Thursday 18 / April / 2024
Video games and sci-fi shows have always had great, slightly obscure civilisations, which we remember long after the series has faded from popular culture. With Star Wars, it was the Twi’leks, the Ewoks and the Wookies, while Star Trek fans will always remember the Klingons. With StarCraft, there is no bigger definition of ‘cool’ than the advanced Protoss.
Set in a realm where space travel is now considered the norm, the Protoss are considered to be the oldest and most technologically advanced race in the Milky Way Galaxy. Their eons of adapting to the developments of the universe around them and the harsh lessons they have learned through millennia of internal strife as they attempted to unite their homeworld of Aiur, have made them one of the wisest civilisations to roam the galaxy, making their home world a beacon of progress, and the envy of the stars.
While the Protoss are excellent fighters and have developed technology so advanced that their ships are powered by their own suns (yes, their own suns), that is not what makes them a civilisation the rest of the universe aspires to be. All Protoss are bound by the Khala, a sacred mental union of their every thought and emotion, which means all Protoss think as one, act as one, and behave as one, and it is this unification of their thoughts that not just sees them put the wellbeing of their planet above themselves, but also means they can communicate instantly.
To them, the Terrans — the equivalent of the humans of our world — are primitive beings, despite having mastered spaceflight and faster-than-light travel. How can you trust a species that communicates through mouths? is a phrase you would hear often while colluding with them. And ultimately, you will have to.
The final chapter of this epic science-fiction trilogy, Legacy of the Void sees the war that has been raging throughout the series come home, both literally and metaphorically. Aiur has been ravaged by the Zerg, the third of the civilisations in this game, an anthropomorphic insectoid race that have an overwhelming desire to wipe-out all life in the galaxy. Using sheer numbers, the Zerg have wrenched the Protoss from their beloved home world, and the legacy of the Protoss as we know it now hangs in the balance. Fortunately for gamers everywhere, the galaxy’s most ancient civilisation isn’t going to give up without a fight; a fight that will transcend every other conflict the Protoss have ever been involved in.
Blizzard Entertainment has always given users not just a fantastic gaming experience, but an absorbing story and fun game play to match as well, and that has only been further augmented in their latest offering.
It is one that inherently wants you to root for the good guys, because you want the Protoss to be happy after they suffered through so much. Legacy of the Void is not just about the Protoss retaking their homeworld. It is about helping them reclaim their legacy. —[email protected]
The Short and Skinny
Name: StarCraft II – Legacy of the Void
Genre: Sci Fi/Real Time Strategy
Producer: Blizzard Entertainment
What’s it About: Command the Galaxy’s oldest civilisation as they attempt to retake their homeworld, and with it, their legacy.
Where to buy: Blizzard.com (For PC and Mac)
IGN Rating: 8.9/10
