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Starcraft Blizzard Entertainment Just how addicting is Starcraft? You'll be hearing the theme music when you sleep. You'll see formations of enemy Wraiths and Mutalisks when you close your eyes, wondering why you didn't build up your missile defenses to protect your helpless factory. If you go outside at all this summer, you'll check around every tree for borrowing Zerg. Starcraft's predecessors from the Warcraft series, all by Blizzard Entertainment, were famous for involving even the most casual of gamers. Starcraft carries on that tradition. You have the choice of three unique races to play - the Terran, Zerg, or Protoss. Each has ten missions to complete, which get progressively harder. If you follow the missions in order, from Terran to Protoss, you are rewarded with a surprisingly detailed and compelling storyline where alliances shift, worlds are destroyed, and entire civilizations hang in the balance. This is not a mindless shooter. Starcraft is strategy at its best, blending careful planning with exciting real-time attacks. You have to build an infrastructure from the ground up, including factories and machine shops for Terrans, nests and hatcheries for the Zerg, and stargates for the Protoss. Each races uses the same resources - Vespene gas and crystals - to create their bases and build. You can also research to make your forces quicker and more powerful, but you have to expend resources to build the facilities and accommodate the research. If you attack too soon, having built up a lot of weaker troops, you may find yourself without enough gas or crystals to create even a modest defense - and that's when the enemy onslaught will begin. You need to pace yourself without getting too complacent. There's a vast array of forces you can build for each race. You can concentrate on air forces, like Wraiths and Battlecruisers for Terrans or Mutalisks and Guardians for Zergs, or you can mass your ground forces. Each has their liabilities, though, so balance is again the key. Some of the bigger ground pieces can't defend against an attack from the air, and are easily wiped out by enemy air forces. The air forces, however, are expensive, and a few strong pieces can be destroyed by a concentrated attack from the footsoldiers. For all of its complexity, the actual gameplay for Starcraft is quite user-friendly and intuitive. Most everything is done with the point and click of a mouse, with mappable hot keys for different groups of forces or specific functions. The small map in the corner helps you keep track of your entire army spread across every front on the battlefield, or let you know which way to go for the smaller, more specific goal-oriented missions. Starcraft also looks great. In this respect, it's closer to Blizzard's other top seller, Diablo, than anything in the Warcraft series. The subtle balance of light and shadow give the settings real depth - quite an advantage when you're attacking from the air or setting a siege on higher ground. The color and design help pull you into an already irresistible game. If you haven't played Starcraft, you're missing out on a great game. Put your computer near a window so you can enjoy the summer. -Nick |
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