[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Review on Starcraft

Produced and Published by Blizzard Entertainment

Genre: Real Time Strategy

Gameplay: 10/10

Graphics: 10/10

Music/Sound: 8/10

Control: 9/10

Replay Value: 10/10 *

Popularity: 10/10

Overall: 9.5/10

Another successful masterpiece from highly acclaimed Blizzard Entertainment, Starcraft, and its expansion- Starcraft: Brood War, has revolutionized RTS gameplay. The only factor in hindering the popularity of this game is the future release of Warcraft III, another product by Blizzard, which reflects a similar style as Starcraft, only with better graphics. This being said, Starcraft has been an all time favorite among many.

Any RTS gamer would enjoy the wondrous gameplay, meshed with an interesting storyline and a unique concept of civilization. The 3 races- Terran, the human race which uses common well known technology such as guns and fleets, Zerg, which consists of biological creatures who slash at their enemy, and Protoss, an advanced race which uses entirely robotic units, each containing their personal shield. With this concept in mind, each race has its unique advantages and disadvantages, and experienced players usually have a favorite race they master. Diversity of maps create more styles and ways to play the game.

For a game released in 1997, graphics were the best among all RTS genre game types. Combined with enjoyable gameplay, Starcraft even produces eye candy to avid gamers. Although the graphics would pale in comparison with the genesis of newer games published constantly, it still remains one of the most popular RTS games around. Furthermore, its successor Warcraft III was anticipated as a successful replacement.

Although music in Starcraft is not top notch, the other elements of the game easily cover up. The music does fit each of the races, and particularly the Terran music seemed most enjoyable. With no special breakthrough in music (Blizzard hasn’t had a game with outstanding music), it receives an 8. Voice acting and sound quality remain at above average quality. But after all, Starcraft is an RTS game so it cannot compare with 1^st person games because the environment is one of the most important elements in determining gameplay.

Controls remain perfect except for the fact that only a max of 12 units can be selected at one time. Because of this, on regular melee games, sending an army to attack can get quite cumbersome due to the massive number of hotkeys needed to assign and coordinate. Otherwise, controls remain one of the best in all RTS gaming. The menu and control panel is relatively easy to use, and hotkeys are reliable for intense expert gaming. The game takes about a ½ hour to learn to play—pretty quick for an RTS game.

Starcraft has the highest replay value of any game developed. In fact, it is the only game that its replay value is higher than its original play. So yes, the more you play, the more you enjoy it. This is mainly due to the easy to use map/campaign editor. Because the minds of humans are so great, their creativity enables them to create better and better maps to release to the public. Paralleling the concept of natural selection, the best maps thrive and become the most popular. In addition, popular maps tend to change as refined versions and more preferred maps become played more often. Thus, there is always something new when playing Starcraft over the internet, on battle.net.

Finally, the popularity of Starcraft makes it is one of the longest thriving games of all time. Its high replay value satisfies gamers for the longest time. Such is a reason why all of a sudden in year 2001 Starcraft, a 1997 game, became so popular. Currently about 40,000 people play on the US West gateway on battle net at any given time. It even exceeds the more recent RPG/Action made by Blizzard, Diablo II and its expansion Lord of Destruction. Another reason for its popularity, in comparison to Diablo II, is the absence of fear to losing a reputation or valuables in Starcraft, as opposed to Diablo II, which contains valuable items which can be stolen by malicious and ambitious hackers, causing a more harmful and unsafe environment than Starcraft. After all, Starcraft must be popular in order to survive because of the difficulty of setting up a game with the preferred number of players. A game starts when enough people are in the game for the creator to start it. Unlike to Diablo II, a player cannot start a game once it has started.

Starcraft remains “the Classic RPG” of its time, and those who have played it would never forget its legacy and years of satisfaction given to its players. Because of the overwhelming number of positive elements and factors inherent in this game, Starcraft will remain the most popular RTS game until possibly Warcraft III would replace it this summer. But even then, the storyline, concept, and astronomically exciting maps of Starcraft will leave an imprint of “fun” on the retired Starcraft player.

New Page 1

[an error occurred while processing this directive]