StarCraft II: Revelations 17:16

Being the ex-high school quarterback, prom king, backwards-hat-from-Abercrombie-wearing Soc that I am, I couldn’t resist purchasing the newly released and long-awaited computer game: Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty.

This game, although demonstrating kryptonite-like properties in the presence of pretty girls, is vying to replace World of Warcraft for the new online Nerd Mecca. And I use the term ‘Nerd Mecca’ not only to convey the fanatical nature of the Geek civilization, but because while playing Starcraft, I came across several subtle, yet undeniable, religious allegories.

Let’s look at a scenario:

An individual of noble character and high moral standings is betrayed by those around them, and sacrificed for the sake of humanity. This individual is then brought back in a famous second coming, developing a mass of faithful followers, who humbly serve their overseer.

I of course refer not to Jesus, but to Lieutenant Sarah Kerrigan. Her followers, like Christians, were fast to support their (over)lord, and violent conflicts ensued with an older, yet less militarized monastic order known as the Protoss (clearly an allusion to Orthodox Judaism). Additionally, like most Christians, the Zerg swarm functions in a hive-mind capacity, infecting or destroying all who oppose it without hesitation.

Even the two main symbols (the Christian cross, and the Zerglian hydralisk) display unmistakable similarities in form and meaning. Further investigation into the followers of the two factions also shows considerable overlap (e.g., amorphous blobs full of hot and putrid gases).

I’m not sure if the folks at Blizzard studios intended for their games to channel the spirit of the Father (The Overind), the Son (Kerrigan, Queen of Blades) and the holy Ghost (pre-Zerg, Lt. Sarah Kerrigan) but they failed to pull the wool over THIS gamer’s eyes...