(Originally posted on GameSpot.com under the name stevenscott14. Appears here slightly edited due to my perfectionist state of mind.)
I'm sure everybody has heard of Starcraft - without a doubt one of the
most influential PC games ever and one of the greatest examples of
strategy-based gaming to this day. It's a game that has captivated
thousands, maybe millions, since its release, so much that many people
are still playing it today, whether over Blizzard's servers on
Battle.net, or simply experimenting with their own offline custom games
and making their own maps with the superb scenario editor.
And it deserves all the attention, to say the least. Starcraft shines
in all areas, even the graphics can impress to this day. Maybe not in
the technical aspect, but in the artistic stakes, and in the way that
the visuals leak charisma and charm, Starcraft succeeds, almost nine
years later. And, yes, even nine years later, the gameplay still
obliterates the majority of strategy games being released today. Starcraft
is, in my eyes, and in a lot of other people's eyes, a benchmark for
the genre. The game presents you with three races to play as: the Terran
marines, our digital human counterparts, who are an ideal place to
start with their perfect balance between all of their units and
characteristics; the Zerg alien race, who rely on mass quantities of
cheaper, throwaway units, and whose structures and units all evolve
from larvae; and the Protoss tribes, a technologically advanced species
who employ smaller amounts of more expensive, enhanced units.
The balance between these three races is truly something to behold.
Whereas in most games, intense competitions online may end in sore
losers complaining that the opposition had a particular ability that
put them at an advantage, in Starcraft, there is really no excuse for
that sort of thing. Each race is almost perfectly balanced so that no
single one of them outweighs any of the others.
Each race are equally charming, fun to use, and just all-around great
fun - the Terran maintain a charismatic hardass attitude all the time,
whether it's from the marines' sometimes suicidal outlook on the war
('you want a piece of me, boy' doesn't sound too good when a lone
marine is faced with a Protoss carrier) from the Zerg's disgusting
biological squelchings and alien gruntings ('kaablargh' must intimidate
the other races somehow') or from the Protoss' kickass psychic
abilities and robotic hummings and such.
More importantly, the core
mechanics of the game are golden and almost perfect, again. The game
revolves around your worker units harvesting minerals and Vespene gas
in order for you to build structures, move through a technology tree,
and implement more and more units in your forces as they become
available. This stays true for all races, but there are slight
alterations. For the Terrans, your SCV workers will gather minerals and
they will also build the structures, and your units will enter battle
from these structures, for instance a starport will construct Wraith
fighters and Battlecruisers. For the Zerg, all structures are
biological, as such the workers, (Drones) will actually mutate into
your buildings and larvae will mutate into the Drones. It's slightly
more complicated than the Terran, but when you get it sussed out it's
an equally rewarding chain. The Protoss are possibly even more complicated than that, as all
buildings seem to enter through warp rifts in hyperspace, and your
workers (Probes) will open up these rifts. All buildings have to be
powered by a structure called a Pylon, too.
Now I'm going into more of
a walkthrough rather than a review, so I'll snap out of it. The point
comes down to this - the concept of Starcraft really works, and almost
every aspect of its execution is topnotch. There are a few annoying
flaws, such as units randomly following enemy units, a few gaps in
enemy AI, but they are just minor, as for the most part, Blizzard built
a rock solid foundation for this game nine years ago and it still
hasn't been shattered by a superior game as far as I know.
And the storyline and plot haven't been surpassed, either - the
voice-overs in the game are almost perfect and the characters
deliver the tale astonishingly well. Blizzard always implement great stories into their games, and
Starcraft has possibly been blessed with their best work. It's
sometimes surprising, sometimes emotionally charged, sometimes
inspiring, and sometimes just plain epic, but it never fails to stray
from an incredible core science fiction narrative.
The graphics, as I've said, fit the game like a glove, and reek
charisma and personality from every single pore, and even nine years later they truly
do shine; even if the game does look rather dated it really doesn't
matter when the visuals have this much personality. The audio, however,
is even better.
Blizzard have always been pioneers of game music in my eyes, and Starcraft is a true testament to that.
Some people may point out that the music is maybe a bit over the top or
maybe a bit odd, but the diversity between the three race's music is
obvious, and every single track will stick in your head like some sort
of glue. The Terran have a sort of weird infectious poppy vibe
everywhere, the Zerg get a rather spooky, ambient selection, and the
Protoss music cannot really be explained with words. The voice-overs in
the game that document the story are again completely and utterly at
the top of their field. The assorted sound effects and responses from
the units in the game really have a sense of personality, too,
especially the Zerg squelchings and battle cries.
All in all, Starcraft is destined to be remembered as a piece of
videogaming history, that is if it isn't already. Everybody has to play
this game, and I shall be staggered if there is somebody out there who
doesn't find anything to enjoy about this incredibly well designed game.
Starcraft truly is a spellbinding, glittering example of real time
strategy gaming, and it should be experienced by absolutely everybody,
whether it's to witness an almost perfect RTS, behold an unbelievable
storyline, or see the topnotch balance between three of the finest
races in videogaming history. It's just an amazing game. Simple as
that.
