Terran Mission 1: Wasteland
This is quite obviously a simple tutorial level, and not much more. There's a decent catch in that our troops and SCVs start out on the opposite side of the map from the base, and the debut of Jim Raynor is of course extremely important, but aside from that, really not much. I suppose you could fool around sending troops exploring and setting up Spider Mines, but there's really no point and it only prolongs the mission.
Also, according to the mission, you must train 10 marines, but the game only requires possession of 10 marines, meaning that the 5 starting marines also count. What the heck is this?
Terran Mission 2: Backwater Station
The objective here is to "eradicate the Zerg infestation", which sounds about as generic as they go. This mission marks the debut of bunkers, academies, and firebats, and is also the first mission where engineering bays and presumably comsat stations can be built (not sure on the latter though). Resources are very limited at the starting base, so after making sure I tasked 3 SCVs on minerals and 1 on gas, I took Raynor and 12 marines up north to find a Terran base which completely defected to my control, and this is where the aforementioned buildings and units first appear in the whole campaign.
"Man, is that ground alive?"
Afterwards I rounded up 12 marines and firebats each, along with Raynor, and rampaged throughout the Zerg areas until the mission was over, with a group of whoever had higher numbers (usually firebats) heading in first with everyone else coming in from behind. Thing is, the Zerg were living off of an Infested Command Center (which I'm told can train kamikaze footmen in the main game), and its destruction sets off the first major personal conflict of the game's amazing story - that of Jim Raynor against Edmund Duke (and thus the Confederacy as a whole). This mission and the next two gave me the impression that the Confederacy is a complete jerk, so I can't help but feel sorry for poor Raynor, who has to take refuge with criminals in the next mission.
Terran Mission 3: Desperate Alliance
Raynor disappears from the picture for whatever reason, and I'm left to simply hold a base for half an hour. Long story short: I ultimately didn't build any defenses beyond an extra bunker and a perimeter of turrets, and in the end I was barely able to emerge victorious by the skin of my teeth! I suppose I should mention that I had sent 3 vultures, 8 marines, and 12 firebats to invade the Zerg territory, and they all died, but they may have delayed the Zerg attack so I suppose it was ultimately worth it...I do kinda wonder what would've happened if I trained four more marines. Anyway, The Sons of Korhal came by in the nick of time and that was that. Hello Arcturus Mengsk, hopefully he and Raynor can take on the Confederation.
Terran Mission 4: The Jacobs Installation
The first tactical mission of the game and what I remember to be the only Terran one is likely the easiest of them all. We start with 7 marines, 4 firebats, and a Raynor who took to fighting on foot for whatever reason, and the main pattern throughout this mission was the send in the marines first, then the firebats one step ahead of them (while Raynor stayed with the marines), then the marines for more defogging, then the firebats a step ahead of them, etc. The most notable thing about this mission was the discovery of the Confederacy's Zerg breeding programs, which Mengsk apparently knew about for over a year and makes me hate the Confederacy even more.
Good god. Tomorrow the war against the Confederacy shall start in earnest.
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Currently Playing - StarCraft
Hopefully Next Up - Final Fantasy VII, Resident Evil 2, Metal Gear Solid