StarCraft

StarCraft is an RTS game which pits the Zerg, Protoss and the Terrans against each other to battle each other for supremacy. The game has been known for being extremely well-balanced, no other race is stronger than the other. The success of Starcraft was met with an expansion pack called Brood War. This expansion pack continues where the story finished in the original game with Sarah Kerrigan (now known as the 'Queen of Blades') devises a plot to get her revenge against the Protoss and Terrans.

StarCraft is, still to this day, extremely popular. Many countries (including Korea and China) consider StarCraft as an e-sport, with competition prize money sometimes fetching 6 figure sums.

StarCraft in itself as a franchise has some backstory. StarCraft: Ghost (PlayStation 2, Xbox) was in development for 5 years before it got cancelled, and its current status being "postponed indefinitely". The newest game in the franchise, StarCraft II, was released on July 27th, 2010.

Key Characters

Jim Raynor

James “Jim” Raynor is one of the central protagonists in the StarCraft universe. He was created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney and made his first appearance in 1998’s Starcraft. Raynor is a backwater marshal that, over the course of the game, becomes a galactic hero. Raynor is perhaps one of the few Terran characters in StarCraft that remains fundamentally good and uncorrupt throughout the game. Though he is at times depicted as a sarcastic and laid back character, he has a huge sense of justice, and has always tried to do the right and honorable thing.  Raynor is also one of the few Terrans that the Protoss trust, even forming a strong bond with the likes of Praetor Fenix, a great Protoss hero who was encased in a Dragoon due to serious injuries sustained in the first game.

StarCraft
Making his debut in the very first Terran mission, Raynor is a marshal of the backwater planet, Mar Sara, and was stationed on the planet when the Zerg suddenly invaded it. While Raynor fought valiantly to protect the colony, he was eventually arrested by the very confederacy he was trying to protect due to his destruction of a confederate owned Command Center which was, at the time, infested by the Zerg.

Raynor was later rescued from prison by the rebel group, the Sons of Korhal for political reasons, effectively making Raynor a traitor to the Terran Confederacy. Becoming a General within the Sons of Korhal, Arcturus Mengsk, the faction’s leader, sends Raynor on many missions in order to undermine and overthrow the Terran Confederacy.
 
During his time with the group, Raynor develops a bond with the female ghost, Sarah Kerrigan. Near the end of the Terran campaign, the Sons of Korhal mount a large offensive on the Confederate capital of Tarsonis with the Zerg, luring them with Psi Emitter technology. However, during this offensive, Kerrigan and her contingent of Terran forces are assaulted by the Zerg, and Mengsk abandons them to their death. This infuriates Raynor, causing him to leave the rebel group by force, hijacking Mengsk’s flagship, the Hyperion, in the process.
 
Raynor soon hears telepathic messages from Kerrigan in his dreams. Believing her to be alive, Raynor travels to Char only to find Kerrigan completely infested and controlled by the Zerg. Destroying his camp, Kerrigan allows Raynor and his troops to leave, though they are still stranded on the planet. Raynor and his troops eventually encounter Tassadar and Zeratul, great Protoss templars. In the Protoss campaign, a force lead by Executor Artanis rescues Raynor and Tassadar from Char. Raynor and his remaining forces then aid the Protoss in the final assault on the Zerg Overmind which recently nested itself on the Protoss homeworld of Aiur.Raynor makes occasional appearances throughout the events of Brood War. First, during the Protoss campaign he along with Fenix assist in the evacuation of Aiur, protecting the warp gate while Protoss forces used it to move to Shakuras. It is here were him and Fenix develop a strong friendship and a deep respect of each other. Later, Kerrigan convinces him and the Protoss that the United Earth Directorate invasion is a much grater threat to them than she is. Raynor and Fenix then kidnap Mengsk in order to gain his support in the campaign against the UED. Soon after, Korhal IV, the throne world of the Terran Dominion is recaptured by the allied forces. Soon after this, however, Kerrigan betrays the alliance and slays Fenix in the process. Deeply outraged by Kerrigan’s actions, Raynor’s final words in Brood War are that Kerrigan will die by his hands.

 StarCraft II

It has been revealed that Raynor will appear in StarCraft II as the leader of Raynor's Raiders, as well as the captain of the battlecruiser, Hyperion. Raynor will likely play a major role throughout the game.

Sarah Kerrigan

Sarah Louise Kerrigan was a powerful psychic Terran female. She was drafted into the Confederate Ghost program and later joined a group of rebels known as the Sons of Korhal. She served as second-in-command until Arcturus Mengsk allowed her to be captured and infested by the Zerg Swarm. In mission 9 of the Terran campaign (New Gettysburg), Kerrigan was tasked by Mengsk to destroy the Protoss forces that had arrived on Tarsonis.  The psi emitter keeping the Zerg under control, Mengsk ordered Raynor and Duke to remain on the command ship. Once Kerrigan had completed her mission, the psi emitter seemed to cease working as the Zerg swept down on the unsuspecting Terran base.  Mengsk, refusing to send help as Raynor demanded, retreated all the forces he had in orbit.  It was the last time Kerrigan would be seen in her ghost outfit.

 
The Queen of Blades
After the defeat of the Overmind, Sarah could now become the new leader of the Zerg.  All that stood in her path were a few renegade cerebrates.   Manipulating the Dark Templar's matriarch, Kerrigan was able to use the Protoss forces and destroy her competition.  With the Swarm under her control, she proclaimed herself the “Queen of Blades”.

Key Locations

• Aiur - The Protoss homeworld
• Mar Sara - One of the Terran Confederacy colonies that was "purified" by the Protoss when it was infested by the Zerg. Set to appear in StarCraft II.