StarCraft: Brood War

StarCraft: Brood Waris theexpansion packfor themilitary science fictionreal-time strategyvideo gameStarCraft.Released in December 1998 forMicrosoft Windowsand June 1999 forMac OS,it was co-developed bySaffireandBlizzard Entertainment.The expansion pack introduces newcampaigns,maptilesets,music, extra units for each race, and upgrade advancements. The campaigns continue the story from where the originalStarCraftended,with the sequel,StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty,continuing from the conclusion ofBrood War.The expansion was released first in the United States on December 18, 1998.

StarCraft: Brood War
The box art displaysKerrigan,one of the main characters in the series.
Developer(s)	Saffire Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Blizzard Entertainment
Producer(s)	Shane Dabiri
Designer(s)	Rob Pardo
Artist(s)	Samwise Didier Duane Stinnett
Writer(s)	Chris Metzen
Composer(s)	Tracy W. Bush Jason Hayes Glenn Stafford
Series	StarCraft
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows,Mac OS,Nintendo 64
Release	Microsoft Windows NA:December 18, 1998 PAL:March 1999 Mac OS NA:June 30, 1999
Genre(s)	Real-time strategy
Mode(s)	Single-player,multiplayer

Brood Warwas critically well received, with reviewers praising it for being developed with the care of a full game rather than as an uninspired extra.As of May 31, 2007,StarCraftandBrood Warhave sold almost ten million copies combined.The game is especially popular inSouth Korea,where professional players and teams have participated in matches, earned sponsorships, and competed in televised matches.

As of April 19, 2017,StarCraftand itsBrood Warexpansion, aka theAnthology,are free to download and play fromBlizzard's website.Aremastered editionofStarCraftand its expansion was released on August 14, 2017.

Gameplay

Several new units were added forBrood War,such as theseUEDValkyrie-class frigates.

See also:Gameplay of StarCraft

StarCraftfocuses around three distinct interstellar species: thepsionicProtoss,the adaptableTerrans,and theinsectoidZerg.The game revolves around players collecting resources to construct a base, upgrade their militaries, and ultimately conquer opponents.Brood War's gameplay remains fundamentally unchanged from that ofStarCraft,although it made small alterations to unit costs and some abilities, and added some new units. These changes makerushingtactics—a factor that gained some criticism in the originalStarCraft—less practical.The single-player campaign has an increased difficulty; missions are no longer entirely linear, and a greater focus on strategy is needed to complete missions.In addition, the game'sartificial intelligence(AI) has been augmented so that AI-controlled players are more intelligent and tend to use tactics more effectively.

Brood Warintroduces seven new units. Each race is given access to a unique ground unit: the Zerg can create a defensive unit that can attack from the concealment of itsburrow,while the Terrans can train combat medics.The Protoss are able to producedark templarunits, a powerful cloakedmeleeunit only given to the player in special missions ofStarCraft.Protoss players can merge two of these units to create a specialspellcasterunit.Each race is also given access to a dedicated air-to-air attack unit.

Synopsis

Setting

See also:Races of StarCraft

Brood Wartakes place in theStarCraftuniverse, set around the early 26th century. Terran exiles from Earth have colonized a distant area of theMilky Waygalaxy called the Koprulu Sector, having established several governments. Eventually, a civil war breaks out and ends with the formation of theTerran Dominion.However, humanity soon becomes caught in a war between the Protoss and the Zerg, which culminates at the end ofStarCraftwith the death of the Zerg leader, theOvermind,on the Protoss homeworld ofAiur.Without the Overmind to command, the Zerg rampage mindlessly across Aiur, while thecerebrates—the secondary commanders of the Swarm—attempt to regain control. After the discovery of alien life in the Koprulu Sector, theUnited Earth Directorate(UED)—the international body governing Earth—decides to send an expeditionary force to secure the sector and prevent the aliens from finding Earth.Brood Warbegins two days after the conclusion ofStarCraft.

