Starcraft (PC, 1998)
Graphics-9 Sound-8.5 Control-8.5 Challenge-6* Story-6
Level Design-9/7.5* Frustration-6.5* Fun-8*/9.5 Originality-4.5
Overall Score-9.5
*The campaign
+
Three different races that play and look quite different but are still very well balanced
Interesting units and abilities overall (ghosts, arbiters, templar and archons, defilers, canals, siege tanks, dark templar, flying transports, terran workers can repair buildings and vehicles, science vessels, warp in multiple buildings with protoss, creep, etc.)
Interface improvements over Warcraft II (select 12 units at once, rally points, production queues, control groups, waypoints, hit space to move the camera to the recent event, etc)
Good voice acting overall, satisfying sfx
More terrain differences (ramps, high and low ground, unbuildable ground, creep, woods (cover?))
Replays
Pretty good campaign variation overall
Pretty high unit limit (200 supply, larger/more advanced units cost more than one point)
Great art direction overall
Great map/scenario editor (can create pretty complex scenarios for the type which basically lead to new game modes online such as tower defense, zombie hordes, rpg-ish modes, etc.)
Location hotkeys return (only f2-4 can be used though)
+/-
Overlords can carry ultralisks
Reavers and dragoons take up the same amount of space in a shuttle
Can't sell units
Can't speed up building construction by using more than one worker
Always need to start over with upgrades etc. in each new campaign mission (gets tedious at times)
Control groups are altered by the arbiter's stasis ability (can be good for the other player though)
Waypoints don't work when warping in buildings with probes
Can't rally workers to mine resources
No destructible terrain (Red Alert)
No water units
No "unit lost" message (or event log to bring up at will), can't tell units to hold and not attack anything?, the computer cheats when it comes to unit control/micro
Some unintuitive but interesting tactics (drone drill - if you right click a resource tile your worker(s) lose collision which can be used to get past units or move into and distract groups)
-
Some pathfinding issues (dragoons in stairs, goliaths, workers getting stuck on each other, slow units like templars slowing larger groups down, reaver scarabs, ordering a spellcaster to cast something on terrain higher or lower than himself usually makes it try to walk to that spot via a ramp even though it should be in range after some forward movement towards the target, etc.)
Some interface/control issues (can't see each unit's energy in the lowbar during a group selection, can't choose to build out of more than one building at once, no "select everything" button (can't select more than 12 units at once) - C&C, can't use specific unit abilites in mixed groups (even when it's just a hero with other units of the same kind), can't build more than one unit at a time per building (could've been an upgrade at least as it would've switched the focus more to tactics than tedious mass production), sometimes buggy hit detection on spider mine explosions and inconsistent hit boxes on buildings placed near walls (for example a pylon is not tight against a wall if the wall is to the right of it), can't rally workers to mine resources, )
The campaign lacks alternate paths and doesn't always respond to your actions when it should (for example if there's a holdout mission and you've killed all the enemies the mission doesn't end and the enemy doesn't get any reinforcements)
Some trial & error (sudden attack by the terran general (duke?) in one of the protoss missions, burrowed and undetectable infested terrans in another protoss mission)
Sometimes stupid AI player (often doesn't send pre-placed units to help, doesn't unburrow units hit by a psionic storm, doesn't expand or build enough workers during the campaign, skirmish: no build orders, poor economy, slow to expand, etc.)
No difficulty options for the campaign
Cutscenes sometimes don't reflect what you've done in a mission or what you're about to face in the next one
The game is sometimes lacking when it comes to introducing new units and their uses to the player (interruptions would've been annoying but there could've been an option to check new unit info in a menu or something)
Low volume on some of the voice acting
Minor balancing issues (mutalisks without BW, specific map types, scouts are still too expensive),
Can't keep playing after getting the victory message in a campaign mission, some annoying sfx (siege tank),
Comment:
This game and to a lesser extent its expansion basically ate up most of my free time for at least a year after getting it back in 1998 and were one of the first games to introduce me to the rush of online multiplayer gaming and to the concept of sticking with a game as its community grew and the gameplay changed a bit with each released patch. While I had played several RTS games prior such as Dune 2, C&C: Red Alert and Warcraft 2, all great games at the time mind you, Starcraft easily trounced them all in most ways; here you got three very different but still well balanced factions each with their own detailed backstory, one lengthy and well presented campaign per faction (fully voice acted I believe) that tied into an overarching story of intergalactic conflict, and some nice improvements to the controls and interface such as building queues and rally points as well as a resolution boost.
