It was 1998 when Blizzard Entertainment released one of the most popular Real Time Strategy game or RTS which was Starcraft. Eleven years have passed and still, some players continue to play and get addicted to this simple yet challenging game.
It features three unique races that have its won set of units that have their own statistics, abilities and skills. The game can either be played as a campaign, single player custom game or multiplayer custom game.
The campaign mode is relatively challenging (if you are new to the game). It covers the story of the Terran dominion, the Protoss Empire and the Zerg swarm. Throughout the campaign storyline, these three races continuously fight for the colonization of the universe. The story revolves around these characters: James Raynor -a renegade confederate marshal. Sarah Kerrigan - a confederate ghost abandoned and was infested by the zerg then turned to a powerful being and made queen to the zerg swarm, Artanis - a protoss templar dedicated to the protection of his home planet and race. Tassadar - Sacrificed himself to kill the overmind. Arcturus Mengsk - A Terran dominion emperor who is against the protoss and the zerg.
The game-play of StarCraft is simple and easy to learn and understand. You control your own army and create bases near resources. The game utilizes the mouse to control units and the keyboard, for shortcuts like most RTS games today. It only takes a little while to get a hang of the game and if you are a gamer, you'll quickly understand its interface.
The objective in standard custom games is to eliminate all your opponents' buildings. You can attain this goal by many ways but the most important concept in skirmish games is to build your base, expand your base, create a solid defense and make a massive army of units that work along with each other.
The graphics of the game, if compared to today's modern games, resembles more like a cartoon than a three dimensional game. It is a two dimensional game however the method used to create the graphics is through three dimensional objects. The game is 2-dimensional since the graphics data files are composed of pre-rendered 2d stills. But even with its low technology engine (it doesn't even use directX); it is one of the best games ever made. It is simple and fun. It is unlike other games that tend to be complex.
However, it looses its appeal if you have played it far too many times. When you reach this point and if you just love the game, you'll try out something new. First, you will start making your own maps. When that gets too boring, you'll then explore more Starcraft's campaign editor then you'll start making your own scripts. After a while, you already have your own scenario. Still bored? Make your own campaign with its own story and multiple episodes. And if all that is not yet enough, modify the game.
Most games sold in the market, not those free-wares, attach a "no-reverse-engineering" agreement in the End User License agreement but as for Starcraft, Blizzard even helped gamers who modify their games to modify it. There are a lot of modified versions of Starcraft around the net. Two of the most popular of them are Starcraft: Gundam and Starcraft: Fallen Angel. Most people stop here. They either get bored or fully satisfied but for some gamers they even push further by modifying Starcraft themselves. You can create and apply your own graphics, sounds, movies, backgrounds, map tiles, unit speech and even the standard unit statistics. Modification tools and tutorials are available at starcraft.org and campaigncreations.org including some cool maps, modifications, and campaigns. But let's not forget the official page of Starcraft which is www.starcraft.com.
Overall, the game is a must play. Whether you are a hardcore gamer or just the occasional play-to-relax person, if you haven't played this game, you are missing a part of the world.
Today, Blizzard Entertainment is about to finish the most awaited game by gamers and Starcraft fans. The much awaited sequel to the once very popular game has its beta opt-in program on-going. Last year, rumors were already around about the release date of starcraft2. The most frequently heard was October 2008. As October swiftly flew, there was no clue form Blizzard as to when the real release date was. Most gamers got disappointed. Yes it was wrong to believe in rumors but everyone is excited. Now, October is coming up again and many are hoping for the October 2008 rumor to become the October 2009 announced release date.
Starcraft2 takes all of Blizzard's game style, graphics and core engine one step higher: From its unit graphics to the realistic debris-gravity effects. The game engine was overhauled and many more features are announced to come. There will be more units, skills and a lot of mix-and-matching for players to create their own unique playing style.
Even the cinematic movies are greatly improved. Starcraft2's trailer, according to an Insider interview with Nick Carpenter, boasts of a five million polygon count - a very high number for a video game production. The cinematic trailers are even better than Starcraft's in-game cinematics. The 3d models are more detailed and are more realistic.
As for the game-play, not much can be said since Blizzard's development team is constantly modifying many aspects of the game to achieve proper balance between the three races which are: The Terrans, The Protoss and The Zerg. However, sneak peeks are placed online for fans to see. From these, we can really expect a lot from Starcraft2.
A lot of players are already waiting on Blizzard's main page for the official announcement. The time is drawing near so better save up for a faster box '" if you haven't got one yet, and for one of Blizzard's best games yet to be one of the first people outside Blizzard to ever play the game.