StarCraft 2 is possibly the most eagerly anticipated Real time Strategy game of the current era is nearly here. StarCraft in its original incarnation a whole decade ago, took over the RTS scene. It had something that was lacking in other titles of that genre, that particular advantage was originality. Star craft was the first RTS game that had not only different races to play, not only did these races have different weapons and units, not even the fact that all the races were decanally different to each other to look at. Other Titles had these things as well, What StarCraft brought to the RTS world was 3 races of being which needed to be played differently. They fitted certain styles of play. You almost knew who you were going to be before you played the game, and rarely did you change sides once you found the side you liked. You couldn't play the Zerg the same way you played the Protoss, or you would be easily defeated. Each race had strengths and weaknesses, this brought some real tactics to the game. Even with Blizzards previous titles in the Warcraft series, it didn't matter what side you were the tactics were build an army as quickly as possible and send everybody in to defeat the enemy. With StarCraft you had to go about your business a little differently.

The Protoss were are tough race, powerful being with heavy armour and weaponry, however mobility was not there strongpoint, they had to have power pylons in close proximity to anything they built. The Zerg were an aggressive race of beings, with the ability to re-produce at speed as well as being able to self-heal. This made the Zerg the perfect race for initial attacks to unprotect bases, it also allowed for constant swarms of Zerglings to be sent to keep the enemy occupied. They could also hide in the ground and spring surprise attacks on unsuspecting victims. The Zerg were however unprotected creatures, not very effective when fighting similar numbers to there own. Finally we have the Terran race, these were effectively the human race in the game. Kind of the all rounder's if you like, not the quickest, not the strongest, but they were without the major weaknesses of the other two. The Terrans strengths came with there technology, the ability to build tanks, and heavily armoured battle cruisers as well as bunkers to hide the marines. They also had the power to build nuclear weapons which if they are successfully deployed were the most destructive force on the game.

So what do you change in order to get people to buy StarCraft 2 as a new game, well the answer from Blizzard entertainment is not a lot. Change is not what is required from StarCraft 2, Change would imply that something was broke, and with the following of fans that the original had there is certainly nothing broke about StarCraft. What's required here is improvement. Blizzard assures its fans that the original formula that made StarCraft so great will not be altered. The same 3 races are still battling it out to the death, the same mechanics of playing these races are still in place and the same fast paced tactics are required to be successful in the multiplayer scene.

The storyline continues on from the original's expansion pack StarCraft : Broodwars. Some familiar faces such as Jim Raynor and Sarah Kerrigan make appearances as well as a host of other characters. This should please the fans of a decade ago that as soon as you turn this game on you can instantly recognise the game and you can go spiralling back 10 years into the past and rejoin the struggle for power with whichever race you have always loved.

The Races

If your new to StarCraft, possibly to young to remember the original or heaven forbid you just never played the original StarCraft, we will have a little look at the races that will be battling it out in this epic RTS.

The Zerg - These are the typical looking alien creatures, calling themselves the swarm, they have evolved and mutated into merciless killers. The Zerg were never a single species but infested beings from all over the galaxy being brought into the swarm and turned to the ways of the Zerg. The Zerg also do not rely on technology in any respect to inflict their destruction on their foes. Their power lies in the adaptation of the group and the no fear attitude. They don't posses guns or aircraft, but they have flying units and acidic like bio weapons created entirely inside their own bodies. Even the buildings are living breathing creatures which have the ability to heal after an attack. The Zerg have always relied on numbers to swarm the opposition, easy production of units is their great strength.

The Protoss - Once considered themselves the greatest power in their known universe, but the discovery of the Zerg put that claim under intense pressure. The Protoss lost their home world to the Zerg and had to leave to re-group. They know they have to adapt or face extinction by the Zerg. Not ones to be beaten the Protoss have come back with more technological advances in their constant struggle for survival against the swarm. The Protoss are intelligent beings, with everything based around the advancement of technology. They use this technology to create bigger and more powerful ships and weapons as well as personal armour. Their is no doubt that one on one, the Protoss are the strongest of the races. However this is not always enough against the swarm. The Protoss also have their "higher" beings called templar's, these are almost spirit like being with awesome power. Dark templar's can cloak and hide in the shadows for a surprise attack, once spotted though these are the weakest of the Protoss group with very little defence.

The Terran - Many moons ago an expedition from earth was send to explore the galaxy, the people on this expedition unknown to them were classed by the military of the time as expendable. After the encounter with the Zerg, few survived. These became the the new existence of the Terran race, descended humans forced to live in the harsh lifeless conditions of the sector they found themselves in. As a result of this the Terran race became masters of survival, learning to build sturdy bunkers and heavily armoured buildings. The Terran have a distinctive defensive advantage. Despite being more than capable at defence, the Terran do have some offence that is just as formidable as the Protoss. Given time and resources the Terran or capable of building great Battle Cruisers and ruling the skies. Their capabilities do not stop there. Nuclear weapons were in the knowledge of these people, and in the hands of the specialist covert operative "the ghost" is capable of destroying whole encampments.

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