Starcraft

"I want to beat the guy who drives the Vulture up."

Starcraft is a strategy game made by Blizzard Entertainment, makers of the Diablo game series as well as the famed Warcraft series. Blizzard had its most recent success in the summer of 2002 scoring with third installment of its Warcraft series. However, I consider the Starcraft series to have had the greatest impact on the strategy game world. Think about, it’s Warcraft of the future. Starcraft was original released in the latter 1990’s. It’s expansion, titled Brood War, adds to the fun by adding more units for you to play as and more sets of levels for you to play. Starcraft, even without its expansion, is a bucket full of fun with a little dash ketchup and mustard on the side. In Starcraft, if you have not already experienced or heard about it, you can control one of three races. The first race is the Terrans, which are our human brethren with their mechanized units and infantries. Secondly, is the Zerg, which are the evil aliens that use claws, sludge, needles, and various other things like that. Last but not least are the Protoss, these use very, very, very, very advanced technology combined with the expensive costs of making it. There’s a lot to do in Starcraft which only adds to overly enjoyable time you will have playing it. The game as a whole is, without one hell of doubt, a great and well-executed masterpiece. I will be treating this game as if it was new and the time it originally released. The story is excellent and presented in a manner that will be surprising and suck you into the game at points. Graphically at the time, this was a major triumph for strategy games and games of other genres alike. I’ll still think the graphics kick ass by today’s standards. The music in the game is the weakest spot it has, but it’s still fairly nice. It just gets annoying and repetitive in my opinion. You may enjoy it, but I sure as hell don’t. The sound effects in this game are awesome. The voice acting is cool as well. “JACKED UP AND GO TO GO!” I’m still unable to get that out of my head. The gameplay is seemingly flawless and amazing. I’ve owned this game since 1999 and I still enjoy its splendor. I’ll play it all night and until dawn and get a hangover because I overindulged in the amazement of the gameplay. There’s a lot to do in it. Starcraft is deserving of a sequel. I think Blizzard should focus their efforts onto a sequel to this rather than a Warcraft or Diablo game. I’ve had more fun with this than either one of those games. And both Warcraft and Diablo are a crap load of fun. In short, Starcraft will not disappoint and if you don’t own it already, go out and buy the Battle Chest. If you do not, I will hunt you down and make sure you pay. I’m only joking. I’d never do something like that to you. End of opening transmission.

Story- 9/10- There are way too many twists and turns in this game for it to follow one straight path for the story. You be playing as all three factions at some point in the game and even you may get lost at some point in the game. Even I did. -_-;; However, I’m going to give a general overview of the story in the game. It’s too complicated to spell out, and I’d be giving spoilers which wouldn’t be fair to you, the reader. Then you’d be mad at me and start flaming me by e-mail and I’d just cringe in the computer chair I’m in right now. After that, I’d be an outcast for the rest of my life and live as a minstrel. So here’s the general overview. Sit back and enjoy because we’re going for a ride kids:

There’s been a lot of turmoil in universe recently and things are changing. The Confederacy (Terrans) has been going around and doing their bidding a lot more than they have recently. They’ve been oppressing the people of the Mar Sara colonies and have been violating the privacy of everyone else. The also oppressive alien race known as the Zerg have been seeking to grow their vile roots all over the said universe. Them, their hives, and their cerebrates have been going all over the universe and spreading their tyranny. They wish to rule the entire universe and be able to be known as the Supreme Being in the universe. One of the races being beat down upon by the Zerg is the Protoss. These guys and their superior technology have been fighting the Zerg for some time now. They wish to be able to unite the universe in peace and tranquility. They will fight to do so and protect what they have as of right now. Should you be angry toward them, they’ll kick your ass in a heartbeat. That is no lie whatsoever. End of transmission.

The story is just a bit too complicated for a newbie to the game to understand. You’ll be able to understand it easily if you play it a bit. I think the story warrants a 9. Complexity always killed the story. You’ll understand that Starcraft warrants more easily if you play the wonder that. End of story transmission.

