Starcraft is a strategy game made by Blizzard Entertainment as a followup of the hit Warcraft.  Starcraft takes place far into the future as three distinct races fight for control of the galaxy.

Sometime in the future, the world united under one government.  This government shipped all criminals in three huge space transports.  While the men on board were in chronostasis, the ships navigation systems went down.  The three ships crash landed on a group of remote planets.  The criminals set up colonies on these planets unaware that the people on the other ships had survived.  When the colonies became sophisticated enough to have space flight, they discovered the other people and wars brok out.

There was once a large extremely sophisticated race called the Xel Naga.  These beings took pride in creating other races for their own enjoyment.  One of their best accomplishments was a race called the Protoss that they made on the planet Aiur.  These lifeforms took enjoyment in learning.  They became very intellectual and began using psychic powers.  The Xel Naga decided to reveal themselves to the Protoss.  This was very good for the new race.  The Xel Naga taught the Protoss much and both races lived in harmony.  Then a war broke out and the Xel Naga were forced to leave.  The Protoss continued to prosper after the war.  Eventually they found the feeble Terrans and by their law, they began to protect them from invaders.

After the war, the Xel Naga thought that they had failed with the Protoss.  They traveled to a planet called Char to begin another race.  This new race was completely different from the Protoss.  One being called the Overmind controlled everything.  The Zerg would take over the different races on the planet and, in a similar fasion to the Borg on Star Trek, they would learn everything that other race knew.  The Xel Naga was very pleased with the rate at which the new race was progressing so they decided not to interfere.  Eventually the Zerg found a race on the planet that knew space travel.  After the Zerg conquered them, they flew out of the atmosphere and found the Xel Naga waiting.  They caught the Xel Naga off guard as they attacked.  They killed the Xel Naga and sent out some drones into the far reaches of space to try and discover new races to assimilate.  The drones discovered the Terrans and the Protoss so the Zerg set out on a long journey with one goal in mind, search and destroy.
 
 

In this game you have the choice to control the ravenous Zerg, the intellectual Protoss, or the Terrans who just don't know what's going on other than their own civil wars.  It has a good plot and the single player is good (except that in some Terran missions you are fighting Terrans which is just gay).  There are a couple of downsides though.  Compared to other games, Starcraft has very few units.  It actually has a total (including all three races and the expansion set Brood War) of 35 units.  12 for the Zerg and Protoss but only 11 for the Terrans.  The game also has an online multiplayer called Battle Net.  You can play games with other people or just chat with friends.  If you like this type of game I would definately buy it.