Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: StarCraft: Ghost

Written by Chris Reiter on April 21, 2003

First Impressions: So frightening to the bone, you'll scream yourself silly...er wait, wrong ghost!

Lots of crazy concepts have come into realization in the gaming world as of late. In one particular instance, it wasn't until the PC half of gaming's overall media were stunned to learn that the beloved, highly praised real-time strategy game, StarCraft, was announced to bear a successor to its name. And by successor I mean completely reinvented action release, and by action I mean just that. The StarCraft strategy universe that has dominated the insides of many persons' PCs for the last five years will never be the same again: because Blizzard is finally taking hold of its award winning franchise, and letting this console generation have it for their very own in this fall's upcoming stealth action release, StarCraft: Ghost.

While there isn't a lot to say about StarCraft: Ghost's plot, it is known that the game will be completely story-driven. Nova is a highly trained, certifiable, deadly killing machine. Twenty years in both physical and metaphysical bodily training has given Nova the ability to be her own Terran Ghost -- the military's black-ops specialist in engaging enemies through espionage and strategic warfare, without much help from fellow operatives. Aiding Nova though will be a short supply of allies on the field to help keep her going, and to help her in the destruction of wiping out the Zerg, a feared extraterrestrial species to the human race, of which will guard the bases you'll have to infiltrate and ultimately destroy.

Many a time, action games today don't necessarily always strive to offer something unique for the presentation table, when it comes time for the judge to see what each game's got. Lucky for us, Nova's goodie bag will be full for the fall harvest. For anyone who's played StarCraft on the PC before, ghosts are merely super humans capable of cloaking themselves in invisibility for a limited period of time using their Psi properties. Unlike the game with almost the same name, Ghost will be more inclined to offer upgraded Psi powers that you'll eventually learn throughout the playing field's boundaries. Amongst Nova's abilities, she'll have at her disposal the sneak and silent killing tactics of stealth; the faster than anything and anyone measures of slowing down time; and the eyes of a hawk...who can go the distance with both ultra violet and infra red vision. And while these aren't the only Psi abilities Nova will adapt to on her quest for kicking ass, you'll just have to wait it out to find out until Blizzard unlocks the secret of what they'll have in store for Ghost.

Each of the Psi powers bears a different effect on the gameplay in turn, as the scenarios throughout the gameplay will change. Where Nova's cloaking ability is best used for slipping through dark areas, the enemy can counter this threat with either lights or sounds. Much like in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Nova will come equipped with an energy bar that detects the balance between how much cover she really has. Making time move like molasses on the other hand will borrow an element from Max Payne's bullet time feature -- where Nova can slip in and out of areas normally, but the enemy can't, which gives her the upper hand in any fight situation. Last but not least, Nova's sight properties will come in handy as the player will be able to learn that it's not just a lot of sneaking around you're doing, but actually disposing of enemy threats. Where Nova's super vision will be used best, is if and when enemies might have the opportunity to cloak themselves invisible from regular sight...or even to check up on objects from afar that couldn't have been done otherwise.

With more moves than a kung fu master, Nova should be able to blend in (even compete, if not topple) perfectly with today's top of the line action oriented sneak and shoot titles. Double jumping, wall scaling, hanging, sniping (while positioned upside down too), sneaking, hiding, ladder sliding techniques will come in handy next to Nova's offensive list of grenade tossing (ten kinds including light, heat seeking, and even ones that can stick to the backs of enemies), enemy bossing (whether you're using a handheld gun or a turret, Nova can rain on any enemy's parade with a hail of gunfire), and calling all the shots (a very interesting skill of Nova's will be in commanding allies to target enemy bases with nuclear missiles from orbit). But with a diversity of enemy types and highly intelligent ones at that (some who are well guarded will improve their thinking habits when they discover an ally of theirs has been dealt with, and will begin hunting for your carcass, while others may just hit the alarm until you've got everyone on your case), Ghost won't be your typical straightforward "kill them all" type of action game -- because they're able to think, you'll have to as well.

Forget what you know of those tiny pixilated visuals seen in Blizzard's StarCraft PC edition...StarCraft: Ghost is set to launch as the first 3D stylized "next generation" basis for Blizzard. The expansive Ghost world will be made up of around 30 missions, guiding you through hallways of detail in lights and darks, animated fog, shimmering rain, warped Psi power effects (imagine Nova's transparency constructed in 3D, able to pass through variable areas of flame or shadowy effects in a level seamlessly), and enemies that'll sport the works -- lifelike movements with highly specificity strewn bodies. What more could you want from a strategy game gone action, which could just be one of the more stellar dressed games of the year?