1) Starcraft II (Blizzard, 2010)
I know, I know. 'But this game hasn't stood the test of time! It removed the LAN capability that Starcraft had!' I'm sure you could go on with a whole list of reasons why Starcraft should be here instead of it's younger upstart brother. But you know what? I simply don't care. Why? Because I love this game. Every time I play it I find something else to love about it, and the best thing is it reminds me of how much of an idiot Bobby Kotick is - he had the opportunity to buy Blizzard while it was still a small(ish) company for $6 million, but he turned it down. Anyway, a friend of mine described this game as being "like chess, but with better graphics". Perhaps a little dramatic, but if any game deserves that description it's this one.
The game picks up where Starcraft left off, with an action-packed 29 mission campaign to sink your teeth into, and an intriguing story to go with it. The campaign introduces role playing elements as you buy upgrades for your army, but I won't reveal much more on this front. Know only it's a fresh approach to the Starcraft universe, and it works. Well.
The gameplay is similar to that of the previous game on my list, Red Alert 2, in that two factions square off in head to head combat, fighting with constructed units built from a constructed base on different parts of the map. It leaves room for a lot of creativity in how you defeat your opponent, and also for amusement in strange situations. There are three rather unique races to choose from: Terran, Protoss and Zerg. The Terran are the human race in the game, featuring tanks and marines; the Protoss are the mysterious race leagues ahead in technology and wisdom; and the Zerg are the savage alien horde, overwhelming with numbers and ferocity. Each race gathers minerals and vespene gas from around the map via worker units, but the similarities end there. The Terran have a majority of buildings with the ability to 'lift up'; no this isn't jargon, they literally can lift up and fly (albeit slowly) to anywhere on the map. The Protoss warp in buildings and infantry from the world of Shakuras, and they can be placed wherever there is power from a pylon or warp prism. The Zerg sacrifice a worker to morph into a building, and units evolve from larvae.
In typical Blizzard fashion, the combat system is well constructed to say the least. Each unit is assigned a damage value and type (concussive, normal and explosive), an armor value and a unit type (biological, armored, light and massive). These damage types then deal more or less damage depending on the armor type of the enemy, and the armor value (some units receive bonus damage against an armor type). The Protoss are the only race with shields which regenerate over time, whereas Terran and Zerg units have only health values. This makes for deeper tactical considerations, and is one of the main reasons Starcraft II is such a blast to play. With this knowledge and much, much more in mind, cry havoc and let slip the dog of war.
There's not a lot more that I can say here; to say anymore would be to not do this game justice. And it would mean you would have to wade through a thick swamp of rhetoric, which while fun for me may not be as fun for you. But allow me to say this. To beat 'Z' in gameplay is an achievement. To potentially beat the sheer wealth of custom content in 'Warcraft III' is an achievement. To match the tactical experience of 'World in Conflict' is an achievement. To defeat the supreme all round package of 'Red Alert 2' is an achievement. And to subsequently be named as the greatest RTS of all time is what should inevitably result after these achievements are ticked off by just one game.
So there you have it: the greatest RTS of all time, the king of strategy games! I hope you enjoyed this series; please leave comments and follow this blog if you did!
No comments:
Post a Comment