10 Humongous Video Games You'll Completely Lose Yourself In
2. StarCraft II
As RTS games go, StarCraft remains the master of them all. With the original inspiring major sport-event-like tournaments across the world, particularly in Korea, the sequel has continued with a winning formula. Whether the player takes control of the mechanised Humans, the biological Zerg, or the psychic Protoss, each army is perfectly balanced against its foes.
If you're like me and only play offline because you can't match the speed of online players, StarCraft 2 has a huge story that spans the three races, having completed with the release of Legacy of the Void, and was the first RTS to make me care about characters since the C&C Red Alert series.
However, if you can match the pace of online players, this is where the real fun begins. Once you can build your base quickly enough, the troops are so finely balanced that strong tactics are the only way to be victorious. From spying on enemy developments and countering their troops with your own, to deliberately picking off their miners, slowing their resource gathering, and therefore the size of their army, the game allows for creative strategies every match. With every player utilising different strategies, and the expansions offering new troops, skills and maps, StarCraft 2 remains fresh with every play.
The servers are still busy and, if StarCraft 2 is anything like its predecessor, will continue to be for years to come. StarCraft isn't a game; it's a way of life.