Starcraft

"A Great Game for the Ages"

Overview:

Back in the day, about 5 years ago, Blizzard released a little game called Starcraft. I personally first tried this game at the recommendation of a friend, and I was quickly addicted. The fact is, that the game is very fun to play in single player mode, to learn the ropes, and then after that multi player offers countless more opportunities. To find out more read on.

Graphics (8/10):

Although the graphics in Starcraft are considered to be pretty antiquated now with all of our advanced three dimensional games that look absolutely breathtaking, when Starcraft first came out, it was cutting edge (which says how old it is, but think about the fact that it's still around despite the age, which means it must be good). But also you need to realize that although the graphics can be a bit lacking for our times, there are a lot of good things graphics wise for the game. For example, every unit you click will have an animated, realistic looking picture that moves around. Also, although it is easy to overlook because the game is relatively zoomed out in perspective, the units and buildings are pretty detailed.

Sound (9/10):

The sound in this game is definitely better than a good deal of other similar games. Each race has its own soundtrack, and the soundtracks are actually interesting to listen to, and appealing to you as you play. Although after playing for a while the soundtrack does get repetitive, it is still enjoyable. The sound effects in the game are spectacular though, especially for the time in which it was made. When you click on a unit, it makes some kind of noise, and the noises seem to actually be correct for the type of unit, and very well done. And buildings do the same thing when you click on them.

Controls (10/10):

This might seem kind of weird to bring up for an RTS game, but it is really important in Starcraft. Because you need to memorize all of the hotkeys to be able to do things faster. Having to click through a few menus is way slower than just pushing two keys to get to the same place. In the single player this is not as important as in the multi player, because multi player games in Starcraft are very fast and feverish. You need all the advantages you can get to go faster. But the good part of this is that you have the capability to do things through just the keyboard and use the mouse to select and click places, this makes your life way easier when you play the game.

Gameplay (10/10):

The gameplay in Starcraft in simple terms is amazing. The single player campaign is very well thought out, and allows you to progress through the intriguing storyline, but more on that later. The single player campaigns were very well done, they keep you interested and playing through all of them because they are challenging and they have a plot other than just kill the other people. Lots of them actually have you do some kind of special mission, such as get to this spot, or overthrow some evil overlord, and all sorts of interesting things. But, the multi player is where Starcraft really shines. It is amazing to play Starcraft over a LAN with 7 of your other friends (the biggest game you can do is with 8 people, be they computers or humans). You can play several kinds of multi player games that are included in the default Starcraft install, such as top vs. bottom, melee, free for all and more. But another unique feature is the capability for custom games. Custom games are made by people who did their own maps in the map editors. And these can be very interesting, for example there is a Final Fantasy 10 custom map for Starcraft (which is fun by the way). And all of this can be done over Battle.Net, which is provided by Blizzard at no additional cost to you. The actual game play is very fast paced and action packed. The single player missions differ greatly so it's hard to cover those. But for multi player missions, you generally start out with a few resource escavators, and a base. And you are one of 3 races, Zerg: which are the evil aliens, who are like insects, and the Protoss: who are intelligent aliens who are highly advanced in technology, and the Terran: who are human-like creatures, who inhabit Earth. And, generally, in a multi player game, the objective is the standard build the best army and wipe out your foes, although there are many other options.

Replayability (10/10):

After you finish the single player missions, you can download more maps from the internet, and you can make more of your own to play single player on. But for everlasting enjoyment, you can play the multi player mode with your friends, and you can play games online on Battle.Net. This game never really loses its replay value because you can always do more, even if you are the number one person in the game.

Final Verdict (10/10):

Note: The final verdict was not reached by averaging, it is a subjective decision based on a holistic view of the game overall.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/06/04