"The first was great and this expansion only gets better!"

Brood War is the official expansion pack for the smash hit game that preceded it. It offers the same gameplay, the same graphics, the same basic game system, and everything else you loved about the original. What's new in the expansion is a whole new full-length campaign that is even better than the one featured in the original and a whole new set of maps and new units for each race. At half the cost of the original game, or if you're buying the Battle Chest it is bundled along with it, you cannot ask for more.

What will strike you first about the game is that the graphics have not been changed much from the original game. The graphics have aged nicely though, there is little to complain bout since the scenes are rendered quite nicely, despite being on an aged graphics system. The new map textures are very well drawn, the new twilight maps are very attractive looking and go right along with the feel of the game.

While watching the game you'll come across most of the surviving members of the cast from the first game. All of the returning characters have more lines in the expansion so they'll all be playing an important role in the telling of the story. All the units and all the characters have great voices; all of the playable (controllable) units have a new mantra to rant on about in this game, so you'll definitely find yourself clicking on them to hear what they have to say about you or their superiors. This expansion is no exception from the first game when it comes to the quality of the acting and the general sound of the game.

All of the races have new music tracks as well. The Terrans have a new orchestral theme that sounds a good deal better than the swill that was played during the original Terran missions. The Zerg and Protoss also have new music tracks but they're pretty mediocre. I certainly wouldn't rate them as high as I do the Terran music but nevertheless they do improve upon the music from the original.

The missions in Starcraft still rely heavily upon scripted action events and lengthy plot sequences that should delight fans of the original game. The story is presented in real time and also during the mission briefings. The story is perhaps just as good if not even better than the one told in the original. Many points of the plot have some emotional value to them and will keep the player engaged in the story right up until the final cinematic.

The missions themselves hold a great deal of gameplay within themselves. They're a great deal harder than in the first game but they are also more varied and much better designed than they were in the original. Each mission will give you a specific objective to reach whether it be to hold off an enemy attack for a certain amount of time, retrieve an object from the opposite end, or the classic search and destroy mission in which you have to wipe out every enemy unit on the map. In some missions you'll be introduced to the new units created for Brood War.

The Terrans have the Medic and Valkyrie units to add to their army. The Medic is a field surgeon who can follow infantry units around the map and heal them as they take damage. This can significantly improve the soldier's life-time on the field and thus he can deal out more damage to the enemy. The Medic also comes with some extra abilities, both of which are rather useful but for the sake of briefness I will omit specifics. The Valkyrie is the Terran air-based, anti-air vehicle. It is a great defensive and offensive weapon so the player will always be able to find a use for it.

The Zerg have the Devourer, which is the Zerg equivalent of the Valkyrie. It is an anti-air organism that shoots out acid spores that dissolve the skin and armour of the target. The second Zerg unit is the Lurker, and upgraded version of the Hydralisk. The Lurker can burrow underground, cloaked from enemies, and send out spines of needles in radial directions to puncture and wound the enemy units. It is an incredibly powerful unit when used correctly since it can be brought in to an enemy base to wreak havoc or it can be used to defend the home base. Either way it is used will be of great use to the player.

Finally, the Protoss have the Corsair and the Dark Archon. The Corsair is basically a defensive unit. It can attack air-to-air but it is equipped with a relatively weak weapon so it isn't of much use when it comes to attacking. Where its main use comes in is when you need to neutralize a specific area of an enemy's defenses. The Corsair can lay out a web of energy that will disable all the enemy units and offensive or defensive weaponry so your forces can walk in and kick ass without being molested by perimeter defenses. The Dark Archon is the result of merging two Dark Templars. The Dark Archon can do several things but it's main power is the Mind Control. This allows it to take control of the mind of an enemy unit. This is especially useful for capturing enemy SCV units or Drones so that you can build up a second or third army of Zerg or Terran to smite your enemy.

Final Word

Basically, Brood War improves upon the original Starcraft game by adding new maps, a new campaign, some new units for each side, new music and some general improvements to the atmosphere and game mechanics. Brood War is a must-have for anybody who enjoyed the first Starcraft game.

Final Score: 9

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/11/04