A SHEER CLASSIC (StarCraft (PC))

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Product:	StarCraft (PC)
Date:	18/02/01 (4 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: EVERYTHING

Disadvantages: U have to stop playing if u want to go out somewhere!

The year is 2499. Most worlds of the galaxy were colonized by the oppressive terran Confederacy, whose supremacy remains absolute in galactic domination...
Well, I can say not for long, after playing Starcraft’s ten-mission initial campaign.

Starcraft is one of those few games that although it doesn’t show all the greatness of technological advances, has something that can keep you amazed from the first time you put the CD on the drive, till the uninstall process is completed: a good plot.

Starcraft’s storyline gives a new meaning to the Real Time Strategy (RTS) genre, it does something that we haven’t seen since the original Command & Conquer arrived.
Firstly, you have the voice acting. Instead of doing it on their own, the Blizzard team hired some actors and actresses to get the job done, making these voices much more realistic, immersing the player more deeply into the story.

For instance, the briefing before each mission will give you the sense that you are watching a movie. These briefings consist of an interface with four portraits; on each of them the faces of the persons/aliens who are in the conversation will appear. When one of them speaks, his portrait is displayed within a red frame, and the text appears centered on the screen, so you won’t miss a single word of the conversation. Besides, the tons of different digital sound effects and noises only add to the ambience.

This effect is also present on the battlefield. Each unit has its own distinctive phrases (or noises if talking about the bug-like Zerg) which are very funny if you keep clicking the little guys for a while.

Graphically speaking, there isn’t much to contemplate (the game uses the classical 2D perspective of this genre), but the cut-scenes set between missions are certainly amazing. Starcraft comes with all the scenes necessary to be called a movie. You have the classic marines vs. aliens inside a s
paceship scene, some massive battles at night and all the unavoidable big explosions.

On the strategic side, the unit balance is the best I have seen since the first Warcraft. You have three races to choose from: the always-present terrans, the bug-like Zerg and the high-tech, fanatic religious Protoss.

But unlike many other RTS games out there, where units are all the same but with different names, in Starcraft each race has its own creatures, which are not only graphically different, but also have their own abilities, strengths and weaknesses.
Each race has many different features that add a lot to the strategy. A good example of this is the clocking ability of certain units. This ability allow units to hide on the map; the terran Ghost can do that for some time, so he can infiltrate the enemy base without setting off the alarm and launch a nuclear bomb on it (the ghost is the only unit who can handle nuclear power). To avoid this situation, the Zerg swarms have the Overlords, a sort of “brain” which can see units whether they are clocked or not. These Overlords also serve as a living source of food for the swarm and as a means of transport. Zerg fans will have to look after them a lot though, as Overlords are weaponless and can’t do anything against a bunch of Protoss Scouts in attack formation... As you can see, I’m a big Starcraft fan. And all this means the game has tons of different strategic possibilities combining different unit types.

Maybe the controls are the most difficult thing to handle, but just at first. Mostly you use the mouse for all the tasks but the game also comes with a predefined set of keystrokes to give orders to units, that really come in handy in the game hottest parts.

And to the multiplayer at last. The three campaigns (ten missions each) are progressively challenging and are all very enjoyable. But there is nothing like eradicating your friend’s Zerg-infested king
dom (I play the Protoss mostly) on the net. Unfortunately the game can be played online only in Blizzard’s proprietary Battle.net servers.

The campaign missions alone will keep you busy for a while, then you can move to Battle.net for another long time. And if you are still asking for more, you have a game editor that lets you create your own missions, change unit stats, put briefings and adding your own sounds.

To conclude, Starcraft is now two years old and is still on the top ten selling chart. So I think most of you already have it, but if you consider yourself a strategy gamer and you haven’t purchased this one yet, grab it now! You can thank me later.

Plot: 10/10 Best plot on a strategy game, ever.

Graphics: 7/10 A bit pixelated but the game is two years old after all

Music and Sound: 10/10 Superb! Excellent voice acting, Protoss tunes are the best

Controls: 9/10 Too many keystrokes, but you get used to it after some time

Fun Factor: 10/10 Best experience since the first time I....

Tech: 10/10 Very good AI, the game never crashed (and I have been playing it for more than 18 months!)

Multiplayer: 9/10 Many playing modes, organized championships and leagues. You have to play on Battle.net servers only, though.

Replay Value: 10/10 Many single and multiplayer missions available on the net. Game comes with Mission Editor to develop your creativity.

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