StarCraft 64 (Nintendo 64)

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Systems | Image:Nintendo 64_thumblogo.png Nintendo 64 | Real-Time Strategy
Starcraft
Starcraft
StarCraft (Nintendo 64)-cover.jpg
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Alternative Title: None
Release date: JP: date/month/1998
NA: date/month/1998
EU: date/month/1998
AU: date/month/1998
Genre: Real-Time Strategy
Number of Players: 1-2
Rating: ESRB - E (Everyone)
PEGI/ELSPA - 3+
CERO - ?
Platform: Image:Nintendo 64_thumblogo.png Nintendo 64
Media: N64 cartridge
Online Functions: No
Amazon:

UK US De Fr Jp Ca

Contents

Description

StarCraft (SC) is a real-time strategy computer game produced by Blizzard Entertainment in 1998. The game is similar to Blizzard's previous hit Warcraft II, but has a science fiction setting. The game was immensely successful: it was estimated by Blizzard in 2004 that 8 million copies of StarCraft had been sold since its release (http://www.blizzard.co.uk/press/ghost_e3_2004.shtml). During the development process, there were great efforts to steer the game away from being simply "Warcraft in Space", and eventually the entire game engine had to be rewritten to allow the developers to achieve the desired result.

The main storyline of the game revolves around a war between three galactic species: the Protoss (a race of humanoid religious warriors), the Zerg (insect-like aliens who share a hive mind) and the Terrans (descendants of human colonists from Earth). It was initially released for Windows, later for Macintosh and the Nintendo 64.

StarCraft was the best selling computer game in 1998, and won the Origins Award for Best Strategy Computer Game of 1998. In that same year, Blizzard released an expansion pack called StarCraft: Brood War.

StarCraft makes significant improvements over Warcraft II. WC II, while advanced for its time, featured what many gamers believed to be a weakness in that, apart from a few minor (but significant for balance, especially at higher skill levels) differences in available spells and the cost of upgrades, the game's two races were exactly the same mechanically, with only graphical differences. StarCraft improved upon this by incorporating three asymmetric races, Protoss, Terran, and Zerg. Though the races were slightly imbalanced when the game was first released, the expansion pack and a dozen patches (of which four affected the game play mechanics) have balanced the three races.

The Brood War expansion provides several new units for each race (which dramatically modified the game play) and a new campaign for each race, continuing the story begun in StarCraft (see StarCraft storyline). Most people who still play use this expansion and agree that it changed the game significantly for the better, although some still prefer the original game.

The game also includes multiplayer gaming on Blizzard's own Internet gaming service Battle.net. One can play against opponents free of any charge beyond the original purchase of the game and local Internet access fees. Many fans enjoy playing in groups against the computer in skirmish games. While the AI is considered to be weak compared to a good player, decent early game performance can make it an enjoyable opponent for more casual players. Fans are also able to create unfair maps that are advantageous to the computer and can be extremely hard to beat. A few years after the release of the game, Blizzard also released several free maps of a higher difficulty. Over time, the patches have also improved the AI.

StarCraft has achieved a cult-like status in the computer gaming world. Due to the complexity and depth of the strategic possibilities, StarCraft, especially in its online multiplayer form, remains very popular, even years after its original release. The game's popularity in South Korea has been unexpectedly high, with government-sponsored tournaments, and intense training groups sprouting up across the country. The top StarCraft players are fairly well known and often appear in television commercials.

Fans impatiently await the creation of StarCraft II. Blizzard has announced that they are interested in making a sequel to their popular game, and there is evidence that they may have started design for StarCraft II in late 2004 (including posts by Blizzard officials on the Battle.net forums asking for suggestions for such a game, and the lack of other projects for Blizzard after World of Warcraft's completion, as well as a leak about a 2007 release from Hanbitsoft, the Korean publisher of StarCraft), but the development of a sequel has not yet been officially announced. Blizzard is working on a third person shooter, StarCraft: Ghost to be released in 2005; the change in genre from RTS to TPS and absence of a PC version aroused considerable protests among many of the StarCraft faithful, though others eagerly anticipate the game.

Gameplay

StarCraft improved upon its predecessor Warcraft II, which featured two very similar playable factions, by incorporating three races, Protoss, Terran, and Zerg and giving each race unique units and technologies, such as to create an important asymmetry between the three. The unit types available to each race define its racial identity. The Protoss can field powerful and expensive warriors and machinery, while the Zerg count on sheer numbers and speed to overwhelm their opponents. The Terrans are the versatile and flexible alternative to both races, with an emphasis on specialization and combined arms. In many ways, the Terran can be considered the "in-between" race in that they tend to benefit from more moderate conditions, whereas the other two races tend to prefer one extreme or the other. This can make it difficult to create maps that are fair for all races.

For a extremely in-depth review of the Gameplay please visit the Gameplay of Starcraft article on Wikipedia.org

Credits

Trivia

  • Starcraft contains many references to popular movies or books. For example in the map editor player can choose a Terran Wraith hero called Tom Kazansky. Lt Tom Kazansky played by Val Kilmer is one of main characters in the movie Top Gun. There is also a Terran Firebat called Guy Montag. It is a reference to Ray Bradbury's book Fahrenheit 451. Zerg hero Yggdrasil is named after a computer in the Japaneese anime movie Oh My Goddess.
  • Every unit in game has some secret speeches. They are activated by clicking on this unit several times. They are usually trivial and funny yet some of them are particularly interesting. Protoss Observer transmits the voice of Adria the Witch and Griswold the Blacksmith from Diablo.
  • Starcraft is the first computer game to have ever physically made it into space. It was sent aboard Shuttle mission STS-96 on May 27, 1999 by Mission Specialist Daniel T. Barry , who is also a Starcraft fan.
  • If you extract the StarDat file, you find evidence of units found in Brood War that weren't used in the original game, and some indication that the Terran Marines were supposed to be able to throw grenades as well. This lead to many accusations toward Blizzard that they held back these units so they could release them in an expansion and make more money.

Formats

External Links

Official sites

General

Competitive Ladders

Strategies

Battlereports

Audio commentaries

Customs and Campaigns

Tool and Programs

Progaming Teams

This article uses source material obtained from Wikipedia
The original article can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarCraft

Screenshots

Starcraft
Starcraft Screenshot 1
Starcraft Screenshot 1
Starcraft Screenshot 2
Starcraft Screenshot 2
Starcraft Screenshot 3
Starcraft Screenshot 3
Starcraft Screenshot 4
Starcraft Screenshot 4

Review Scores

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