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StarCraft, also spelled StarCraft due to the appearance of the game's logo with an enlarged S and an enlarged C, is one of the most popular computer games in the world. Originally launched in 1998, it remains one of the most often played computer games.
Overview
StarCraft comes in two formats: Single player and Multiplayer; the former of which consists of campaigns and miscellaneous games; the latter of which is played online between up to eight parties. It is classified as RTS (Real Time Strategy, despite structures being built within 1 minute and soldiers trained within 30 seconds) and Teen (okay for teens, despite the massive amounts of blood spilled in every game). Three races partake in this conflict (strange how you can understand ALL 3's thoughts): the Terrans (humans), Zerg (insectoids), and Protoss (psionic humanoids). The developers, in a completely unforseen and generally questioned departure from industry standards, gave each of the races different units and different advantages--which turned out to be an immense success and catapulted the creation of many similar games. Most of the action occurs online, where Koreans, players, hackers, noobs, and game addicts play the game as if it were real and as if their lives were on the line (note that one Korean died after playing in a StarCraft tournament nonstop for 36 hours, so this may be true). StarCraft has since become the national sport of Korea.
Quotes
"OMG ling rush! Ke ke ke" - Korean player, on StarCraft
"We pwnz all 'a U!" - another Korean player, on StarCraft
"En taro Seoul" - yet another Korean player (SlayerS_'BoXeR'), on StarCraft
"Am I you, and are you me, and are we not the same?" - Zerglings, on StarCraft
"Oh my god this hurts so much! Someone put us out!" - Archon, on StarCraft
"Wanna turn up the heat?" - Firebat, on StarCraft
"All your base are belong to us" - Overmind, on StarCraft
"Aww man! Can't even kill a darn little Marine in a hit..." - Battlecruiser, on StarCraft
Storyline
Episode 0: Loomings
- "What happen?" - Civilian, in Episode 0 (the demo version), Loomings
- Players of StarCraft may be shocked to discover that there's more to the storyline than StarCraft Original is wont to admit. Check it out for yourself at Blizzard.com--search for the demo version of the game. That's right--the "demonstration" of the game, except for the fact that whatever is discovered or mentioned in the demo episode are kept secret from the civilians, and even the military, of the Terran (that's human) Confederacy in the Koprulu Sector. Add on top of that the insidious nightmarish Zerg and the sky-blasting Protoss, and you'd wonder how the Confederacy managed to survive for all that long time. Who knows, but maybe the aliens' invasion may turn out to be a good thing: things within the Confederacy have gotten so bad... it's like democracy's nemesis, with the entire state being run by plutocrats, all more concerned about their own property than about fighting off the threat, and there being conflicts of interest, allegations of "terrorists" (maybe Blizzard predicted Al-Qaida on this point), and using their bloated "Squadrons" of hundreds of troops to fight off (often unsuccessfully) against local militial revolutions. The whole thing is run by sheer lies, and lies is what in the end leads to the government's collapse. But anyways... the point is, in "Loomings" (the name of the demo version, by the way), anything that looms has to remain top-secret and classified, and especially NOT demonstrated (at least not to the masses).
Episode 1: Rebel Yell
- No one understands why Blizzard chose this name for the first *cough* Episode of StarCraft, played by the Terrans (humans--and by the way, who else CAN you play with? You'd get torn to shreds if you tried to control any Zerg brood, or get locked up in Stasis cells if you tried to command Protoss tribes). Aside from being a SECOND proper introduction into this game (which really is quite simple to learn the rules of, but hard to master), Episode One also has "important plot elements"--like, Jim's messed-up love affair with Sarah Kerrigan (who, being a telepath, knows that he only "loves" her to be able to bed with her, and that isn't going to happen anytime soon, especially after she gets perverted by the Overmind in the same episode). Oh, and we can delight with the knowledge that the despicable Confederacy finally falls apart. One problem--there isn't any good government to replace it with. Oh, and maybe another problem--the Zerg are still there. Maybe add a third as well--the Protoss, who indulge in nuking over the entire surfaces of multiple planets (count: Chau Sara, Mar Sara, Antiga Prime, etc., etc.). Yeah: things are looking quite grim for our "heroes" (though of course we know that they never die, because after all how could the game continue if they die off? So unrealisitic, never mind the strategy). The only major highlight in the entire episode is the use of the Psi Emitter--a device which attracts a lot MORE Zerg than we ever knew existed (how impossible does that get?) and draws them all down to the planet surface (how did they get through space? It seems like they could fly through it--the Mutalisks certainly did). You get to watch as the entire enemy base falls apart under this juggernaut. And why can't you just activate the Psi Emitter anywhere on the planet? It would have the same effect. Final point: There's quite a bit of stupidity floating around, like the following:
- "Get me OUTTA here!" - Civilian in mission, "Desperate Alliance"
- "OOH! Pretty disc thingy! Does it make music when I play it?" - Marine in mission, "Jacobs Installation", about the Data Discs
- "You pig..." - Sarah Kerrigan in mission, "Revolution", about Raynor's "thoughts"
- "Some one set us up the bomb" - Edmund Duke in mission, "Norad II", about his is crashed ship
- "Hey, isn't there supposed to be a secret mission around here?" - Kerrigan in mission, "New Gettysburg", about--well, it's a secret mission, after all...
