The wait is over, Starcraft is back and it’s better than ever. Now before we get started I am confident in telling you that if you like the RTS genre you will like Starcraft II. If you already played Starcraft and Brood Wars then I’m already assuming that you’ve bought this game. But if you have never played Starcraft or its expansion then read on and I’ll tell you the reason you should buy Blizzard’s newest game.

Starcraft II deviates from the formula of its past. Instead of three racial campaigns in one game, Blizzard is splitting the series up into three campaigns across three separate games. Now before you get up in arms about this change of format you should know that you are getting a full game, no half-assed efforts here. Blizzard has taken advantage of larger disc space by expanding the Starcraft world. In between each mission you go back to your mother ship, the Hyperion. The Hyperion is divided into four rooms. You have the engineering bay where you purchase upgrades for you units and structures with credits earned from completing missions. There is the bridge, where you choose the next planet to go to and the next mission to engage. There is the tech lab, where you gain access to two unique tech trees that give you a variety of upgrades ranging from better stats to new units. This tech tree is divided into a Protoss and Zerg section, each providing you with two choices for each tier of upgrades. To gain research points you must complete side objectives that are offered on most missions. Finally there is the cantina which contains a tv that plays dominion propaganda against you and most importantly, mercenaries.

I am happy to report that the missions in Starcraft II are both interesting and varied. In fact one of the coolest missions I’ve had to do was one where I must steal a sacred relic from some Protoss. Sounds simple right? Until you get to the part where there is a giant wall of flame that will burn you and the entire map if you don’t hurry up and get that artifact. It is obstacles like this that keep the game from becoming tedious and repetitive, which can be a danger in an RTS campaign. For any of you who are disappointed that you will not have a Zerg or Protoss campaign yet, you should be pleased to know that you are given four Protoss missions in the form of a memory crystal from the Zeratul and they are cool.

While I have yet to finish the campaign I can say that the story is good. One of the coolest things Blizzard has done to engage you in the story is adding cut scenes you can activate on the Hyperion. This feature adds a bit of depth to the characters that may give you second thoughts when you decide to screw one member over in a mission because you get a cooler looking reward. All in all I can say that Starcraft II is something you should play if you enjoy a good RTS game. Did it take a long time to come out? Sure, but what was produced was well worth the wait.