"The pinnacle of the Blizzard's games and the RTS genre"

When asked what is the greatest RTS (Real Time Strategy) game of all time, Starcraft is bound to come up. It launched with Blizzard’s (the creators) phenomenal Battle.net internet server, which allows millions of people across the world to play with each other online. It immediately gained recognition and praise from every computer magazine in existence. People were blown away by its near perfect design.

Since then, the RTS genre has deteriorated. Due to the massive amounts of half-hearted and repetitive Real Time Strategy games that flew in each year, people began to lose interest in the genre. Magazines began complaining and bashing games not because they were bad, but because they brought nothing new to the genre. You see, this genre has become so ridiculously overcrowded that it has been abandoned by all but the most hardcore and devoted RTS player (with a few exceptions, such as Warcraft 3 for example)

However, back in the prime of this genre, one game shed light on the world and captured the heart and soul of all who played it. I am talking about the now legendary Starcraft. To this very day, many years after its release, Battle.net is still packed to the brim with people ready to play matches with anyone who will take them on. It remains one of the most beloved and relished games of all time, and for good reason, too. Critically claimed by just about anyone who played, it became an obsession to more people than can be counted. Ok, so it doesn’t really bring anything new to the table, but you’d be hard-pressed to find better designed strategy game. Its lack of innovation could ruin the game for some, but the crowded as ever Battle.net stands as proof that people are still hopelessly addicted to this game.

The concept of a RTS is a game that requires strategy, construction, and time management against other opponents (either people or computers) who also are designing their army. There will be no taking turns, hence the name Real-Time. If you have ever played a RTS before, you know all the rules that apply. Yes, it requires resource gathering, unit construction, base design, and battles. The game doesn’t break any of expectations that come with the genre, but it does however excel in these areas better than any other game of its class.

While I personally believe that the strength of Starcraft lies in its online features, the game provides an excellent story campaign to verify a purchase solely on its single-player options. Without delving to much into the storyline, it starts off with a rebellion against an unfair confederacy that rules unjustly. It erupts into something much more with the disturbing corruption of your comrade Kerrigan, and eventually becomes a full-out war against the Zerg’s (an maniacal alien race) disturbing attempts at ruling the universe. This story will be etched out through three different chapters that the game provides, with one chapter for each of the three races that you can play.

Before each of the 30 missions in the game is a briefing that contains the dialogue of whatever characters are talking. These chats are the center of the story in the game, and as the story plays out, they become more deep and involving. This game also contains cinematic scenes, which are highly impressive. However, only a few of them have any real significance. This flaw makes only a handful of them truly memorable. Out of the twelve of them, I’d say only three have any true importance. Still though, it certainly doesn’t hurt that it has them.

The biggest flaw with the missions in this game is that they can get repetitive. I often found myself taking breaks from them due to the fact that I was getting bored. However, they are still very well done and worth playing. Besides repetition, their biggest flaw is that they stupidly easy. Anyone who spends anytime at all mastering this game should have no problem blasting through them, save for a select few. Luckily the expansion provides a greater challenge.

Before I delve into the online aspects, I feel it is only appropriate that I give a brief description of the races you are able to play on Starcraft. Each one has their own characteristics and abilities. Each race manages to be uniquely different, while at the same time being well balanced with each other, which puts it heads over any other game of its kind. There are three different races that you can use, each requiring different strategies. Perfecting your skills with each race is an early demand to succeed in the game. Blizzard’s greatest achievement with these races is the balance between them. Anyone can get good at Starcraft by mastering their skills with these groups. Overtime, it has become clear to me that the balance is a little off (one particular group stands out as being the weakest), but even then, I have been slaughtered by them on many occasions, so that goes to show you the near perfect balance Blizzard has created.

The first of the three races is the Terrans. For those confused by the name, it refers to a futuristic group of humans. These humans have advanced military technology, which they use to rage war across the galaxy. This separates them from the other two races, which are of a more alien nature, and rely on the benefits of what they were born with rather than what they have created over time. The benefits of their system reside mainly in their mechanical units. Their most powerful units are various machines with a variety of different abilities. Terrans make a good race for beginners, but as you get better, it sadly becomes noticeable that they are somewhat obsolete when stacked up against the other two races; the Zerg and the Protoss. Unlike the other two races, Terrans have the ability to move built structures, meaning they can raise a building off the ground and move it to another area. This makes them somewhat nomadic; giving them greater base building opportunities and the ability to save buildings from destruction when attacked.

The biggest fault with the Terrans is not their system, but how it was balanced. Unlike the Zerg, who rely on massive amounts of inexpensive units, or the Protoss, who rely on highly powerful yet expensive units, the Terrans are destined to be the medium between the two. They have units that are more powerful and expensive than the Zerg, while being less powerful and expensive that the Protoss. The problem is that the balance wasn’t done quite right. Both the massive amount of unit’s the Zerg can possess and the powerful unit’s the Protoss can possess are able to overcome the Terran, making them weaker. Even then though, it is possible to master the Terran and become an unstoppable expert with them.