Characters

Main article:Characters of the StarCraft series

The player assumes the roles of three anonymous characters over the course of the game. In the first campaign, the player assumes the role of a Protoss fleet commander. The player's character is commanded byZeratulandAldaris,two adversaries fromStarCraftwho have since reconciled their differences to lead their people in the face of the rampaging Zerg. They are joined byJim Raynor,a Terran rebel on the run from the Dominion,Artanis,the previous Executor of the third campaign ofStarCraftwho has recently been promoted, andRaszagal,the matriarch of the dissident dark templar faction in Protoss society. The second campaign sees the player as a captain in the UED expeditionary force, reporting to the fleet's admiralGerard DuGalleand his vice-admiralAlexei Stukov.To secure the sector, the UED plans to overthrow the Terran Dominion and its emperorArcturus Mengsk,and are assisted in this bySamir Duran,a mysterious psionicghost espionage agent,and his group of anti-Dominion rebels. The final campaign has the player assume the position of a Zerg cerebrate, a commander within the Zerg Swarm. The player is put under the control ofSarah Kerrigan,a Terran who was infested by the Zerg inStarCraft.

Plot

The story ofBrood Waris presented through its instruction manual, the briefings to each mission, and conversations within the missions themselves, along with the use of cinematiccut scenesat the end of each campaign.The game itself is split into three new episodes, one centering on each race.

In the first episode, the player (as the Protoss Executor),Aldaris,Zeratul,and the newly promoted PraetorArtaniswork to evacuate the surviving Protoss from their devastated homeworld through a warp gate to the dark templar homeworld,Shakuras,where they meet the matriarch of the dark templar,Raszagal.Although the Zerg are able to follow the Protoss to Shakuras, Raszagal informs the survivors of aXel'Nagatemple on the surface of the planet with the power to scour the Zerg from the surface if activated. With Zeratul and Artanis reluctantly partnering with Sarah Kerrigan, who informs them of a new Overmind growing onChar,the player joins them in an operation to recover two key crystals (Khalis and Uraj) necessary to operate the temple. Upon their return, it is revealed that Aldaris has begun an uprising against the dark templar over their alliance with Kerrigan. The uprising is crushed, and Aldaris is killed by Kerrigan, who reveals that her motives are to ensure the destruction of the Zerg cerebrates on Shakuras so she can gain control of the Zerg herself before departing the planet. Despite knowing that activating the temple will accomplish Kerrigan's objectives, Zeratul and Artanis proceed with little other choice, wiping the Zerg off Shakuras' surface.

Cinematiccut scenesare used at key plot points during the single-player campaigns.

In the second episode, the player (as a UED captain), leads the United Earth Directorate's initial incursions against the Terran Dominion. Upon meeting Samir Duran, the fleet's vice-admiral Alexei Stukov conscripts Duran as a special advisor. The UED soon discovers a "psi disrupter" —a device capable of disrupting Zerg communications—on the formerConfederatecapitalTarsonis.Although Duran persuades admiral Gerard DuGalle to have the anti-Zerg device destroyed, Stukov's forces relieve Duran at the last moment. The UED proceeds to the Dominion throne worldKorhal IVwhere the player defeats Arcturus Mengsk's armies, although Mengsk is rescued when a Protoss fleet commanded by Jim Raynor arrives. The UED tracks Raynor and Mengsk to the Protoss homeworld of Aiur, but the two escape the massive UED assault when Duran inexplicably moves his forces out of position and allows the Zerg to interfere with the operation. Having understood that the UED invasion had caused Mengsk, Raynor, and the Protoss to band together against a common foe, Stukov realizes that Duran's actions and the Zerg attack were too much to be a coincidence—the Zerg were also allied with the Terran Dominion and the Protoss, and Duran had been working to undermine the UED. While Stukov takes a contingent of troops and reconstructs the psi disrupter on Braxis, DuGalle is unaware of his intentions and becomes convinced that he is a traitor. The player helps Duran hunt down Stukov inside the psi disrupter, but before he dies, Stukov reveals to DuGalle that Duran is the real enemy. Duran flees after the player foils his attempt to sabotage the psi disrupter. Using the psi disrupter's capabilities, DuGalle and the UED are able to assault the Zerg world Char and take control of the new Overmind growing there.

