Starcraft: Brood War

"One of the best RTS games ever made!"

When Starcraft first appeared, there was a boom in the Real Time Strategy Games. Now, we have a great expansion for Starcraft. Starcraft: Brood Wars continues with the storyline of its antecessor and also it inherited all the things that made Starcraft one of the best RTS games ever made. Although it is only an expansion and not a sequel, the game itself is an excellent game that all RTS games lover must own. After all, you can still play the ''normal'' version of Starcraft and also the expansion if you like. So now, let's see why Starcraft: Brood Wars is one of the best RTS games, if not the best, done by Blizzard.

Story 9/10
Well, the story is not something that all strategy lovers pay too much attention to. It is as simple as the fact that you must guide a race to the achievment of the universe's control. So, as we see, the storyline itself is not very marvelous, but the way it's told is maybe, one of the best aspects of the game. The cinemas displays that show how is the story of each race happenig and that appear after completing a certain number of missions are impressive. I haven't seen many videos showing the story of the game with the quality of the ones in Starcraft. So, after all of this, Starcraft: Brood Wars' story deserves a 9.

Gameplay 10/10
If you liked the gameplay of Starcraft, you will like the gameplay of its expansion. It is very easy to learn the basics of playing Starcraft: Brood Wars. And, being an expansion, it still has the same controls and abbreviations for building units faster and quickly. Even the cheats are the same! Anyone that says that playing Starcraft is very difficult, has to play it again and realize that he is in a mistake. Starcraft: Brood Wars is as easy to play as it antecessor. So there shouldn't be any problem for playing Starcraft.

Challenge 10/10
Well, without any doubt, Starcraft: Brood Wars wouldn't be the best strategy game if it wasn't for its challenge. The challenge in Starcraft: Brood Wars is very good, and the fact that now we have more units and buildings for each races increases the challenge. Also, and because of these facts, the strategy that each mission requires has to be more imaginative and well-planned. Anyone who plays Starcraft: Brood Wars will not get disappointed by its challenge.

Audio/Video 10/10
These aspects couldn't be better in this game! The sounds are excellent. Even the voices of each character and unit can be perfectly understood without seeing the transcription of each conversation. The sound of each mission can be sometimes repetitive, but it's excellent as it is. The graphics... they are some of the best I've ever seen. Everything can be seen perfectly. Sometimes the environment seems to be real because of the marvelous graphics it has. Also, the videos it has are excellent and of high quality. If they are impressive using a normal computer, imagine them with a Pentium IV, a 3D accelerator card... I won't have words to express the quality. Surely, it has some of the best audio and graphics in all RTS games (using a normal PC of course).

Replay Value 10/10
Having Multiplayer Option, a Map Editor, 3 races to choose... who wants more to play with? With all of this, anyone who really likes Starcraft: Brood Wars will not stop playing it. If someone has finished all the missions in the game, he will find someone to play with via Internet. So, who doubts Starcraft: Brood Wars has a replay value rating of 10?

Overall 10/10
Indeed, Starcraft: Brood Wars is one of the best RTS games in computer history. Now it has its competitors, but Starcraft: Brood Wars has its points that help it to be better than the others (aga. Age of Empires, Commmand and Conquer, etc.). If you have the original Starcraft, buy the expansion. You will not be sorry for wasting your money. Instead, you will have more and more hours of fun with Starcraft: Brood Wars.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/13/01, Updated 09/15/01