StarCraft II

Science Fiction Real Time Strategy Epic

When Blizzard Entertainment showcased the original Starcraft in 1996, it became an instant fan favorite. Fourteen years later, Blizzard followed up with that success with the first of a trinity of games; StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty. The second installment, Heart of the Swarm, was released several years afterwards with the third game, Legacy of the Void yet to be released. Each game focuses on a different faction within the Starcraft world, all contributing to the same story. Starcraft 2 has won awards, garnered praise from critics and fans alike as well as spawned a massive following in the eSports arena. When it comes to Real Time Strategy games, Starcraft 2 is the current heavy weight.

Game Play

Players choose from one of three factions, the human Terrans, the bug / lizard like Zerg and the mysteriously alien Protoss, each with their own strengths and play styles. The game requires the gathering of resources to build base structures and units that can be used to wage war against their opponents. In the single player campaign, story is released through in game conversation and events as well as cut scenes before and after missions. Online player-vs-player play sees two or more opponents playing on symmetrical maps. Success in the game relies on base building, resource management as well as micro managing combat and making use of unit's special abilities. The game make's use of a technology tree where some buildings require prerequisite buildings to be built first. Each building either contributes to resource gathering, provides a unit, adds defense (like Terran's anti-air missile turret) or provides an upgrade to be purchased for a unit. Each race's buildings have unique traits; most Terran buildings can be flown to different places on the map, Zerg buildings must be built on an organic carpet called 'creep' that expands from existing buildings and the Protoss require that their buildings be powered by Pylons.

Production

Blizzard is well known for it's heavy involvement with it's fan base, as well as the amount of time and effort they put into polishing their games. Starcraft 2 is no different, and the production value is excellent. Cut scenes are movie quality examples of story telling, the missions are inventive and challenging and multiple difficulty levels support replay value. This is a very enjoyable game with an extremely high production value.

Pros

• Best in breed RTS with massive following and active competitive community
• Excellent story with amazing cut scenes
• Excellent game play with opportunity for deep strategy and challenge

Cons

• When you start out with online play, everyone will be better than you