Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty is the first of three parts in Blizzard’s latest release. The campaign is based around James Raynor as he fights to overthrow Dominion rule and the Emperor of the Terran Dominion, Arcturus Mengsk. The game begins on Mar Sara, one of the Dominion fringe worlds, with Raynor and a handful of his freedom fighters, Raynor’s Raiders, attacking the Dominion headquarters on that planet. He soon meets Tychus Findlay, an ex-convict who took the rap for him when the authorities caught up to them, who has some kind of contact with the Moebius Foundation, a research group, who wish for him to “liberate” some ancient alien artefacts from Dominion forces. However, the Zerg, an insect-like race, hell-bent on infesting the Koprulu Sector the game is set in, and eventually the entire universe. Can Raynor fight them off, when their leader is the mysterious Queen of Blades, previously a Terran Ghost, a love interest of Raynor’s named Sarah Kerrigan?
Gameplay-wise, this game is very well-balanced…at first glance. More on that later. It is a very fast-paced skirmish-based RTS, or real-time strategy game. It is very multiplayer-focused and, indeed, professional gamers can support their livelihood from playing international tournaments, sponsored by companies from around the world.
There are three races, or factions: The Terrans, humans that were stranded in the Koprulu Sector after the prison-ship taking them from Earth into deep space was destroyed. All of their units are ranged, and use guns or explosives. They are known for their Siege Tanks, which are normally relatively hardy, do not move particularly quickly and can deal fair damage. However, with an upgrade, they can shift into a “siege mode”, where they cannot move and have much higher damage, as well as explosive artillery shells that deal damage to units within a small area. They can fire somewhat further than they can see – they are best combined with other units to scout ahead.
The Protoss, a mysterious alien race, in tune with the flow of the universe. Their buildings and units are all brought into the field of battle by off-world planet. With a certain upgrade, they can teleport units into any area connected to their psionic power fields. Also, they have developed plasma shielding – all their units have, in addition to their basic health, have these shields. Shields and health have seperate armour, and some units are very powerful defensively only while their
The Zerg, hellbent on destruction, known for massive hordes of units. They are very specialized – their basic units, Zerglings, are very fast, but cannot take many hits, for example. All their units regenerate. Their “structures” are actually living creatures – they all require a nutritious growth, known as “creep”, upon the ground to grow. Also, all units move 20% faster on creep.
The races are not very well-balanced. Zerg units have comparative expenses to other units, even though they are not nearly as powerful – their most powerful units, Brood Lords, cost an equivalent to a Terran Battlecruiser, which is incredibly powerful with a certain upgrade, but Brood Lords cost more than Battlecruisers. Protoss is, pretty much, overpowered – some of their best units are Dark Templar, which are permanently cloaked and deal very heavy damage, and Void Rays, which deal more damage as they continue firing on a target. Terran’s battlecruisers, though, can instantly turn the tide of a battle – a certain upgrade gives them a weapon called the Yamato Cannon, which deals massive damage on a single target – it requires only seven or eight Yamato Cannons to destroy the hardiest structure in the game.
Apart from these details, the game is an absolute gem. Included with the game is the editor used to create the game’s base maps, which allows for immense numbers of custom maps – anything from tower defense games to hide-and-seek to games similar to Mafia(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia_(party_game)) – if you can think of something, there is a fair chance it can be found.
If I were to give it a rating out of ten, I would give it an eight. It is a good game with but a few things that could lower the value. It is, admittedly, somewhat inaccessible to those new to the RTS genre, and requires considerable practice to be a good player, but can be enjoyed to the new player and the veteran alike.
Console comes in two versions costing 249 euros or 299.
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