On top of that there's the great multiplayer mode via Blizzard's then new battle.net service supporting FFA or team battles for up to 8 people, and if that's not enough for you there's the great map editor which allowed people to create their own spinoffs of the standard gameplay via user made scenarios as they were called, something that extended the game with stuff like RPG modes and zombie horde modes.
Of course, the base game with all of its nuances and depth was more than enough for me and with the continued developer support, the game soon became (and still is) one of the best balanced and plain fun RTS games out there.
Remastered (including Brood War):
+
Remappable hotkeys
Zoom feature added to replays
Mostly nice visual overhaul
Valkyries became more useful due to there being no sprite limit
+/-
-
Can't get a higher res/zoomed out view in-game
No other control/interface/pathfinding improvements (worker and scarab pathfinding, can't build out of more than one building at once and can't build more than one unit at a time per building (could've been an upgrade at least as it would've switched the focus more to tactics than tedious mass production), no pathfinding fixes, can't select more units at once and there's no select all button, can't use more than F2-4 for location hotkeys, can't set waypoints for currently building SCVs, an't use specific unit abilites in mixed groups (even when it's just a hero with other units of the same kind), can't rally workers to mine resources, sometimes buggy hit detection on spider mine explosions and inconsistent hit boxes on buildings placed near walls (for example a pylon is not tight against a wall if the wall is to the right of it), etc.)
No cost or stat rebalancing (scouts and devourers are too expensive, ghosts too situational? - can be good if you have enough vs a mech heavy army like carriers, corsairs are kinda weak besides vs zerg, queens and dark archons are kinda meh, guardians too slow?)
Units still have fairly small reaction range
The enemy AI wasn't improved (there are mods though)
Music is identical
Level Design-9/7.5* Frustration-6.5* Fun-8*/9.5 Originality-4.5
Overall Score-9.5
*The campaign
+
Three different races that play and look quite different but are still very well balanced
Interesting units and abilities overall (ghosts, arbiters, templar and archons, defilers, canals, siege tanks, dark templar, flying transports, terran workers can repair buildings and vehicles, science vessels, warp in multiple buildings with protoss, creep, etc.)
Interface improvements over Warcraft II (select 12 units at once, rally points, production queues, control groups, waypoints, hit space to move the camera to the recent event, etc)
Good voice acting overall, satisfying sfx
More terrain differences (ramps, high and low ground, unbuildable ground, creep, woods (cover?))
Replays
Pretty good campaign variation overall
Pretty high unit limit (200 supply, larger/more advanced units cost more than one point)
Great art direction overall
Great map/scenario editor (can create pretty complex scenarios for the type which basically lead to new game modes online such as tower defense, zombie hordes, rpg-ish modes, etc.)
Location hotkeys return (only f2-4 can be used though)
+/-
Overlords can carry ultralisks
Reavers and dragoons take up the same amount of space in a shuttle
Can't sell units
Can't speed up building construction by using more than one worker
Always need to start over with upgrades etc. in each new campaign mission (gets tedious at times)
Control groups are altered by the arbiter's stasis ability (can be good for the other player though)
Waypoints don't work when warping in buildings with probes
Can't rally workers to mine resources
No destructible terrain (Red Alert)
No water units
No "unit lost" message (or event log to bring up at will), can't tell units to hold and not attack anything?, the computer cheats when it comes to unit control/micro
Some unintuitive but interesting tactics (drone drill - if you right click a resource tile your worker(s) lose collision which can be used to get past units or move into and distract groups)
-
Some pathfinding issues (dragoons in stairs, goliaths, workers getting stuck on each other, slow units like templars slowing larger groups down, reaver scarabs, ordering a spellcaster to cast something on terrain higher or lower than himself usually makes it try to walk to that spot via a ramp even though it should be in range after some forward movement towards the target, etc.)
