StarCraft II is a trilogy of products based around 3 campaigns -- terran, zerg and protoss. The first unit is StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. The second is StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. The third is StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void.

The first unit (Wings of Liberty) is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment as a sequel to the award-winning 1998 video game StarCraft. Released on July 27, 2010, the game runs on both Microsoft Windows and Mac operating systems. However, with the help of Wine, StarCraft II can also be played under GNU/Linux distributions.

Is There A StarCraft 2 Unit Guide?

Yes, there is. However, you might be wondering why you might require separate unit guides. The reason is the game itself is unitized. Blizzard Entertainment chose a tripartite solution to circumvent technical challenges uncovered in its effort to create satisfying, content-rich campaigns. This division into 3 campaign units insured that all releases included movies, sets, props, characters, missions (including Easter egg missions). This allowed Blizzard to develop specific story arcs, missions and dialog for each character.

Each campaign has between 26-30 total missions (including branching missions) and enjoys a set (rather than cliff-hanger) ending. The three campaigns do not occur simultaneously. Rather, they occur in chronological order, each campaign beginning immediately upon conclusion of its predecessor.

The Storyline

Set in the 26th century in a distant part of the Milky Way galaxy, the game is built around three species: the Terrans, human exiles from Earth; the Zerg, a race of insectoid genetic assimilators; and the Protoss, a species with vast psionic power. The unit/campaign Wings of Liberty focuses on the Terrans, while the expansion units (Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void) focus on the Zerg and Protoss, respectively.

The game is set four years after events in the original StarCraft Brood War, and follows the exploits of Jim Raynor as he leads an insurgent group against the autocratic Terran Dominion. The game includes both new and returning characters and locations from the original game.

Can You Play StarCraft 2 Without Knowing StarCraft, the Original?

Yes, you can. The story has been designed so that no prior knowledge is required to enjoy it. However, to get up to speed rapidly you might benefit from investing in a quality SC2 guide such as the Shokz guide. Without a doubt this guide is superior in quality to other guides and provides far more insight than can be gleaned from free guides and forums. I recommend it without reservation.