Starcraft: Brood War by Bishnu Bhattacharyya With Brood War, Blizzard has unleashed the massively popular (on the PC side) add-on pack to the best-selling StarCraft. Brood War has reset the standard for mission packs on both platforms, showing the gaming industry (for at least the third time) how things should be done. The New Units Brood War adds 7 new units to the game, spread generally evenly between the races. It is quite obvious that most of these units are just plugs to fill perceived weaknesses in the original, but there are also some real gems. The Terrans receive two new units, the Medic and the Valkyrie Frigate. The Medic heals infantry units, at the rate of two units of health per unit of energy. Used correctly, it can make the Terran infantry virtually invincible, but it takes skill. The player must place his medics evenly through his ranks and keep them there. They will autoacquire the Marines for healing, saving needless micromanagement. The Medic also has two great abilities: Optic Flare and Restoration. Optic Flare allows the medic to take away a Detectors detection ability, and Restoration cures those pesky enemy abilities such as Parasite, Ensnare, and Lockdown. The Valkyrie Frigate is used solely to take out annoying Zerg Mutalisks swarms, by dealing Wide Area Damage. It's HALO missiles will hit all enemy targets in the general vicinity of the area indicated, strengthening this units power exponentially in numbers. Six Valkyries could very easily take out a group of 24 mutalisks, but 4 mutalisks could destroy a single Valkyrie easily. The Zerg gain the Devourer, a flying, acid-spewing, capital ship killer evolved from the mutalisk, two new upgrades to the Ultralisks, making them faster and tougher to kill, and the Lurker. The Lurker is the best unit included Brood War. Evolved from the hydralisk, it can only attack when it is burrowed, but it is quite a devastating attack, similar to a Sunken Colony's. It conjures up many cool possibilities, such as ambushes, and early rushes. Lastly, the Protoss can now create the useful Dark Templars, only available in limited numbers in the original StarCraft. Dark Templars can merge to become Dark Archons, who utilize phenomenal psychic powers such as Mind Control (no explanation needed there). The Protoss also gain the Corsair, an air-to-air fighter that is much cheaper than the Scout. It employs the Disruption Web, which temporarily deactivates defensive structures such as the Photon Cannon or Missile Turret. The New Campaign The new units are presented through a phenomenal trio of Campaigns. Nearly every mission features some in-game animation before and after it, which is nice since the cut scenes are only at the end of the campaigns. Watching Jim Raynor storm a power generator with 2 Siege Tanks and a squad of Marines, and watching Admiral DuGalle's Battlecruiser with Valkyrie escort take out a swarm of Mutalisks were some of the nicest moments of this game. The mission designs are much more original, and difficult, presented with three new Tilesets. The versatility more than makes up for the stretches of "kill everything" missions found at assorted points in StarCraft. For example, one Protoss mission forces you to hunt down and kill a Protoss traitor who isn't afraid to hallucinate himself to yank your troops around the map. A Terran mission features you getting hit with 7 Nukes right as it starts, forcing you to rebuild very carefully. The storyline following these missions is an epic one, filled with treachery and deceit, which far surpasses that of the original, and will keep you glued to the game. Play balance has also been slightly tweaked. The Zerg's rate of larva generation has been slowed slightly, to prevent rushes. The price of the Terran Academy has been increased by 25 minerals for the same reason. The single drawback to Brood War is the fact that the mindless movement AI present in the original has not been modified. Your Goliaths and Dragoons will still try to circle around the entire map rather then just wait until it's brethren have gone up that ramp. But that doesn't affect Brood War severely, it is still a massively enjoyable game, arguably the best add-on disc ever for the Macintosh, and if you enjoyed StarCraft, it is simply a must-have. Pros • Phenomenal story and level design • New units are a terrific addition and add strategic depth • Nice cut scenes • Gameplay is extremely balanced Cons • Retarded movement AI hasn't been fixed