Then there is the TA factor. Ever since the arrival of the Cavedog juggernaut, with its realistic use of 3D terrain and whizz bango polygon graphics there's been concern over Starcraft's reliance on old fashioned (but very nice looking) 2D sprite based graphics.

There's little doubt that the whole non-3D thing stops Starcraft from grabbing your balls like TA did on its virgin run. While Warcraft 2 was many a gamer's fave, the horror scenario was Starcraft being a light sequel to its forebear with only nominal updating.

It's initially a nightmare come true when first playing the Terran side, as they are very similar to Warcraft 2 in functionality even down to their building upgrade path. All of these symptoms are just part of the "30 minute Starcraft syndrome." Play for more that half and hour and it's clear that Blizzard have produced a game that demolishes the current plague of crap RTS games and stands as a very bright light for all of us looking for the highly sought after gamer addiction factor.

Game storylines are quite often dodgy affairs, just thrown together to serve as some thinly veiled excuse to kill lots of onscreen baddies and hopefully have a good time in the process. Starcraft's plot is brilliant and makes for the best single player campaign yet seen in the world of RTS games.

As Powerplay reviewers we understand that spoiling crucial elements of a story will lead to unpleasant spanking type events courtesy of Ben's dark side, so I'll tread carefully here.

On the edge of the galaxy, lies a secluded sector of space colonized by descendants of Earth criminals that were long ago given the deep space heave-ho. They're a nasty bunch that are plagued by vicious civil wars. The Zerg are even nastier, a brutal mix of Star Treks's Borg, HR Geiger's Alien and the contents of your handkerchief only insane. The Protoss are an ancient race fuelled by incredible technology and powerful psychic abilities. While the humans are busy backstabbing each other, they feel pledged to doing some asswhooping on the Zerg.

There are ten missions for each of the three races, and when played in order it's like being involved in a wonderfully written sci-fi epic. There are heroes to protect, intrigue to uncover and lots of surprises along the way. I'm very guilty of often skipping single player campaigns in previous RTS titles and heading straight for multi player land. Starcraft's story had me totally absorbed, nicely done Blizzard.