14 DAY TRIAL // There are certainly many genres of video games out there, from the fast-paced shooters to realistic simulators, but a very special one has and will be for quite some time the strategy genre, where, for a long while, the EA LA, formerly known as Westwood Studios, and Blizzard Entertainment have battled in franchises.
While the former has its own Command & Conquer flag under which various series like Tiberian, Red Alert or Generals stay, the latter has two extremely popular RTS series, namely WarCraft and StarCraft.
As you may know, both companies are preparing some huge sequels for these franchises, EA LA in the form of Command & Conquer 4, set to bring an end to the Tiberian saga, and Blizzard with StarCraft II, both of which will arrive next year.
Speaking with Videogamer, C&C 4 producer Jim Vessella reveals that he has nothing but the utmost respect for Blizzard and the StarCraft franchise. He also adds that it is quite intimidating to have the two titles appear close to one another but fans will certainly make a sacrifice and try them both out.
“Sure it's intimidating,” Vessella says. “It's one of the most powerful franchises in gaming and it's going to take the market by storm. StarCraft II is going to be great. I mean, it's going to be awesome. All of us on team are super excited to play StarCraft II. Our former lead designer from the Battle For Middle Earth series, Dustin Browder, is leading up that team. He's a great, legendary designer and an awesome guy.”
“What I hope is that gamers will try both. I hope that an RTS player will try StarCraft II for that classic RTS formula - base-on-base, the epitome of RTS PvP gameplay. And then maybe after they get Zerg-rushed a few times they come and try C&C 4 and get more of a casual, accessible experience.” he adds.
Considering the prestige of the two franchises, many gamers will certainly be more than willing to buy them both and get the best of the two titles for quite some time after. Look forward to the two games in 2010.