Starcraft

"Warcraft in Space couldn't be better..."

Salutations, greetings and hello! My name is Gyarados Scotty and I am reviewing the ever-popular PC game, StarCraft. When I first saw this game, I immediately fell in love with this great game, like I do with so many other games. This game was made by Blizzard, the real time strategy company, for those who are unfamiliar. You probably knew that because of the name, which is sort of a copy off of the other Blizzard hit, WarCraft. This game also comes with a built-in map editor so you can create your own complex and fun levels. StarCraft was released in 1996.

-What the Game is Basically About-
The genre of StarCraft is RTS, Real Time Strategy. If you are unfamiliar with this type of game, I will try to briefly explain. Your first objective usually is to build a strong base. You do this by gathering resources to pay for various units and buildings. Your opponent is probably doing this at the same time. After you feel you are ready, you bring your units to the opponent's base and try to destroy it before you opponent destroy's yours. The story is basically about three different races, the Terran, the Zerg and the Protoss. The Terran are just humans striving to stay alive with limited technology. The Zerg are crazy reptile like guys with no technology but are really strong. The Protoss are psychic warriors who remind me technologically-advanced Klingons. The plot is basically about their wars, struggles and shifting of power, with some large twists along the way.

-Visually Related Aspect-
Holy Cow! These graphics are the best this genre has ever seen and in my opinion, will ever see. The original unit sprites are just plain great. They are superiorly detailed and some units have over five-hundred frames. The terrain is done in tiles and there are certainly a lot. I can truthfully say that there are thousands of different terrain tiles. That is just a reminder of how much detail and work went into this wonderful game. The cut-scenes are just so good. They are a marvellous demonstration of just how good computer animation can really be. To finish this section, I just like to again say good the graphics are in this wonderful game that Blizzard boasts so much.

-Audio Related Aspect-
Another great attribute, the audio related aspect is another thing that will keep you coming back to this excellent game. The music is mostly catchy techno that is really good but there is some other stuff for those who hate techno. The sound effects are simply amazing. Every character and unit have their own voice responses to commands that they are issued and they couldn't be better. Some are serious, some are cool and some are just plain funny. The other sounds of the game are great too. From the autofire of your Marine's gauss rifle's, to the crazy replies form the Zergling's, you will like this aspect of the game.

-Control-
The control isn't quite at par with the other things, but it still is really good. You have command over all of your units most of the time, when they are not being influenced by the enemy. You can choose to scroll around the map with either the mouse or the keyboard. I prefer the keyboard because I use a laptop with the green dot thing in the center of the keyboard, so it is much more convenient. This game makes excellent use of hotkeys to ease your workload in completely in general. The control is basically WarCraft II with lots of minor enhancements, which add to the game.

-Challenge-
The built in campaign can be very challenging. The varied missions have lots of different objectives, which I feel prepare you to be able to play the game in a much deeper way. Some are harder than others, but they basically build up in difficulty along the way. The other levels can be either horrifically difficult or tremendously easy, depending on what you choose to do. If you pick to go head to head with seven computer players, be prepared for things to get nasty. If you feel this game lacks challenge after beating it and kicking the computers again and again, you can find some real competition on Battle.net.

-Replayability-
I would say way above average on this part. The campaign tends to get slightly boring after five or six times, but then again, what game doesn't? I never get sick of going head to head with four or five computers on my own custom levels and doubt you will too. After being bored with your own maps, you can always resort to getting some from other people via the Internet, or just swap with friends. Another thing that will make you keep playing will be Battle.net, an application that lets you play with anyone over the use of the wonderful Internet.

-Length-
Average. It takes about thirty hours to beat the entire campaign. The other things however are a different matter, as stated before.

-Good Points-
- Graphics and Sound
- Multiplayer capabilities
- Really Fun
- Replayability

-Bad Points-
- Campaign is average in length

In conclusion, I would definitely recommend this game to anyone, whether they are a fan of this great genre or not. I am going to have settle on a ten out of ten for this masterpiece, although, I would rather give it much higher. This game is worth your hard earned money, so tell you, buy it! You will not be sorry, I assure you.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/09/00, Updated 10/09/00