Thor Is Here!

Better late than never... (logo created by Blizzard Entertainment)

I am a fan of Real-Time Strategy games, mainly due to the fun of ordering armies to destroy stuff just for the heck of it. One of the series of games in this genre that I have had interest in is the Starcraft series, though I had never had the chance to play the first game nor its expansion; Brood Wars. Recently however, I was able acquire the sequel; Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty, and I will admit that it rocks.The singleplayer storyline takes place a few years after the events of Brood Wars, where Jim Raynor and his band of raiders do everything they can to deal damage to the oppressive Terran Dominion, led by the ruthless and cunning Arcturus Mengsk. Mengsk is countering this rebellion by using the media to paint Jim as a 'terrorist' who would harm the innocent. As if that weren't enough, the rebels themselves are particularly low on money and technology from the start of the story. The story is much deeper than I have described, but if I go further, I would start to spoil key plot points!

The gameplay mechanics, however, I can talk about more easily. As you progress through the levels, you will earn money for completing objectives, which you can use to upgrade your arsenal in many unique ways. For example, you can upgrade your Medics' healing ability so that they can heal faster than normal, allowing your attacking units to survive much longer in heated firefights. You will also gain new units to order around as you go through the story, such as the deadly Siege Tank, thus giving you an increasing number of tactical options as you go. Not only that, but you can also gain research points via secondary objectives in each mission, which you can use to further pimp out your army. For example, you can acquire flame throwing turrets that burrow underground and pop out when an enemy is present. To add icing to the cake, you are able to communicate with some of the main characters between missions, such as Jim Raynor himself. I strongly encourage you to talk to as many of them as you can before starting a new level, as their dialogue adds a layer of depth into the story that would not be noticeable otherwise.

The multiplayer aspect of Starcraft 2, on the other hand, is a entirely different beast. It is both online and offline based, where you can play against other people on the internet or AI bots. You can play as one of the three main races in the series; the tough as nails Terrans, the ultra high tech Protoss, and the monstrous Zerg. When playing a typical game, the objective is to destroy your opponent's base before he/she destroys yours. During the match, you will have to deal with two separate resources; minerals and vespene gas. I say this because everything you purchase will require a certain amount of at least one of those resources, so it is important that you make use of both of them quickly. Each race is completely unique from the others in more ways than one, from the way they are played to the units that you can utilize. The Terrans build their structures literally from the ground up, as you can see the actual construction of the buildings. The Protoss, rather than build their structures, warp them into the map via probes, and are powered by special buildings called Pylons. The Zerg are a different story, as everything about them, including the buildings, are born from either drones or larvae. I could go in depth about the unit composition of each race, but that would make this post the blog equivalent of a short story. Thankfully though, the game comes fully loaded with tutorials, videos, and a plethora of hints and tips to get newcomers up to speed on how Starcraft 2 is played. Matches start off slow, to be honest, but when the action picks up, the fight quickly becomes intense, especially when playing against highly skilled players.

I could go and on like a broken record about this game, but I think the best way to learn more about Starcraft 2 is to play it and see if it is to your liking. If you want more information, please visit the following links:

The Game's Main Site - http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/
My Favorite Starcraft Fan-site - http://sclegacy.com/