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StarCraft: Brood War
Developer	Saffire Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher	NA Blizzard Entertainment PAL Sierra Entertainment
Designer	Rob Pardo (lead designer) Chris Metzen (senior designer) Peter Underwood (technical artist) Matt Samia (cinematic director)
Series	StarCraft series
Version	1.15.1 (2007-08-20)
Released	NA November 30, 1998 PAL March, 1999
Genre	Real-time strategy
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Ratings	ESRB: Teen (T) PEGI: 16+ ELSPA: 15+ OFLC: M OFLC/NZ: R16+
Platform(s)	Mac OS, Mac OS X, Windows
Media	CD-ROM
System requirements	Windows: Windows 95 or better 90 MHz Pentium 16 MB RAM DirectX-compatible 2x CD-ROM drive 640x480 8-bit display full version of StarCraft Mac OS: System 7.6 or better PowerPC 601 or better 16 MB RAM full version of StarCraft

StarCraft: Brood War is an expansion pack released in 1998 for the award winning real-time strategy computer game StarCraft. It was co-developed by Saffire and Blizzard Entertainment. The expansion pack introduced new campaigns with new map tilesets and new music, in addition to a number of extra units for each race along with several upgrade advancements. The campaigns continue the story from where the original StarCraft ended, with the sequel StarCraft II continuing from after the conclusion of Brood War.

As of 2005, StarCraft and Brood War combined have shipped over nine million copies.^[1] It is especially popular in South Korea, where professional players and teams participate in matches, earn sponsorships, and compete in televised matches.^[2]

Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Story 2.1 Plot 2.1.1 Episode IV 2.1.2 Episode V 2.1.3 Episode VI 2.2 Characters 3 Cultural impact 3.1 Critical reception 3.2 Legacy 4 References 5 External links

Further information: Gameplay of StarCraft

Brood War's gameplay remains fundamentally unchanged from that of StarCraft, although it adds some fine-tuning to unit costs and abilities for strategic and balance purposes. These seemingly minor changes are designed to make rushing impractical,^[3] encouraging players to use combined forces of different units. The single player missions have also been boosted in difficulty: missions are no longer as straight forward and a greater deal of strategy must be incorporated for every tactic a player uses. In addition, the AI was also augmented so that enemy waves are smarter and use tactics more effectively.

The expansion pack introduced several new units to the game for each species. Each race was given an air-to-air attack unit and a ground unit with unique abilities: the Terrans acquired a combat medic,^[4] the Zerg were given a unit capable of attacking whilst burrowed^[5] and the Protoss were allowed to produce the specialist dark templar units from the original game and to use these to create an archon with special abilities.^[6]

Like StarCraft, an exemplar campaign - Enslavers: Dark Vengeance - showcasing the methods of creating a custom campaign for Brood War is available. The campaign follows the actions of a rogue dark templar, Ulrezaj, and his attempts to remove the Khalai Protoss from his homeworld of Shakuras, with the player and Zeratul trying to stop him. However, it is not included in the release and must be downloaded separately from Battle.net.^[7]

The plot of Brood War continues where StarCraft left off;^[8] the high templar Tassadar sacrificed himself to destroy the Zerg Overmind. Without the leadership of the Overmind, the Zerg begin to rampage across the Koprulu sector, killing without distinction. In addition to the Zerg, the survivors are also forced to defend themselves from an invasion by the United Earth Directorate, which has decided to take action in the sector after the discovery of alien life.^[8]

In Episode IV, the player takes the role of a new Protoss fleet executor. Now reunited with Aldaris, Zeratul and the newly promoted praetor Artanis, the player works to evacuate the surviving Protoss from Aiur through a warp gate to the dark templar homeworld of Shakuras. Although the Zerg are able to follow the Protoss to Shakuras, the dark templar matriarch Raszagal informs the survivors of a Xel'Naga temple on the surface of the planet with the power to scour the Zerg from the surface if activated. Reluctantly partnering with Sarah Kerrigan, who informs them of a new Overmind growing on Char, the player joins Zeratul and Artanis in an operation to recover two key crystals from the Zerg on Char and the Dominion on Braxis. Upon their return, it is revealed that Aldaris has begun an uprising against the dark templar, and although this is crushed, Aldaris is killed by Kerrigan. Kerrigan reveals that her motives are to ensure the destruction of the renegade Zerg on Shakuras so as to gain control of the Zerg herself, and is driven from Shakuras as a result. 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.

In the fifth episode, the player is a captain within the United Earth Directorate's expeditionary force to the Koprulu sector, reporting to the fleet's admirals Gerard DuGalle and Alexei Stukov. The player successfully leads the UED's initial incursions against the Terran Dominion, meeting Samir Duran in the course of one of these missions, who is conscripted as a special advisor by Stukov. The UED soon discovers a psi disruptor on the former Confederate capital Tarsonis and Duran persuades DuGalle to have the anti-Zerg device destroyed, but at the last moment Duran's forces are relieved by a task force under Stukov's command. Proceeding to lay siege to the Dominion throne world of Korhal IV, the UED defeats Arcturus Mengsk's armies in a decisive victory, although Mengsk is rescued at the last moment by Jim Raynor and a small Protoss fleet. The UED tracks Raynor and Mengsk to Aiur, but a surprise attack by the Zerg when Duran moves his forces out of position allows Mengsk and Raynor to escape. Appalled at Duran's actions and DuGalle's unwillingness to see Duran's betrayal, Stukov leaves the fleet with a contingent of troops and reconstructs the psi disruptor on Braxis. Persuaded by Duran that Stukov is attempting to sabotage the UED's mission, DuGalle allows Duran to assassinate Stukov, but is convinced by Stukov's final breaths that Duran is the real enemy, working on behalf of Sarah Kerrigan. Duran unsuccessfully attempts to sabotage the psi disruptor and flees. Using the psi disruptor's capabilities, DuGalle and the UED are able to assault Char and use neurostim drugs to take control of the new Overmind growing there.