Graphics- 9/10- This game revolutionized the graphics for a PC strategy game. Though they are still not perfect. They warrant the score that they do in the sense that they raised the bar for a strategy game’s graphics. And games such as Alpha Centauri and Starcraft’s brother Warcraft III carried on the graphical superiority that we received from this game originally. The menu graphics you’ll receive see as you boot the game will tell you that the game is amazing. The terrain and environments in the game are amazing and well detailed. You can see several various features in the terrain that will make it stand out over everything else. Rocks, trees, stone ruins, SCV’s, Command Centers, and other various features can be seen popping out of a ground. There are several types of environments in the jungle, badlands, and snowy, icy environments. All can be defined from one another by its various terrain features and buildings. The water in game looks like water and you can tell where you can and cannot go. Units in the game can be easily defined from one another. Zerg rely on various reptilian and insect like units rather than the normal mechanized units of others Terrans rely on mechanical vehicles and infantry with heavy armor than easily defines them from the rest. Protoss units have advanced infantry and other advanced things that define them from the rest. The units in game all look flawless from their time. The graphics in Starcraft are of the 9ish sort. Not the greatest, though still revolutionary for a PC strategy game. End of graphical transmission.

Sound- 8.5/10- JACKED UP AND GOOD TO GO!

Sound Effects and Voice Acting- 10/10- The sound effects provided by Starcraft are simply breath taking. I nearly passed out when my wonderful virgin ears heard the violent splendor of battling and the technological beeping sound of the menus. The sound effects are original and flawless in my opinion. The battling sounds will pleasure your eardrums more than the cry of a girl while you’re…yeah…you should…see…where…I…am…going. The sounds of the Protoss weaponry remind me of the alien’s weaponry in the movie Independence Day The Zerg’s sound of Zerg battling are so cool and so good that I can’t think of a way to explain the wonder of it. The Terrans weaponry should remind of our own today. Enough said. The voice acting in the game is simply amazing as well. Everybody in it has there own attitude and abilities. The guy who driver Goliath has a personality of a serious battle general. The guy who drives the Vulture wants to kick your ass for doing something suicidal. The Protoss all sound amazingly serious. The Terran Marine is my personal favorite though. “JACKED UP AND GOOD TO GO!” Enough said. 10. Hands down. Don’t complain about it. End of the sound effects transmission

Music- 7/10 The music in Starcraft is all fairly well done and presented. Even though each environment has it’s own set theme. They all just get annoying and repetitive while playing through them though. The menu music for example is fairly well composed but seems just a bit lacking. I have nothing against it though. But it all just seems lacking and repetitive to some point. I’d rather have a large set of random themes than the music you get in it. The music is all composed and presented in a manner to give the player a good experience while playing it. They music while playing in the jungle gives you an idea of what the music for the entire game is like as well. It suits the environment perfectly, excellently composed, and annoying and repetitive. The music generates the game a seven in this department. Good to the ears and bad for the sanity of the mind. End of the musical transmission. End of sound transmission.

Gameplay- 10/10- Gameplay. Gameplay is an amazing thing that no game should be without. Some games lack it and suck so bad they warrant a bad reputation. (IE: Superman 64) Some games have it and they are considered instant classics, which no gamer should be caught without. (IE: Final Fantasy III, Super Mario World, Zelda: OoT) Starcraft is one of those games that no gamer, whether it be PC, casual, or even biased fanboy of one system, should be without. Starcraft has a few main modes: campaign mode, skirmish mode, multiplayer mode, and campaign editor. The campaign mode forces you to complete various objectives while trying to get to the next mission. There are three sub-campaigns, which are recommended to be played in the order suggested. The games are played in the since where you must build units, find your enemy and kick his ass. It may sound easy, and it is at first, but it grows hard. Very, very hard. You must build units of an immense variety. You can build your lesser units, which are less powerful, but more can be produced. Your can also build your more powerful units which you can less of because they are very expensive. Skirmish mode lets you do a single mission that has no time limit and you’re not restricted. Multiplayer mode let’s you play your friends online using a variety of options. Campaign editor lets you design your own maps. The game can picked up easily and is easy to figure out and play. The gameplay of Starcraft is too hard to explain you just need to experience it yourself. A solid 10. No flaws. Just way too enjoyable.

Replay Value- 10/10- “…” Enough said.

Buy, Rent or Screw All Together- Buy- See above.

Pros
-Excellent Story
-Excellent Graphics
-Voice Acting and Sound Effects are amazing and witty.
-Godly gameplay
-High Replay Value
-A Must Buy
-Decent Music
Cons
-Complicated Story
-Repetitive Music

Overall- 9/10- JACKED UP AND GOOD TO GO!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/16/03, Updated 07/26/03