Blizzard Entertainment has crafted yet another fantastic game for their legacy.

“StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void” is the final addition to the “StarCraft II” saga and fifth game in the series. It is not clear if this game is an expansion or a sequel, but it has more than enough content to be considered a full game and can be played without owning the previous StarCraft II entries.

It is good to see a real-time strategy game release because they have been slowly dying off. The genre has a player gather resources and build a base and army to defeat other foes doing the same. StarCraft is arguably the best of its kind, so “StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void” had high expectations. Fortunately, the game lives up to the hype and delivers a great experience.

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This time around, players control the high-tech Protoss race and their leader Artanis on a quest to defeat the cosmic being and dark God Amon. The story is grandiose and cliche, but fit well within the fantasy and even had some pretty emotional moments. The ending was somewhat vague, and almost too happy, but as a lifelong StarCraft fan, I was pleased.

The campaign is well done and has more than 20 missions. As expected from StarCraft, the presentation is top-notch and gameplay is smooth and engaging. Like the previous two StarCraft II games, players have control of their mission order, upgrades and abilities. The decisions add variety and help keep the game from getting stale.

Legacy of the Void continues the Starcraft II trend of mission diversity. Unlike other games in the genre, no two missions are exactly alike. Furthermore, there is always a bonus objective in every mission that grants rewards upon completion. My favorite mission had me build a base on a moveable platform that I could control at will.

StarCraft has always had a strong multiplayer component, and is arguably the game that started the professional E-Sports scene. Players can still fight against each other or against computer-controlled enemies in various game modes and settings. This is as strong as ever and, whether playing competitively or casually, there is something here for everyone.

New units for each of the three playable races of Terran, Zerg and Protoss have been added, giving players new tools to play with and keeping the game fresh.

A few new modes are also introduced to give players more ways to play.

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The best is co-op mode. Players could always play with their friends cooperatively in previous entries, but now there is a full game mode. Two players can choose from six different heroes and work together on a series of distinct missions. Upon completion, players receive experience for the hero played, who can unlock powerful rewards as they levels up. This is a great addition to the series and doing each mission with a friend can be a blast.However, it does feel a little bare-boned. The missions are rather short and players are limited to only five missions. Hopefully they can add more in the future or improve upon the idea in a future StarCraft game.

Comparatively, “Legacy of the Void” is the second best game of the StarCraft II trilogy and there are not many flaws to speak of. 

“StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void” is a great addition to arguably the best real-time strategy game on the market. It will undoubtedly makes fans of the series happy and keep them playing for years to come.

4.5 out of 5

Grant Meyer can be reached at [email protected]