousands in unspent resources-it probably wasn't good that my only experience with macro management was playing against a computer with unlimited resources and instant build times…

Either way, learning macro management and keeping up constant production is really one of the biggest demands that Starcraft II places on its players, and even though this sounds terribly difficult to get used to, it's actually not so tough. In reality, what I found to be truly appealing about Starcraft II is that while there are hundreds, if not thousands, of little tricks that Starcraft veterans can employ to gain tiny advantages over their inexperienced opponents, Blizzard has still made sure that the most important aspect of their game is strategy. There have been dozens of games where I have left hundreds of resources unspent in my bank while I tried uselessly) to micromanage my units in their attack, but the important thing to realize is that, in playing against another human being, they have the exact same problems as you!

This is really where Starcraft II shines both as an RTS and as a video game in itself. Even with players who have no idea what they're doing, it's really a simple matter of learning the basics (micro and macro management, then unit strategies and counters) and then perfecting them in order to be successful. This may have been the same with Starcraft the Original, or even Warcraft III, but what Starcraft II has over its predecessors is that it is new and everyone is still learning the game.

Blizzard has a fantastic opportunity here to finally introduce the ultra-complicated RTS genre to the masses and let them realize that it's really not as difficult as everyone says it is. Yes, there are a number of things for players to learn before they can really improve, but the same can be said of any MMORPG or First-person Shooter. In this way, if you've ever been a secret fan of the RTS genre, but you've been terrified of the dedicated players just waiting to stomp you, just realize that there are thousands of players just like you, and understand that Starcraft II could be your chance to learn the game alongside everyone else.