Starcraft: Ghost

From Blizzard Entertainment, the creators of Warcraft series, comes the next Starcraft title - full preview right here.

	Version Xbox, GCN, PS2	Developer Nihilistic	Publisher Blizzard	Genre Action

By Rick Larson

Just about every gamer has heard the name Blizzard Entertainment. Its remarkable track record boasts huge hit series such as Warcraft and Diablo. Blizzard is also the creator of another smash hit, Starcraft. Many PC gamers hail Starcraft as the best RTS game to date. Its compelling storyline and creative races have sucked millions of gamers into the Starcraft universe. For years fans of the series have been begging for a sequel to their beloved game. Finally Blizzard has answered, with Starcraft: Ghost.

This game may not be what most fans of the series were expecting however. SC Ghost is not a sequel, will not available on the PC, and isn't even a RTS game. SC Ghost is a third person shooter that takes place after the events of the expansion Starcraft: Brood War. Gamers are left to take the role of Nova, an elite tactical soldier known as a ghost. Her abilities to not only uses weapons and hand to hand combat but also psionic powers make her a lethal warrior that is ready for anything.

From what has been shown so far SC Ghost is looking like a crossover between Splinter Cell and Metroid Prime. >From that description you can probably tell this is a good thing. Nova will be very much like Sam Fisher in terms of gameplay. The game revolves mainly around stealth. Nova will be able to hide in shadows, sneak silently, hang on bars and rails, and climb walls in order to stay out of harms way.

She also has something that even Sam doesn't manage to fit into his tactical field suite, the ability to turn invisible. This allows Nova to sneak around unseen, using her psionic powers. Ghosts are trained from an early age to harness their psionic powers. These powers give them numerous special abilities ranging from super speed to creating blades of psionic energy and even cloaking herself as mentioned before. This adds a unique feel to the gameplay.

SC Ghost won't leave you quite as restrained as Splinter Cell did in the action area however. Nova will be equipped with a C-20A rifle. This little guy can handle various styles of shooting such as your standard rapid fire, to sniping, along with the ability to fire multiple types of grenade rounds. This weapon will be a big help throughout the game depending on how it is used. To increase the effectiveness of her weapon, Nova also has the ability to scan enemies while in sniper mode in order to find the weakness of her adversaries. The sniper mode also allows players to do special "call downs" which include a bombing run by wraiths, a tank drop, along with several others helpful attacks. Of course everyone's favorite nuke drop has returned. What would a ghost be without the ability to call down a nuke?

So far the graphics are looking amazing. They seem to have that Metroid Prime flare. All the worlds are lush and full of detail. Some levels leave you in confined buildings while others are absolutely massive and actually have huge battles raging across them in real time. Gamers will actually find themselves going through areas that remind them of levels they have played on the RTS versions.

Every area has been recreated perfectly and now allows gamers to see all of their favorite units and structures at their actual scale. This really makes the Starcraft universe come to life. Nova will also be able to interact with many of her surroundings. Players will now be able to take control of all the vehicles offered in the original game and use them hands on. Having the ability to drive around a siege tanks will fulfill the dreams of many SC fans.

SC Ghost is looking amazing but still has several months to go before its release. We still have a long wait before we get our hands on the final product but the ever nearing E3 should bring us more of a taste of what the game has in store. Will Blizzard manage to take their RTS classic and seamlessly turn it into a third person shooter hit(which happens to be new territory for the company)? Also, how will fans take to the game when it is only being released on the three next generation console and not on PC? Only time will tell.