The overall rating of a review is different from a simple average of all individual ratings.
Advantages:
New units, maps, campaigns, music and storyline
Disadvantages:
Doesn't add anything for people who didn't enjoy Starcraft, lots of maps are already available to freely download off the internet (although not always of such a high standard)
I'm a big Discworld fan and also read a lot of other fantasy books. I tend to like similar films/TV ...
I'm a big Discworld fan and also read a lot of other fantasy books. I tend to like similar films/TV programs although will often watch just about anything. I also like pizza a bit, as anybody who knows me (and even a few who don't) may have guessed.
Member since:18.07.2000
Reviews:54
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Starcraft: Brood War is the expansion to the extremely popular game Starcraft. With new campaigns, new map styles, new maps, new cinematic scenes and new units it really does add quite a bit to the game, but not enough to appeal to people who aren't already fans of the original game.
--Storyline-- Continuing on from the end of the starcraft storyline (so please skip this storyline section if you don't want to know what happens) the game tells the story of the continuing battle for survival between the Terran, Protoss and Zerg races.
The Zerg hive is shattered and fierce in-fighting is taking place, during which Kerrigan the Queen of Blades is slowly gathering power and hopes to gain revenge over the man who betrayed her. This man, Terran Emperor Mengsk who through her betrayal and the terran's fear of their survival has gained total control over the terran colonies must face her threat while at the same time facing a conspiracy taking place within his own empire. The Protoss have a devastated homeworld and seek to rebuild while also aiming to reunite with their previously exiled Dark Templer brethren, however scattered zerg hoards under no real control still cause problems.
The storyline during the game is as good as in starcraft and nicely expands the games already interesting storyline. Blizzard's ability to tell a story so well and produce wonderful cinematics is easily one of their biggest strengths as a company and adds a huge amount of depth to their games (the Diablo 2 cinematics for example were the best I've ever seen in any game).
--New Campaigns-- The original starcraft had 3 campaigns, split across the 3 races. Brood War adds another 3 campaigns to these, again split across the 3 races.
As the game is an expansion the campaigns are generally tougher than the starcraft ones and provide much more challenge, so it will take you a while longer to finish them. Unfortunatly the campaigns are slightly shorter than the original ones, however not by a huge amount (just 1 or 2 levels per campaign). They introduce the new units, continue the storyline and are interesting to play throughout all 3 campaigns. Like the original ones the levels are of a high standard and provide more variety to the levels than simply "go there, kill that", however a lot of the levels still keep this simple format and a game which entirely got rid of this just wouldn't be that fun to play.
Overall the campaigns are of a
much higher standard than just about any you could download from the internet, the storyline is continued very well and the cutscenes that are shown from time to time really add to the game.
--New Worlds-- Basically this is just a few new map types that are added, however it is a nice addition and the majority of the new worlds look great. Due to the time between Starcraft and this expansions release the graphics have had time to improve and a lot of the new map types look quite a bit better than the originals, although not by huge amounts. Nice to look at but I wouldn't say these new worlds really add anything much to the game itself other than a bit of variety.
--New Maps-- 100 new multiplayer/skirmish maps were added with this expansion. To be honest though this isn't a big update as you can freely download hundreds-thousands of maps from the internet already, and Blizzard themselves have a large number of maps that were released on a regular basis that are free to download from their website.
However, these maps are all of a high standard and it is hard to find that many faults with many of them. While some of the maps are more fun than others to play on, the majority are very well designed and if you don't really have the time to sort through maps on the internet to find the good ones then this is a nicely added addition. Nothing amazing, but good nonetheless.
--New Units-- Probably the most liked addition to the game, as it expands the multiplayer experience which is easily the most liked part of Starcraft.
While new campaigns are great, they don't really add to the long-term replayability of a game, however new units do by allowing the player to use new tactics and strategies. The best part of starcraft in my opinion is just how well balanced the races are and the expansion doesn't disappoint with keeping this balance, while there will always be someone who will say that the Protoss/Zerg/Terran are overpowered, there is with just about every other game available and I personally think the balance between the races is the best I've seen in any game of this type, especially considering the diversity of each races units.
Each race has 2 new units (except for the Protoss who get 3). The reason the Protoss get 3 new units whereas the other races only get 2 is because one of the units was seen in the original Starcraft, just couldn't be used in multiplayer, it is also needed for the "construction" of their third new unit.
