Few video game creations creep me out as much as the Zerg race. As I detailed in an earlier post, they are bug-aliens that earn their power in numbers and rapid mutation. Comparatively weak, there are basic restrictions on unit creation that make for a very unique type of play style. All Zerg units are hatched from larvae birthed out of the basic building, the Hatchery. The hatchery will only produce three larvae at once, and it takes time for them to regenerate. Similarly, all buildings are created from Drones, the basic mining unit. The drone gives its body up to the creation of the building, changing its basic structure in the creation of the building. Zerg are also limited by a substance called creep, which spreads out wherever zerg buildings are created. All buildings except the hatchery must be created on creep. All Zerg units also receive movement bonuses while on the substance (except drones).
The basic melee unit, the zergling, is inexpensive, very fast and very weak. Their power lies in overwhelming numbers. Zergling groups can become very intimidating, as two zerglings spawn from a single larva.
Starcraft II introduced a new unit called the Queen to help overcome some of the Zerg deficiencies. Queens are inexpensive, and can attack ground and air units. Using energy, they can stimulate four additional larvae to be produced each time the spell is used. A hatchery can support up to 19 larvae. Queens also produce creep tumors, capable of spreading creep. These tumors can only be created on existing creep, but each subsequent tumor can produce a tumor of its own, allowing the swarm to sink its grasp deeper into the planet it is on.
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