The final section ofBrood Warsees the player (as a lone Cerebrate) helping Sarah Kerrigan defeat the UED. With the Overmind falling under the United Earth Directorate's command, all operations amongst native factions in the sector are damaged, including Kerrigan's forces. To begin the campaign against the Directorate forces, Kerrigan and Samir Duran form a reluctant alliance with Jim Raynor, Protoss praetorFenix,and Arcturus Mengsk to destroy the psi disrupter. After destroying the psi disrupter, the player leads Kerrigan's forces in a full-scale assault on Korhal, quickly breaking the UED's hold over the planet. In the aftermath, Kerrigan betrays her allies, destroying a large number of Dominion forces and killing both Fenix as well asEdmund Duke,Mengsk's right-hand man. Angry at Kerrigan's betrayal, Raynor promises that he will kill her one day and retreats. Kerrigan travels with Duran to Shakuras and abducts Raszagal, who she uses to blackmail Zeratul into killing the Overmind on Char, thus bringing all Zerg forces under Kerrigan's control. Zeratul attempts to rescue Raszagal, but the player prevents their escape, and Zeratul eventually kills Raszagal when it becomes clear she has been irreversibly brainwashed by Kerrigan. At that moment it becomes clear that Aldaris's uprising in the first episode was an attempt to stop the brainwashed Raszagal from betraying her people any further. Upon leaving Char in search of Artanis, Zeratul stumbles upon a genetics facility run by Duran without Kerrigan's knowledge where a Protoss/Zerg hybrid is being developed. At the same time, Kerrigan is attacked on Char by the Dominion, the UED, and a vengeful fleet commanded by Artanis. Despite being outnumbered, Kerrigan defeats all three fleets and eradicates the surviving UED fleet, leaving her the dominant power in the sector. Before the UED fleet is wiped out, Admiral DuGalle sends a final message back to his family before committing suicide with his pistol.

Development

Development onBrood Warbegan shortly after the release ofStarCraftin 1998 and was announced after the release ofStarCraft's first two expansion packs,InsurrectionandRetribution.Most of the team atBlizzard Entertainmentresponsible forStarCraftreturned to work onBrood War.They were assisted by members ofSaffire,who were contracted for a variety of tasks consisting of programming and design for levels, visuals, and audio effects.According toShane Dabiri,the game's producer,Brood Waraimed to drastically increase the significance of the story within gameplay, stating that the team was adding scripting that would allow "Final Fantasytype events "to be played out during the course of a level. Dabiri further explained that the objectives in the missions would also reflect the story in a far more interactive way, with players being presented with tactical decisions over which objectives to pursue and with fewer missions revolving around simple annihilation of the enemy.Although originally slated for release in the US in October 1998,Brood War's release was delayed by two months to come out in December.

As withStarCraft,an exemplar campaign showcasing the methods of creating a custom campaign forBrood Waris available. EntitledEnslavers: Dark Vengeance,the campaign follows the actions of a rogue dark templar,Ulrezaj,and his attempts to remove the Khalai Protoss from his homeworld ofShakuras,with the player andZeratultrying to stop him. However, it is not included in the release and must be downloaded separately fromBattle.net.

Cultural impact

Reception

Review scores

Publication	Score
Computer Gaming World	5/5
GameRevolution	B−
GameSpot	9.1/10
IGN	8/10
PC Zone	8.9/10
The Cincinnati Enquirer	3.4/4
Macworld

Awards

Publication	Award
Computer Gaming World	Add-on of the Year
GameSpot	Best Expansion Pack
GameSpot	Greatest Games of All Time

Critical reception

StarCraft: Brood Warwas critically acclaimed. The magazinePC ZonegaveBrood Wara short but flattering review, describing it as having "definitely been worth the wait".PC Zonepraised the inclusion of new units and the balancing tweaks as transforming the originalStarCraft"from an okay game into something akin to the mutt's nuts". The review also drew note to the cinematiccut scenes,stating that they "actually feel like part of the story rather than an afterthought".