In the final episode of Brood War the player reprises the role of the cerebrate in Episode II, but now is under the command of Sarah Kerrigan. Prioritizing the destruction of the psi disruptor, Kerrigan and Samir Duran form a reluctant alliance with Jim Raynor, Fenix, and Arcturus Mengsk. After destroying the psi disruptor in a joint mission, Kerrigan launches a full scale assault on Korhal. The allied forces quickly break the UED's hold over the planet, but in the aftermath Kerrigan strikes out at her allies, destroying a key element of the remaining Dominion forces and killing both Fenix and Edmund Duke. Kerrigan and Duran then arrange a distraction on Shakuras in order to abduct Raszagal. With Raszagal in her possession, Kerrigan is able to blackmail Zeratul into killing the Overmind on Char, bringing all Zerg forces under Kerrigan's control. However, when Zeratul attempts to rescue Raszagal it becomes clear that she has fallen under Kerrigan's influence. Zeratul attempts to save her but eventually kills her after realizing she is beyond redemption. Upon leaving Char, Zeratul attempts to reunite with Artanis, but stumbles across a secret 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 remaining forces of the Dominion, the UED and a vengeful fleet under the command of Artanis. Despite being outnumbered, the Zerg defeat all three fleets and pursue the UED's surviving forces to destruction, leaving Kerrigan as the dominant power in the sector.

Main article: Characters of StarCraft

Brood War continues the story from StarCraft with many of the original characters, with all but a few appearing at one point or another. In addition, Brood War introduces several new characters, most notably Samir Duran, Artanis and Alexei Stukov. Although using more characters, Brood War does not make a point of putting these characters into actual gameplay as StarCraft commonly does, even characters that have been in the player's control in the original - such as Jim Raynor - are not controlled for any substantial time during the campaigns. Instead, there is more focus on the development of the story, with characters only becoming involved in the gameplay in certain circumstances, such as Fenix leading a resource mission on Moria early on in Episode VI. Character progression is also much less certain, with unexpected outcomes such as the development of Duran's character eventually becoming completely shrouded in mystery.

StarCraft: Brood War universally received very positive reviews for the new units, multiplayer maps and various gameplay fixes. IGN praised the expansion as being very well designed, adding "enough to enrich the core gameplay without losing the flavor",^[9] describing the progression of the single player campaigns as "compelling" and "solid". Stating that the expansion was "so good it could be its own game"^[9] IGN awarded Brood War 8/10. GameSpot's review continued this praise, saying that although in the guise of a simple expansion, Brood War "contains all the care, detail, and ingenuity of a true sequel",^[3] furthing this by praising the "seemingly minor but terribly significant" adjustments to the units and also the "superior" nature of the heavily story driven single player campaign.^[3] Labelling the game as "revitalising", GameSpot awarded Brood War a score of 9.1. PC Zone also echoed these views, describing the unit changes as "generally excellent"^[10] and awarding the game 8.9.

Main article: StarCraft professional competition

After its release, StarCraft, along with its expansion Brood War, rapidly grew in popularity in South Korea, establishing a successful pro-gaming scene.^[11] Pro-gamers in South Korea are media celebrities. StarCraft games are broadcast over three television channels dedicated to the professional gaming scene.^[12] Pro-gamers in South Korea have gained television contracts, sponsorships, and tournament prizes, allowing the most famous player, Lim Yo-Hwan (known in-game as SlayerS `BoxeR`),^[13] to gain a fanclub of over half a million people.^[2] Professional gamers dedicate a lot of time playing StarCraft to prepare for the highly competitive leagues. Lee Yun-Yeol, a Terran player known as [Red]NaDa, reported earnings in 2005 of US$200,000.^[14]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2007)

• The official StarCraft: Brood War site at Blizzard Entertainment.
• The StarCraft Compendium on Battle.net

v • d • e Topics related to the StarCraft series
Video games	StarCraft · Insurrection · Retribution · Brood War · Ghost · StarCraft II
Novels	Liberty's Crusade · Shadow of the Xel'Naga · Speed of Darkness · Queen of Blades · Nova · The Dark Templar Saga
Universe	Characters · Locations · Protoss · Psionic technology · Terrans · Xel'Naga · Zerg
Other	StarCraft Adventures · StarCraft the Board Game · StarCraft Campaign Editor · Professional competition

v • d • e Video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment
Diablo series	Diablo · Diablo II (Lord of Destruction)
Racing series	RPM Racing · Rock N' Roll Racing
StarCraft series	StarCraft (Brood War) · StarCraft II
Warcraft series	Warcraft · Warcraft II (Beyond the Dark Portal) · Warcraft III (The Frozen Throne) World of Warcraft (The Burning Crusade · Wrath of the Lich King)
Other games	Blackthorne · Lost Vikings · Death and Return of Superman · Justice League Task Force