Protoss Corsair - Created by the Dark Templer with the specific intent of fighting Terran and Zerg troups, this support fighter can only attack other air units. A very useful unit when you are being overwhelmed with air attacks. Protoss Dark Templer - Previously exiled from the protoss worlds the reunion has meant that these stealthly assassins can once again be put to use in the continued fighting. While easy to kill when seen, their reasonably strong attacks and permanent cloak mean that any unprepared opponent can soon be taken by surprise. Protoss Dark Archon - When 2 dark templer merge together they reach this higher state of being and are forever changed. With very low hit points but good shields this unit has no actual attack but instead concentrates on mind control. With the ability to take control of almost any opposition unit in the game the protoss are able to use their opponents weapons and (if a building unit is captured) buildings against them. This unit adds a lot of strategy to the Protoss, but is hard to use to it's full advantage.
Terran Medic - The Terrans, noticing how many units were lost through the lack of medical care on the battlefield, realised that healing troops was cheaper than training new units. These medics have the ability to heal any terran troops (that are alive). With no attack other than the ability to blind an opponent this unit has to be protected but can seriously enhance the lifetime of a unit. As well as just healing, foreign bodies can be removed from a units body. Terran Valkyrie - A redesign of the classic gunship this unit has the ability to quickly dispatch enemy fighters (especially when in small groups), their attacks do a small splash damage to other nearby enemies. Unfortunatly this unit is specifically designed for air-to-air combat and as such is unable to hit any land units at all. It also lacks and special abilities.
Zerg Devourer - Designed to cripple large enemies with a dose of corrosive poision this unit is extremely devastating to a normally powerful air opponent. Like many of the other new units it lacks the ability to attack ground units and in this units case sacrifices splash damage for a more powerful base attack. Zerg Lurker - Designed as a mobile siege weapon, it is capable of burrowing into the ground and attacking from there. Deadly to an attacking enemy who lacks the ability to see hidden units, these lurkers can quickly mean the destruction of an otherwise unstopable force. These units shoot a line of "spikes" directly at an enemy, cutting through everything in its path.
Overall these units are a welcome addition, while every single race gains a very similar unit (air-to-air fighter) the other new units are different enough from any already existing in the game to make them extremely interesting to use. My personal favourite additions are the devourer and the dark archon. In my opinion the Terrans get the least interesting (though still very useful) addition with the medic, however any addition is better than none.
--Graphics-- Looking a bit outdated now, the graphics in my opinion are still perfect for this type of game. 3D is in my opinion overrated in in a game like this can often lead to it being more difficult to get a grasp of exactly where your units are or getting a good view on a battle, I think the more simple style of graphics seen here and in games like Red Alert (1 & 2) are perfect for a real-time strategy game and as such appreciate the graphics shown here.
I'm not saying that 3D graphics don't add to any game however, games such as Unreal Tournament or Black & White certainly look better for them, I just don't really think they fit in this sort of game. This is a personal opinion however and I'm sure lots of people would disagree with me.
--Sound-- The unit sounds are, as before, perfect. Each unit sounds great and each unit contains an amusing speech if you continuingly click on them (much like all the units that were already in the original game). Sounds such as attacks from the new units or the medic healing someone also sound great and fit perfectly into the game world.
--Music-- The music was great in the original and is great here, new music has been added for this expansion and it all sounds to be of the same standard as the original, the music adds perfectly to the game and is good enough to be something I would listen to even when not playing a game. While not always relaxing, when it tries to be the music really is and is something that would be perfect in the background when you were trying to work (or write an opinion :).
--Manual-- One of the strengths of Blizzard games is their manual which always seems to contain a lot of background information on the game world and good descriptions of the races that are part of the game. While the manual for Brood War isn't as good as the one for Starcraft it still contains lots of useful and interesting information and is much better than a lot of manuals I have seen for other games which seem to simply be interested in telling you how to play the game and putting little information in about the game world or story meaning you have little knowledge about exactly why you are fighting who you are fighting.
---Overall--- Overall this expansion adds quite a few new things to the original game, if you loved Starcraft then this expands the experience for you. The new storylines and units are very well produced and you will feel yourself getting sucked into the story as much as you did with Starcraft. However, this expansion doesn't add anything that will really interest people who didn't particularly enjoy Starcraft and people who didn't should really look elsewhere. It also doesn't really help aid the graphics in what some people consider to be an aging game, however I personally think these graphics are perfect for the game and any major changes would have been annoying.
Advantages: New units, campaigns, levels and a fluid plot. Did not tip the balance of units but some cool idea Disadvantages: Requires full working version of Starcraft.
Advantages: New units, campaigns, levels and a fluid plot. Did not tip the balance of units but some cool idea Disadvantages: Requires full working version of Starcraft.
Advantages: Easy to learn , hard to master, can play online with other people around the world Disadvantages: the graphics might be outdated now, and teh game is hard to find
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