If you’re anywhere near being a gamer then you most probably have heard of Blizzard Entertainment’s Starcraft real time strategy (RTS) game. It features not only an engaging storyline but also online play that is famed and respected as one of today’s RTS standards – and it’s still being played around the world. If you’ve had your fill of Zerg, Protoss, and Terran action before, you’ll be sure to get the fever all over again with Starcraft 2.
A hefty and quite effective teaser campaign culminated in Starcraft 2’s release date late last July, and since then it’s been a major success. Starcraft 2 picks up where the first game left off, so expect at least just as much storyline and plot twists in this game as in the first one. But probably what markedly separates Starcraft 2 from Starcraft is all the amusing Easter eggs and secrets that make it even more entertaining, as if the storyline and kick ass multiplayer wasn’t enough.
Starcraft 2 secrets range from character cameos from other Blizzard titles and ludicrously famous Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) to simple storyline improvement factors to secret missions. Let’s start with the small stuff.
Various references to the real world added great value to the Starcraft 2 universe, notably its addition of real life songs to a jukebox aboard the Terran main character Jim Rainor’s ship, the Hyperion. Songs like “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Suspicious Minds,” and “Raw Power” can be found there. The Transformer’s Optimus Prime was also referenced in the first mission as a hovering semi in the map. It’s design and color are noticeably similar to the live action movie’s Prime. Unfortunately it doesn’t get up and fight like you’d want it to. It seems that Apple’s affinity to naming things starting with “i” remains a trend to jab at in Blizzard, as one of the amusing Starcraft 2 secrets you’ll find aboard the Hyperion comes in the form of an “iPistol” commercial on the monitors of the ship.
Probably more amusing than the aforementioned Starcraft 2 secrets are the character cameos. An unmutated Metroid may be in one of the random test tubes in a co-op map or you might have noticed the Hyperion cantina’s holographic erotic dancer’s moves bearing some uncanny resemblance to the MMORPG World of Warcraft’s Night Elf dance animation. Nova of the cancelled Starcraft: Ghost also appears briefly in the game as well as Grunty the Murloc—a Blizzard promotional pet from World of Warcraft yet again. Diablo also gets his cameo in the first mission, fittingly on a lava planet.
And one of the most promising and entertaining secrets in Starcraft 2 is the secret mission you can get during the mission “Media Blitz.” Apparently there’s a science facility that spouts out confidential documents that lead to a secret mission when you destroy it. The mission adds all the more value to the storyline particularly Raynor’s and the rebellion’s fight against Emperor Mengsk’s rule.
Most of these amusing secrets require a keen eye and a decent amount of graphic processing power, so you may want to make sure your graphics card can dish out as much detail as it can during the game. As for finding these secrets and others that are only probably waiting to be found, that’s all up to you.
