We all know that blizzard takes inspiration from other things and then makes them better and while Warcraft was really a better version of Warhammer, Starcraft is a sci-fi version of Warcraft while taking from Warhammer 40k and Aliens. What hit me was how much it did feel like Warcraft in Space which is what Blizzard said it would be and how much it played like Warcraft. I think Blizzard really just takes what works throughout all their games and slowly improves on them. The setup is very much the same as say Warcraft 3 where you play as different factions and have the cutscene story telling and even an early version of Hero units. While I can't give the gameplay a perfect score because it is flawed to todays standards theres more than enough for the RTS guy to get outta this game even to today. What amazes me is how this is an RTS from 1998 because apart from the graphics everything just feels so top quality.
You'll Start off as the Terran guys and then move to the Zerg and finally the Protoss which is great because the story tells a war going on between theres 3 factions and you get to see it from all the different sides. Instead of it playing the same story but from 3 different sides where you'd play the same battles over and over again, you'll progress through the story playing the main parts for each faction from the start with the Terran to the ending with the Protoss. What was nice is they wrapped up the storyline really nicely but still left way for a future game, which we got with the expansion and what I'll be playing next because I want to see what happens and then set myself up for Starcraft 2.
This is what has blown me away with Blizzard games and why I rate them higher than I would have done if they had generic stories because their gameplay doesn't hold up to alot of newer RTS games. What drvies me to want to play them and makes them so interesting is their story and you really get invested into the characters and just want to see what happens. Even Diablo which has horrible gameplay kept me going with the storyline, even though it was Blizzard's weakest attempt. I'm really looking forward to playing Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2... I don't like mmorpgs so wish they made Warcraft 4 instead lol but whatever.
Why I say it's much better than Warhammer is because Blizzard create such a great storyline and characters and really great worlds. When I'm playing Warhammer games I just find them so generic and boring and they give me no interest in the side I'm fighting for so I just don't care, nore want to play. With Warcraft and Starcraft however they really are just so much better and I loved all 3 factions of Starcraft. Normally you want to pick a faction but they are so different and so kool that you want to play as them all. The Terran because they're the Humans and you feel attached to them and we are humans and naturally want to see them win. Then you have the Zerg which are like if you got the aliens from the movies Aliens and built a story and a movie on them, expanded their armies. Finally the Protoss which are like the big tall Smart Aliens which are really technology driven.
I really liked fighting as each faction too because they all played very differently and had lots of units to choose from. I found the Terran easier to play however because they are very traditional RTS and as I don't like RTS games that much I liked playing them because they're easy and the others take alot more to learn.
What amazed me too is that I thought I would find the graphics too dated but no... I loved them and thought they had a really great, clear style to them and can see why people put up playing with them today... unlike Diablo. I also thought the music was fantastic as ever with great voice acting and sound effects throughout the game. What I liked alot with Starcraft is usually when you click on a unit you hear the same old thign repeated over and over again but here, I didn't notice it.
My faults however come with the Terrain negotiation of the Units you're controlling like how they just don't seem to have much of a brain of their own and I felt like I had to babysit them alot. In games like COH they think for themselves more and find their own path to a target and move outta the way of eachother and find their own cover etc etc. I hope Blizzard would take that feature from Relic in the future titles.
So Starcraft still offers a fantastic storyline for anyone who wants one and still has alot to offer for RTS fans, time has been kind to Starcraft.
