Starcraft II is like an echo channeled through twelve years of game design: textured somewhat by its passage, but still an echo. Blizzard has certainly reassembled all the components they used to define the realtime strategy genre, but whether that’s a good thing largely depends on your tastes.

With all the hubbub about Blizzard’s reversed stance on the use of real names in the forums (for now), it’s easy to forget that the Real ID system brings in a wide array of changes, most of which are staying in place. While much of the functionality is handy, the implementation of the system comes with significant drawbacks. After watching Facebook, Blizzard’s new partner, get torn apart in the media over privacy concerns, one might think that Blizzard would be a bit more careful in implementing features that involve a player’s real name. This week, we look at Blizzard’s Real ID, and the pros and cons of the various aspects of the system.

This weekend, all flight paths lead to Anaheim, where Blizzard held its fourth quasi-annual convention, Blizzcon, The two-day celebration of all things Blizzard sported not only stations loaded up with upcoming titles Diablo III and Starcraft II, but also tournaments, a live raid, panel discussions, and tons of goodies to win or buy. Oh, and they officially announced World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the third expansion to Blizzard’s current money-printer, World of Warcraft. Pixelsocks.com’s own Katiegreen was on the ground, and provided this report.