- "I got owned by a n00b!" - Edmund Duke in mission, "The Trump Card", about the Psi Emitter
- "We rushing that Ion Cannon the way Skywalker rushed the Death Star?" - Jim Raynor in mission, "The Hammer Falls", about that Ion Cannon
Episode 2: GARRR!!!!
- (We don't know what the Zerg are trying to say, so the name of the episode doesn't really matter.) Actually, we don't know what the Zerg are trying to say, so this is the transcript we're getting: "Garr!!!! GRgrgrgrrgr... wwuooolloll! Ca-ca-ca!! Ca-gr. Ca-gr. GRgrgrgrrgr. Ka-gca! Gurugru! Garr!!! Ga-ca!" ---Judging from the short sentences and the repetition, and the lack of vowel and consonant diversity, we (the scientists) conclude that the Zerg are only capable of primitive logic, and mostly commands from all those exclamation points. The "Ca-gr" is probably made by the Zerglings, since they're the only ones who only take orders and never give any. Heck, this could be the summary of the entire Second Episode! Actually, that's not all. Input from our Telsat seems to report that there's actually quite a bit going on in the Zerg sector, and not all of it stupid (for those that are stupid, see the quotes below). Sarah Kerrigan--now the Queen of Blades, because being raped by the Overmind while in a cocoon somehow gives a very powerful promotion to her--shows that she can single-handedly vanquish multiple good-sized armies with the might of her powerful clawed wings! And though she's just a bit exuberant about this newfound power, she squanders it all very quickly. Then the Overmind comes and squanders the rest by not using her--his "prize"--in the BIG battle for Aiur. Wow, so maybe they ARE stupid...
- "Behold the Overmind; I'm your very very very BIG daddy." - Overmind in mission, "Among the Ruins", about himself (of course--no one else is that big)
- "Bring it on! Oops, seems like you just killed my friend Cerebrate." - The Queen of Blades in mission, "?", about challenging a hallucinated Tassadar to a duel
- "NO! Do you expect me to ressurect your pal every day (and twice on Thursdays)?" - Overmind in mission, "?", about the PERMANENTLY DEAD Cerebrate (just what's that supposed to mean?)
- "I've raised you up so painstakingly, now I WON'T use you in the BIG battle." - Overmind in mission, "Invasion of Aiur", about the Queen of Blades
Episode 3: The Fall
- "We lost the last time we did that. So let's go do it again! Hooray!" - Conclave in mission, "Into the Flames", about fighting the Zerg "nobly"
- "Yay you're here to save me!... Arrest me? No Yay!" - Tassadar in mission, "The Hunt for Tassadar", about his "saviors"
- "We're about to be overrun by Zerg, now's the time to fight against our own brethren" - Conclave in mission, "The Trial of Tassadar", about who to fight next
- "Yeah I'm sorry, you were right, but that doesn't mean we're going to help you now that you're the only hope for our survival." - Judicator Aldaris in mission, "Eye of the Storm", about not helping out Tassadar and Raynor in the FINAL battle
- "Now I know why the Japs liked their Kamikaze..." - Tassadar in mission, "Eye of the Storm", when he crashed himself and his Carrier into the Overmind to win the war
Gameplay
Strategies
"DON'T got time for this!!!" - A player on his n00b strategy, Early-game Rushing
"Go SPEEDHACK! And blow 'em up from BELOW!" - Vulture on Terran strategy: Gundam Rush
"ROCK them with our Mjolnir shells, and ROLL up a bit... Go siege tanks!" - Siege tank on Terran strategy: Siege hopskotch maneuver
"It's really easy. Make LOADS of Zerglings, and beat them in a little race." - Spawning pool on Zerg strategy: Zergling Rush
"Numbers is all that matters. Those Terrans are scared of us, everywhere, everytime." - Zergling twins, on Zerg general strategy
"Power overwhelming!... But why only so few people with me?" - Archon on Protoss general strategy
See Also
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