Simply a classic. Great for cheap, and a good title if you have an older computer.

User Rating: 10 | Starcraft PC
This is my favorite real time strategy (RTS) EVER! I guess Blizzard's own Warcraft series is credited with starting the genre, but StarCraft is still my favorite. I still have a fond memory of being introduced to this game. I was travelling by plane from college (Texas) to home (Alabama), and the guy seated next to me had a laptop, and was playing this thing. I was kind of in a gaming slump at the time, but this just looked cool to me. It reminded me of one of my top five games of all time, Civilization, but more fast-paced and visceral. I think I managed to pick up a copy and install it on my parents computer for about $30 at the time. At this point, people who haven't picked up this game are probably more interested in picking up a newer RTS. This is not a bad option, and I can't dissuade you from this. Heed this though, if you're not caught up in flash, StarCraft is a great title to pick up on the cheap. You will find its graphics, while very old school, are still creative and suited to the game. (as well as its sound) Also its gameplay is stellar. There is nothing in my opinion that any modern RTS has done better gameplaywise. They have done things differently, and just as good, but not, in my opinion, better. One of the great things about this game is its three races. This is not a sexy feature because many games can boast a dozen races, or something similar. Still, you have to look at substance, and these three races are incredibly diverse. If you look at one of StarCraft's contemporaries, Age of Kings, you will see it has many races, but be wary. These races are only different subsets of a globally shared skill/building/unit tree. There is only ONE unique unit for each race, and no unique buildings. StarCraft, on the other hand, shares almost NO units in common between the races! (with the exception of the humble peon, I believe, none) There are no common buildings either. These races all play completely differently! What's more, with the modern patches, they are INCREDIBLY well balanced, not to mention fun to experiment with. Another legendary thing about StarCraft is its mission system. It has a great story, as well as diverse mission goals. This is a standard now I'm sure, but it is not absent, even in this ancient game. Multiplayer is fantastic too. Although, if you're like me, you'd probably rather play this with friends than with the cheaters, idiots, and trolls you find online. (note: this user is very jaded about online communities for gaming in general. This is not a symptom of StarCraft itself) The game is incredibly deep, and if you go to a site like starcraft.org, you can download game replays that are very fun to watch. (One in particular had a guy playing Terrans who was MAD sick.) I'm still a sucker for vanilla StarCraft, but there is an expansion available for people who want to mess with new units and new missions. The only complaint I could possibly muster about this game is that there is no adjustable level of difficulty for computer opponents in the multiplayer mode. The computer will slaughter you when you first start playing against it in multiplayer, but later on, it isn't even good enough to provide a real challenge, and it doesn't help you practice your skills. Still, I have read that it actually doesn't cheat! (I believe this. I have watched replays, and while the computer does have inhuman reflexes, it seems to move units and harvest resources and build upgrades and buildings all according to the rules. This is a great achievement in AI that is not often found in games of this era. ( e.g. the aforementioned Civilization)) Overall, this is a great game to pick up, especially if you have an old computer. Almost anything bought within the last few years would run this game I bet, and it's cheap! If you do buy this, I wish you fun!