Blizzard Entertainment has some really good games like Diablo and Warcraft. They came out with a strategic combat game called StarCraft. Then they came out with an expansion pack for StarCraft that they called Brood War. Now Blizzard has put both of the games together, along with strategy guides on both games from Prima Publishing, into a package they call StarCraft Battle Chest.

The storyline behind StarCraft goes something like this. There are three different races of people trying to carve out an existence in the universe. The races are the Terrans (earth descendants?), Zerg (strange mutants) and the Protoss (very smart, highly evolved). These three races are at war with each other to conquer the universe.

The game is similar in look and feel to games like Dark Reign and Total Annihilation.

You can play as any of the races. Each race has a battle campaign that includes ten missions. You learn about each race during the course of the campaign. This insight might help you win the campaign.

The Terrans don't have a huge amount of advanced technologies so they rely on strategy and strong will to get them through the missions. Some of the fighting units include flamethrowers, tanks and air cover fighters like the BattleCruiser.

The Zerg are a particularly nasty kind of being. They go from planet to planet, plundering and grabbing up the most viable beings to interbreed. This means that the Zerg are a Heinz 57 variety of species. They are that smart but excel in battle due to the sheer size of their armies.

The Protoss have some special powers that allow them some advantages in battle. Using a warping type of power, structures and battle units can move from place to place by just having a probe set a marker at the destination. The powers also give the Protoss an almost force field type effect that makes it hard to kill them.

If you don't want to do the campaign there are stand alone missions try out. Mix and match the scenarios to make the game more interesting.

In Brood Wars, the battle for the universe is still going on. This sequel to StarCraft is more than just an extra mission or two. It is almost a complete game in itself.

Brood Wars has brand new missions, new fighting units, cool music and some pretty nifty new terrain.

Brood Wars is one big campaign. This campaign has 26 different missions. The storyline is brought out through the mission briefings and during the missions themselves. The campaign starts with the Protoss and ends with the Zergs. There is a lot of fighting going on in between.

The two books that come with StarCraft Battle Chest are from Prima Publishing. The books are StarCraft Prima's Official Strategy Guide and StarCraft Expansion Set: Brood War Prima?s Official Strategy Guide. Both of the books were written by Bart Farkas.

Each book has derailed information on all the races. You learn about what the weakness and strengths are for each race. Each book has detailed maps to follow. They also cover every mission and give tips on how to successfully complete each one.

The system requirements for the StarCraft Battle Chest aren't too bad. You only need a Pentium 90 PC to play the games. Of course you'll need either Windows 95 or NT 4.0. And a 2x CD-ROM drive, along with a SVGA video setup is necessary as well. If you're going to be playing over the net, a 14.4 modem is a must have.

StarCraft Battle Chest is a great strategy game set. It has hours of strategy and fighting bundled up in one package.

You can get StarCraft Battle Chest at your local software retailer. The pricing may vary but remember what you're getting for the money ( two strategy guide, the original game and the expansion set).

For more information about StarCraft Battle Chest or other Blizzard Entertainment products, visit their web site. It can be found at www.blizzard.com.