I have loved StarCraft ever since the first version came out back in 1999. I've played it for 10 years, and this year excitedly watched, with all of you, the unveiling of both the beta and final versions (hey, we even got our cool Twitter background thanks to Starcraft II).
While you can't play StarCraft II on your phone, there is a variety of applications on the Android Market aimed at providing stats and other information that should help you be on the winning side of "gg" at the end of the game. Let's take a look at the best of them.
StarStats
What's good
- better designed than others - StarStats probably has the best overall design compared to other SC II apps out there
- detailed explanations of all skills and abilities
- shows various unit stats, such as what other units it is strong and weak against, and what the build prerequisites are
- battle support (1v1 only) - I haven't seen this anywhere else - you can set up a 1v1 match between any 2 units in the game, watch them fight in real time, and see who will win. This is a very original feature, though I'd love to see support for more than just 1v1
- popular YouTube SC II casters - you can watch all the popular SC II casters, such as Day9, Husky, Psy, HD, and others, right from the app, and it even tells you when there are new videos
- tech tree - shows you all building and unit prerequisites at a glance on one page
- free
What's not so good
- no building info (other than the Requires section), only units
- not cross-linked - you can't click on units in the Strong/Weak against section and go to those units' info pages
- requires an extra click to see more detailed descriptions of each ability, weapon, upgrade, etc
- no hotkey info
Overall, this is probably my favorite SC II app, though it's, unfortunately, limited in several departments. The absence of building info makes it incomplete but the battle and video features balance it out and propel right back to the top of my chart.
Download
Screenshots
StarGamer
What's good
- detailed explanations of all skills and abilities
- shows various unit stats, such as what other units it is strong and weak against, and what the build prerequisites are
- doesn't require an extra click to see detailed explanations of skills and abilities
- all units and buildings are cross-linked and clickable
- has building stats
- hotkey info
- design is basic but easy on the eyes
- free
What's not so good
- design is pretty basic and plain (this is both a positive and a negative)
- no advanced features
StarGamer is a very solid app with information laid out in an easy to navigate and read fashion. The design, while very basic, is actually easy on the eyes. There are no advanced features - just all the unit stats that you need and nothing more.
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Screenshots
SC II Mini Armory
What's good
- detailed explanations of all skills and abilities
- shows various unit stats, including build prerequisites
- has building stats
- hotkey info
- free
What's not so good
- requires an extra click to see more detailed descriptions of each ability, weapon, upgrade, etc
- not cross-linked - you can't click on units in the Strong/Weak against section and go to those units' info pages
- does not have Strong Against/Weak Against stats
- building stats are not clickable, so you won't see what they do or what units they produce
- design is a bit all over the place, using too many colors
- ad supported
SC II Mini Armory is a decent SC II app, but it's missing too many features compared to other apps, making it feel incomplete.
Download
Screenshots
Starcraft II Database
What's good
- an easy to view matrix-style layout showing the amount of minerals/gas/supply and build time
- very detailed explanations of all skills and abilities - has more stats than any other app
- shows various unit stats, such as what other units it is strong and weak against, and what the build prerequisites are
- changelog , so that we can see exactly what's been updated lately. I love changelogs!
- free
What's not so good
- while this app has probably more details about everything than any other app, getting to those details requires quite a few clicks, sometimes 2 or 3. For example to get to a description of a unit's skill, you need to click on the unit, then the Skills button, and then the skill you are interested in.
- no hotkey info
Starcraft II Database is very comprehensive but can get a bit convoluted if you want to get stats quickly. However, the matrix layout is very easy to read, if you're looking for information on how much things cost or how long they take to build.
Download
Screenshots
Conclusion
I've taken a look at 4 of the best and highest reviewed StarCraft II apps on the Market. In the order of usefulness, I would probably rank StarStats and StarGamer sharing the #1 spot, followed by Starcraft II Database, and then SC II Mini Armory.
If you have another favorite or think I've missed something, drop a line in the comments.
Bonus
Here is a complete list of SC II unit quotations. What's your favorite?
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