IGNpraisedBrood Waras a "carefully designed" expansion, "with a surfeit of new features that will satisfy even the pickiest of gamers". Although stating that there was "enough to enrich the core gameplay without losing the flavor", IGN presented concern over the difficulty of the game: "Brood War's difficulty is an order of magnitude higher thanStarCraft.[Players will] barely have enough time to acquaint [themselves] with the new units before the enemy starts coming at [them] full bore. "However, IGN praised the plot as" compelling "and described the extended multiplayer as" one of the best features "of the game, ultimately rating the expansion as" impressive ".

GameSpotwas also positive in its review, stating that the design ofBrood War"contains all the care, detail, and ingenuity of a true sequel" that "completely revitalizes" the original game. The reviewer praises the "seemingly minor but terribly significant modifications" to the balance of the game, putting the results as "outstanding", but draws concern to the interface's shortfalls in coping with these changes. GameSpot also notes the music and audio work onBrood Waras a bold improvement, describing the voice acting as "completely convincing" in a heavily story-driven single-player campaign that although becoming less innovative in the latter stages, "remains captivating to the end". The review concludes thatBrood Waris a "more-than-worthy successor toStarCraftand one of the finest computer game expansion sets of all time ",and gave a special achievement award of "Best Expansion Pack" to the game.

In its review,The Cincinnati EnquirercommendedBrood War's new content, praising the efforts gone to in the development of the expansion. Noting the increased difficulty of the expansion and its multiplayer success,The Cincinnati Enquirerstated that "While it’s rare that an expansion pack reawakens the joy birthed from the original,Brood Warproves it’s not impossible "and concluding that the expansion was a" worthwhile choice ".

However, the positive critical response toBrood Warwas not universal.Game Revolutiondescribed the gameplay as "identical toStarCraftin almost every way "and displaying mixed feelings towards the new units. The reviewer continued by stating that" while the unit upgrades are good, the scenarios still don't cut it ", describing the single-player mission design as an" afterthought "despite the expansion possessing an" interesting "storyline. Dismissing the multiplayer additions as unimportant, Game Revolution summarized that while" a fun expansion ",Brood Warwas "a mixed bag".

Brood Warwas a finalist forComputer Games Strategy Plus's 1998 "Add-On of the Year" award, which ultimately went toAge of Empires: The Rise of Rome.The editors noted thatBrood Warwas "very popular, and added to the already considerable appeal of the original, award-winning, title."

Legacy

See also:StarCraft: Brood War professional competition

StarCraft,along with its expansionBrood War,rapidly grew in popularity in South Korea, establishing a successfulprofessional gamingscene.Some pro-gamers have gained television contracts, sponsorships, and tournament prizes, allowing the most famous player,Lim Yo-Hwan,who is known in-game as SlayerS `BoxeR`,to gain a fanclub of over a half million people. Professional gamers dedicate many hours each day to playingStarCraftwhen preparing for the highly competitive leagues.Lee Yun-Yeol,a Terran player known as [Red]NaDa, reported earnings in 2005 ofUS$200,000.In April 2009, a Collegiate Star League was formed in the U.S. to facilitate inter-collegiate competition amongst university teams and clubs.In October 2009, the first live collegiateStarCraftmatch occurred between Rutgers University and Princeton University in a best-of-five series.

On May 2, 2012,KeSPA,Ongamenet,Blizzard Entertainment,andGomTVannounced the introduction ofStarCraft II: Wings of Libertyto professional competitions in South KoreawithStarCraft: Brood Warbeing completely phased out in October.

However, even after being supplanted by its successor,Brood Warcompetition remained popular for part of an audience and streaming channels of retired professional gamers kept popularity. Outside governance of Korean eSports Professional Association, amateur competitions started to gain popularity.

External links

• The officialStarCraftsiteat Blizzard Entertainment.
• TheStarCraftCompendiumonBattle.net