Starcraft: Brood War

"Blizzard,we want a sequel not an expansion"

When i first laid my hands on Starcraft,i simply coudn't believe my eyes.The gameplay was excellent and beyond anything you've ever imagined.The great people at Blizzard was just brilliant.

After a few months,Blizzard released their official expansion pack,Brood War.All my life,i've never really enjoyed expansion packs.It made me feel that the game producers are just trying to squeeze more money out of their current products.But since i adores starcraft so much,i gave it a shot.It was then i realized that this is the best expansion pack i've ever come across.

There are 2 extra units for each side, so all in all 6.This figure is pretty lame compared to Total anihilations expansion which boasts over a hundred new units.But Brood War's strong points come in the form of the story not the units.The saga countinues when the ferocious Zerg led by,Sarah Kerrigan tears apart every living Protoss one by one after the death of the Overmind.Full motion videos and new tougher mission make this a must buy.

Sadly,there are a few major flaws in Brood War.The most noticable one is of course the balance between the three races.The protoss seems to be getting too strong.With their newly found mind control ability,they can posseses and units from the enemy,thus making them the unstoppable.It's okay when it comes to single player,but when multi-player comes in,i find it way too stupid.Every player will want to use Protoss and then the other races are not touched at all.In the end,i continues to play the original version of the game whenever a multi-player session begins.

Half way through the game,you will start to feel real bored.You'l get the feeling that the same thing is repeating over and over again.That is why i think expansion packs should not be made at all.The only factor that urges you to finish the game is because you wan't to know the outcome of the story.

The starcraft franchise could have been more memorable if Blizzard just skiped the expansion and concentrate on a sequel.Maybe they will learn to listen to the consumers and start producing the sequel right away?I hope so.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99