"Mmmmm, soooooo tasty..."

Blizzard definitely has the game of the year here! They have taken their great real time strategy format and made it great with three new races in space! This game is definitely my favorite game of all time! And if you are still not convinced you can visit my starcraft web page (even though it sucks)!

Game Play

The game is downright addicting. There are three races, which all vary greatly, with over forty strategic units. You can try your luck with a zergling rush, the fastest attack. Or you could build up an army of scouts which deal out tons of damage in large groups. Races in general also have certain advantages and disadvantages. Using Terran as an example, they can lift off some of their important buildings. However they have the disadvantage of their buildings being able to burn down if they get in the red. There is a single player mode which sends you on various missions for each race, which follow a story line. If you play each race in order they fall in perfect place for the story. What I mean is if you finish the Terran missions, the zerg missions will pick up where they left off. Or you can play multi-player over the net. Up to eight players! Free-for-all’s, melee’s, and use map settings. There are a few others, but they are not as popular. Melee’s are games in which you start off with 10 control, 50 minerals, and four workers. In this mode you can ally with friends. Free for all is the same as melee, only you can’t ally in this mode (hints the name). Use Map Settings is definitely one of the more fun game modes. In use map settings unit, character, and building settings can be changed. Also you can have triggers which make certain things happen. For example, you can make the map an rpg, and if the main character dies, you can have a trigger that automatically makes you lose. Don’t think you have to know computer programming or game programming either. Starcraft has a map editor setup in the game. It is very easy to use. It has all the commands setup and you just have to find which one you want to use. It is very time consuming to make maps, but they are damn cool once you get them finished.

Story

There are stories behind every race, given to you in full in the instruction manual. And the stories develop more in single player mode. Their past, present, and even into their future. The stories are very involved so I will try and sum them up somewhat.

The Terrans are the race that somewhat represent humans, because of their human-like characteristics and units. Like marines, tanks, etc. They have had many civil wars after the decline of western civilization. Things have become hectic, with genetic mutations and war everywhere. Many clans and organizations pop up all fighting for different causes and reasons. Things become very interesting though, after two alien races seemingly come from nowhere and start attacking them.

The Protoss are the most advanced technologically in the game and use a lot of robotic units. They have technologies like psionic blades and units like zealots, probes, and templar. They were created by an ancient race known as the Xel’Naga. In the search for a perfect race, the Xel’Naga created them. The protoss at first, respected the Xel’Naga as their creators and gods. Tribes, however, started to spread apart and then a horrible civil war broke out that lasted for generations! This also hurt their relationship with the Xel’Naga. But Khas or “he who brings order” brought the tribes back together. The Protoss then grew and prospered for quite some time. They found a somewhat intelligent race, the Terrans, living a few planets away. They kept close tabs on the Terrans, but promised not to interfere with their business. They then noticed another advanced alien race though. This race was found to be created by the Xel’Naga also, but intent on taking over everything they could find. They began to infest Terran homelands, and the Protoss become very torn on what to do about this.

The Zerg are more animal-like with vicious attacks like acid and spines. They were one of the first races to be created by the Xel’Naga. They are controlled by one being, the Overmind. When the Zerg realized the Xel’Naga were watching them and manipulating their race, the Overmind suddenly became offensive and launched an attack the Xel’Naga. The Xel’Naga completely unsuspecting this were defeated, their giant ships laid to waste. The Zerg had become so powerful and persistent that they wiped out the entire Xel’Naga race. They had become a race of attacking and over running all life forms which they would then infest and “evolve” to better their deadly reign.

You can pretty much guess what happens now. An intergalactic war starts with all three races trying to become the most powerful. This is basically where you start the game off...

Sound

With so many attacks and units, this category had to be great. The units talk and make noises when you click them. If you click them too much they even make funny remarks or make irritated noises. There are many different attack sound effects from explosions, to acid spitting, to psionic blades slicing through units. You can even download all the
sounds from the game at blizzard.com or battle.net. The music is somewhat disappointing because there is only one song for each race, but they are pretty cool, and if you really don’t like them you can turn them off. There is also a secret Zerg song, if you know the cheat.

Graphics

You may hear some say the graphics aren’t that great, but this is only because of the way the screen is setup. Lots of detail on units, buildings, and attacks considering the size of each unit and building. They serve their purpose well, and are helped by the full motion videos. The tile sets are somewhat repetitive but it would be hard to make them super diverse. They vary from jungle, to dirt, and inside buildings. And of course the movies! The movies are stunning. They are suspenseful and at times funny too. They can show you parts of the story or just show you a good ‘ole ass whooping.

Replay

The missions are fun a few times through and can help you tune your skills with each race. But there is always someone to attack or team up with at battle.net! Battle.net is a free server that you can play multi-player games of Starcraft on. I've had Starcraft for a couple of years and I still play on battle.net quite often. Replay is definitely a plus for this game. I would suggest buying it, and now since it has been out for quite some time, you could find it for around 20 dollars or even less in a battle chest or used. In my opinion, perfect.

Overall

This game is by far the best real time strategy to date, not to mention in the running for best game ever! I would strongly suggest buying it, and now since it has been out for quite some time, you could find it for around 20 dollars or even less in a battle chest or used. In my opinion, perfect.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/27/00, Updated 12/27/00