Starcraft Ghost

Nick previews this enigmatic spectre of a console title for your reading pleasure.

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There are relatively few sure bets in life, fewer still in the games industry. Even the most sure footed of studios manage to release a bit of tat now and again. There are a rare few developers, however, that manage to release classic after classic, and moreover make each game replete with franchise-like potential. Blizzard are the masters of this, with each of their main franchises spouting side games and expansion packs galore. Both Warcraft and Diablo have produced sequels and expansions, not to mention the forthcoming MMORPG World of Warcraft. Such is the potential benefit when a developer pays as much attention to the mythos surrounding the game as to the game play itself.

Whatever the success of these games, however, the most popular Blizzard game, in terms of critical acclaim and financial success (the crazy Koreans are still playing it to death, literally) has to be Starcraft. It was the first RTS to offer three significantly different playable races, each with not only different units but requiring different styles of play. The cinematics were of breathtaking quality, and the storyline was deeply engaging. With only a solitary official expansion pack released, rumours about when Blizzard would revisit their favourite franchise abounded on the internet, and the smart money was on a sequel using the then developing Warcraft 3 engine. That may or may not yet come to pass (my guess is that it will, come next year), but Blizzard surprised everyone by announcing that their next visit to the Starcraft universe would not only be a non-RTS, but would be console exclusive.

Once the internet-dwelling Blizzard faithful had got over their predictable (if somewhat misguided) outrage, debate turned instead to considering what kind of game this non-RTS Starcraft offering would be. Starcraft Ghost, co-developed by Blizzard and Nihilistic and published by Blizzard Entertainment, is probably best described as a story driven tactical third-person stealth game, with elements of action and strategy. Sounds impressive, eh?

The protagonist is Nova, the eponymous Ghost, as she performs operations against all three of the Starcraft factions - renegade Terrans, Protoss and the Zerg. Nova will have all of the abilities of her RTS counterparts, plus more. Counting on an ability to turn invisible for periods to bypass or escape from hostile forces, Nova will have a variety of tools to achieve her objectives. There will, of course, be the ubiquitous sniper rifle - no covert op would leave home without it - as well as a variety of available ammunition and grenade types for different situations, not to mention other weapons such as the Gauss Rifle and Perdition Flamethrower from the original. Another inclusion from the RTS game is the ghost lockdown ability, which was used in the original Starcraft to immobilise an enemy vehicle for a period of time, and is included with the same function here. Nova will doubtless come across the full gamut of Starcraft vehicle types, and the lockdown ability allows her to render these powerless.

Nova's missions will of course involve a great deal of infiltrating and generally being sneaky. To this end, she is able to perform all kinds of acrobatic tricks that any self-respecting covert-operative would want to have in their repertoire. Nova will climb, swing, hang and leap with the best of them. As with that most seminal of stealth games, Thief, Nova will have a mechanism for determining how visible she is at any time, and will be most effective when dispatching enemies silently from behind. Nova will be able to eliminate such enemies quietly, Tenchu-style.

Nova will unlock new abilities as the levels progress. She will not only be able to cloak, but to enter a Max-Payne style bullet time mode to line up difficult shots or sprint past enemy defences and dodge attacks. She'll also be able to use sight powers to detect hidden areas or cloaked enemy units. In addition, Nova will interact with friendly Terran forces throughout the game. Sometimes this will involve fighting alongside friendly units, or else calling in a siege tank or battle cruiser bombardment. She will even be able to glaze a target for nuclear strike later in the game.

The purported game play, whilst primarily stealth-based, offers many other rewards. Nova will be able to pilot a number of vehicles in-game, including the Terran Goliath. The graphics are undeniably Starcraft, and attempt to portray the Starcraft world at the foot-soldier level. The units are readily recognisable, and the buildings and larger vehicles are impressively sized. Whilst many have voiced concerns at the passing of such an important franchise to a largely unknown developer, Blizzard are at pains to point out their faith in what has been produced thus far. If Blizzard can replicate even half of their PC success in the console arena, they will have opened up a massive new market for their various franchises. Blizzard games have invariably delivered despite their anti-hype, and I'd wager this will be no exception.

By Nick McCrea