Starcraft

"Perfect? You Betcha!"

Starcraft is an RTS, (or should I say, THE RTS?), developes and released by Blizzard Entertainment. After the developing of Warcraft 2 and the first Diablo game, Blizzard has matured and was ready to make the next big step and this step was this game, a game that has redefined how RTS games should be made, because not only Starcraft has excellent gameplay but has a very good storyline to support it.

Story: 10/10

At the distant future, mankind has mastered space travel and planet habitation but now faces a great threat. The Zerg are an alien race that has pushed evolution to its limits since they are perfect warriors with body structure that can compete with the most advanced weaponry. Also there is another race, the mysterious Protoss that seem to be enemies too. While playing the game you'll see that nothing is what it seems. People that look like foes are helpful allies while others are the exact opposite. Conflicts between different factions of the same race, many plot twists, interesting characters and great dialogues between them. All these give great life to Starcraft and make you play more and more in order to find what will happen next.

Blizzard doesn't just make plots for her games but creates a whole universe around the basic scenario. Starcraft along with Warcraft 3 and the Diablo series are great examples of that. Throughout the game you'll learn many things about each race's history, about the different worlds across the universe of Starcraft and many more. The main campaign is divided in 3 chapters, one for each race, each chapter carries on with the story from where the previous race has ended.

Graphics: 10/10

In Starcraft we view the game from a top isometric perspective. Units are small but quite detailed and unique since you just can't mistaken a unit from another one. You will travel across many different worlds that all look very good. From earth-like areas to space platforms, from the jungle world of the Protoss to the ash world of the Protoss everything looks great and has many details that enhance the landscape. Special effects look very good and give different style to each race. The Terrans are the typical Sci-fi human race. They build structures with large robots and fire typical ammunition like bullets and missiles, while the Protoss buildings are created as if an amount of pure energy becomes real matter and have plasma rifles and photon cannons for weapons and finally the Zerg instead of building buildings evolve into buildings their selves and their weapons are more insect like. In general Starcraft looks very good in every aspect, when units shoot stuff their whole body is lighted by the battle, buildings catch fire or in the case of the Zerg bleed and many, many more. Another thing that I like in Blizzard games is their interface and menu design. Each race has its own distinct look, for example the interface of the Terrans looks like the inside of an army vehicle while the Zerg's resemble the structure of their own body. The game although very old proves that you don't need high quality 3D graphics in order to look good…

Sound: 10/10

Like all of Blizzard's titles, Starcraft has excellent voice acting, something that gives character to all the units from in the game. Especially the dialogues between the main characters in the briefing room have a lot of emotion and create an almost movie-like atmosphere. High quality sound effects unique for each race, for example the Zerg make sounds similar to insects while the Protoss make futuristic blipping and zapping sounds. Music themes are quite good too but they aren't something extraordinary, they just give the right feel to the game.

Gameplay: 10/10

Starcraft wasn't the RTS pioneer, but really helped the genre evolve into what it is today by giving as probably the best selling one of its kind. It is actually another typical strategy game. You gather resources, (only 2 of them, unlike Age Of Empires), create buildings, train units, upgrade your equipment and start fighting. Startcraft doesn't try anything new, but it does what it does in a very, very good way!

I don't like games that have many races that have no real differences apart from their look and that make the game very unbalanced. Age of Empires 2, (a good game), had many races that all looked pretty much the same apart from some buildings and units. In Starcraft we have only 3 races that are completely different in every aspect. The Terrans are the typical human race, simple and easy to learn. They construct buildings with builder units and train units in these buildings. Terrans have simple marines with ranged attacks, close ranged marines with flame throwers, hovercrafts that can leave mines to defend the base, biped robots, siege tanks, fast shuttles and many more. They can build structures anywhere and some of their buildings can even fly and change position. Finally the Terrans can repair most structures and units. The Zerg bases create small creatures called larva. Each larva can evolve into a warrior alien or a builder\gatherer. The builder unit of the Zerg is called Drone. Drones can literally evolve into living buildings instead of contrasting them. All creatures are created from larva that spawn from the base structure but in order for a creature type to be available another building must be created. Zerg units and buildings slowly regenerate instead of repairing themselves. Finally the Protoss instead of using a builder to spent time in constructing a building they just use the builder to specify the structure location and it will be built on its own. Buildings can only be build and function properly, (for example create units), as long as they lie within a Pylon's power radius. Protoss units and buildings are much weaker than other races but have an energy field around them that slowly regenerates, if this energy field becomes 0 then the unit\building takes normal damage and can die. These 3 races are probably the thing that makes Starcraft so special and although very different from each other there is no balance problems since each race has advantages and disadvantages that don't let any race become the most powerful.

All campaign levels have very good design and require a different strategy each time. We have missions where you just build a base, expand it and annihilate the enemy, or missions where you guard a base for an amount of minutes. Some missions require, offensive play, others defensive and others stealth tactics and scouting. You just can't get bored of this game, the only thing that will annoy you is that it has to end some time. I've got to admit there a few problems in the game and for me they are 2. First the AI is quite weak something that makes RTS veterans easily defeat the game and secondly some special skills require micromanagement, for example you control an army of 100 units and in this whole bunch of warriors, (and while fighting with many creatures), you have to select a certain unit and use its ability at the cost of precious time. Other than that the game is perfect in every aspect and apart from the main campaign there are the custom games that range from simple maps for 2 players to large 8-player maps. Finally we have the very powerful Starcraft Campaign Editor with which we can create our own campaigns and multiplayer maps. The Editor is hard to master but after learning it you will be able to create excellent stuff and if you are bored to do so there's no problem since Starcraft is one of the most modified games thus making it easy to find very good Maps in the Internet.

Positives:
-3 totally different races
-One of the most balanced RTS games
-Great plot, cutscenes and dialogues between characters
-Extremely powerful Campaign Editor

Negatives:
-Special skills require micromanagement
-Weak AI

Also Play:
Starcraft 2 (PC)
Warcraft 2-3 (PC)

Overall: 10/10

Ask a person from Korea, (huh???), a country where Starcraft has become a national sport. This game is a true Phenomenon in a genre where most games are bad, mediocre or at the best case just very good. If you consider yourself a RTS fan you just have to play this game if you haven't already and if you are one those people that are like, “hey this game is and looks old, I'd better play Starcraft 2 or something!!!”, play this game and you might change your mind…

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/29/07

Game Release: Starcraft (EU, 1998)