The first voilent game I have ever played. And it made me the gamer that I am today. Hail, StarCraft!
(STORY)
I have forever enjoyed the tales of the Terran, Protoss and the Zurg. These races became more popular than Earthlings! The drama that surrounds these creatures are intense; not to mention the amazing detail in story and even the look of each race. Players will feel that they're actually part of these space freaks, because of their being addressed as Commander, Executor or Cerebrate. And we're even included in their arguments and strategies in the debriefing screens. What joy! So, this is a space epic. There's a war between the Terran Confederacy and the ever-multiplying Zurg. Then the Zurg eventually got the Protoss involved in the fight for dominance. Cue in the most amazing side-stories and cut scenes, and then the most incredible game is born. Yay!
(GRAPHICS)
Solid! For a game this old, it never grows lame in the graphics department. The attention to detail is so profound that you'll forever be praising Blizzard and their team for a job well done. In-game graphics blend with pre-rendered environments well, and there's a bit of CGI as well-the character screen on the command window. The cinematics are also beautiful. Blizzard integrated fully-CG animations for their movies and the overall effect was astounding. It's an old game, but really, it never grows old on you.
(SOUND)
Sound is aplenty in this masterpiece. The Terran and Protoss speak English and say a lot of words when you click them; as well as the Zurg, but they speak in a sort of language that mixes phlegm and hoarse coughs-which is good because these alien sounds really show the grossness of the creatures. The music mixes with the dark ambience of the game. There's so much noise in this game. Very unique sound effects were added here and it's practically art. Space is vast and it must have the 'space thing' sounds, right? What ILM and Skywalker Sound did with Star Wars, Blizzard did for StarCraft.
(GAMEPLAY)
Command battalions of war-mongers; control heroes; build defenses and upgrade units-this game has all the elements a good RTS must have. I mean, the technology is old but it did not lack at all. The balance in gameplay is superb; I have to salute the guys who made this game for their debugging, troubleshooting, updating and refining skills, for this game is very top-of-the-line when it comes to polish and presentation. Though, it's not perfect, and there are still things that needed attention (albeit the occasional bug), StarCraft had everyone going with its tight battle mechanics, unique unit abilities and special attacks.
(OVERALL)
The '90s was the decade of starting up. The present was all in the minds of developers and publishers, and Blizzard, having both roles, made the present their future. StarCraft is a game that I believe made the whole gaming thing a success. It was a pioneer in making the next step at gaming. It's hard to keep my hands off the keyboard, because StarCraft totally owned me.