The Zerg are by far the most unique of the three. This beastly alien race relies on the infestation of the ground for its birth. Picture in your head something along the lines of Aliens, only not quite. That should give you an idea of their vicious and disturbing nature. The species of the Zerg can only be born on a slime-like material known as creep, which is infested into the ground when a Zerg organism know as a hatchery is planted. Zerg hatcheries have the ability to spawn new Zerg creatures, which in turn can be used to grow more structures or be used as units in battle. The Zerg race relies on large amounts of cheap units that can be built fast.

Finally, we have the Protoss, who are also referred to the Terrans as an alien race. Unlike the Zerg though, they are of a far more sophisticated nature. They rely on the powers of psychic energy, which they use as the power source of their creation. This mysterious race is very advanced, using their psychic powers as a source to create destructive and powerful units. They rely on powerful units that are more expensive.

I thinks it is only appropriate to explain some of the flaws Starcraft’s design has. The game demands the use of many units at a time, but only allows you to command twelve at a time. This is simply not enough, so commanding a large army in battle requires incredible speed to overcome this shortcoming. Luckily, the game allows you to set groups to hotkeys, which helps somewhat. As I got used to it though, it became less and less of a problem. Once you master how to command your groups with speed, you will find that things work out quite well.

You will never hear anyone claiming that Starcraft is gorgeous, but its simple overhead view, and its perfect character and structure models make the game more than suitable. In fact, I couldn’t imagine it any other way. Since the game is designed for you to concentrate on this overhead view the whole time, having gaudy, overdone graphics could ruin its design. Everything looks exactly how it should, down to every unit and structure.

However, it cannot be avoided that the games environments are somewhat bland and uninspired. Due to the uncreative and repetitive environments, the game’s many different maps melt into each other, making it sometimes hard to tell the difference. The games environments range from marshlands to abandoned space stations, all of which hold a depressing, lackluster feel. However, since everything else looks right, and the look of the environments has little importance, this does little to hurt the game overall. It’s the design of the maps you play on that count, not how they look.

The game also contains a decent amount of cinematic scenes. For their time period, these were very well done. In fact, their even acceptable when compared to today’s Full Motion Videos (FMV). They all have commendable detail and good depiction. My biggest problem with them, though, is that when the scenes showed units that you used in the game, the transference of the unit models to 3-D brought up questions. Units that I had gotten used to in the game had a much more detailed look, but with that came new qualities that made them different than I imagined. This is expected when you are used to seeing them from an overhead view, but the new detail made then look different to an extent were it was a bit annoying.

In a strategy game, sound has at least some importance, mainly because you will be listening to it the whole time. Starcraft features decent music, but due to the fact that it is constantly playing, it can become a bit frustrating. Each race only has one song that plays when your using them, so you better get used to it and fast. Luckily, these songs blend in pretty well, so you will often times forget they are even playing. My personal favorite is the Terran theme, which has a somewhat technical feel going on. The sound would have been overall acceptable if it wasn’t for the god awful Zerg theme….

By now you are probably asking about sound. Or probably not…. but anyway, Starcraft features some of the most well done and varied voice acting ever made. But more importantly than that, it also holds a varied arsenal of sounds that make the game shockingly realistic. Every unit has specific phrases, moving noises, attacking noises, and dying noises. These are so grandly layered and believable that they add a sense of detail that pushes the game to an incredible new level.

After many long ramblings, it is finally time that I cover what is probably the most enjoyable aspect of Starcraft…. Its online features! As I have mentioned, Starcraft launched with the critically acclaimed (and free) Battle.net. The options of playing with a network of people from around the world gives this game infinite replay value. This is what makes the game so addictive and hard to put down. I will admit I have taken breaks from the game, but no matter how hard I try, it pulls me back in. Its just too well done and enjoyable not to consume you.

One of the main perks of online play is that unlike its single-player counterpart, you will actually find experienced and masterful players online. There will be massive, challenging, and interesting wars for you to experience. There isn’t anything quite like a four vs. four battle with no rules, or a eight person free for all were the last person left standing is the winner. The concept of working with other people means you have to bend your strategy to fit what is better for the team, not just for you. Interaction with other people is a key aspect of gameplay.

The overwhelming amount of options you are given makes it hard to get bored. There are a countless amount of maps to experiment with, and different kinds of games to play. There are many different options to explore and experience, and due to the perfect balance of it all, every game you play feels truly perfect. With a incredibly populated world to explore, you never know who you are going to meet. Every person has their own concept of how to play the game, and with that comes a interesting variety of things to do.

My words alone cannot describe the perfection Blizzard has achieved. It is the pinnacle of their games and the entire RTS genre. It is a game that must be experienced by everyone. I have been addicted for several years now, and it is about time that you become so, too. I don’t play many PC games, but if I ever had to choose, this has my vote for best PC game of all time. Its incredible design will never again be reached. It truly legendary. At the price it ranges for, you couldn’t possibly go wrong. So if you have not already, enter now, and join the countless amount of people who just can’t stop.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/23/04