Some interface/control issues (can't see each unit's energy in the lowbar during a group selection, can't choose to build out of more than one building at once, no "select everything" button (can't select more than 12 units at once) - C&C, can't use specific unit abilites in mixed groups (even when it's just a hero with other units of the same kind), can't build more than one unit at a time per building (could've been an upgrade at least as it would've switched the focus more to tactics than tedious mass production), sometimes buggy hit detection on spider mine explosions and inconsistent hit boxes on buildings placed near walls (for example a pylon is not tight against a wall if the wall is to the right of it), can't rally workers to mine resources, )
The campaign lacks alternate paths and doesn't always respond to your actions when it should (for example if there's a holdout mission and you've killed all the enemies the mission doesn't end and the enemy doesn't get any reinforcements)
Some trial & error (sudden attack by the terran general (duke?) in one of the protoss missions, burrowed and undetectable infested terrans in another protoss mission)
Sometimes stupid AI player (often doesn't send pre-placed units to help, doesn't unburrow units hit by a psionic storm, doesn't expand or build enough workers during the campaign, skirmish: no build orders, poor economy, slow to expand, etc.)
No difficulty options for the campaign
Cutscenes sometimes don't reflect what you've done in a mission or what you're about to face in the next one
The game is sometimes lacking when it comes to introducing new units and their uses to the player (interruptions would've been annoying but there could've been an option to check new unit info in a menu or something)
Low volume on some of the voice acting
Minor balancing issues (mutalisks without BW, specific map types, scouts are still too expensive),
Can't keep playing after getting the victory message in a campaign mission, some annoying sfx (siege tank),
Comment:
This game and to a lesser extent its expansion basically ate up most of my free time for at least a year after getting it back in 1998 and were one of the first games to introduce me to the rush of online multiplayer gaming and to the concept of sticking with a game as its community grew and the gameplay changed a bit with each released patch. While I had played several RTS games prior such as Dune 2, C&C: Red Alert and Warcraft 2, all great games at the time mind you, Starcraft easily trounced them all in most ways; here you got three very different but still well balanced factions each with their own detailed backstory, one lengthy and well presented campaign per faction (fully voice acted I believe) that tied into an overarching story of intergalactic conflict, and some nice improvements to the controls and interface such as building queues and rally points as well as a resolution boost.
On top of that there's the great multiplayer mode via Blizzard's then new battle.net service supporting FFA or team battles for up to 8 people, and if that's not enough for you there's the great map editor which allowed people to create their own spinoffs of the standard gameplay via user made scenarios as they were called, something that extended the game with stuff like RPG modes and zombie horde modes.
Of course, the base game with all of its nuances and depth was more than enough for me and with the continued developer support, the game soon became (and still is) one of the best balanced and plain fun RTS games out there.
Remastered (including Brood War):
+
Remappable hotkeys
Zoom feature added to replays
Mostly nice visual overhaul
Valkyries became more useful due to there being no sprite limit
+/-
-
Can't get a higher res/zoomed out view in-game
No other control/interface/pathfinding improvements (worker and scarab pathfinding, can't build out of more than one building at once and can't build more than one unit at a time per building (could've been an upgrade at least as it would've switched the focus more to tactics than tedious mass production), no pathfinding fixes, can't select more units at once and there's no select all button, can't use more than F2-4 for location hotkeys, can't set waypoints for currently building SCVs, an't use specific unit abilites in mixed groups (even when it's just a hero with other units of the same kind), can't rally workers to mine resources, sometimes buggy hit detection on spider mine explosions and inconsistent hit boxes on buildings placed near walls (for example a pylon is not tight against a wall if the wall is to the right of it), etc.)
No cost or stat rebalancing (scouts and devourers are too expensive, ghosts too situational? - can be good if you have enough vs a mech heavy army like carriers, corsairs are kinda weak besides vs zerg, queens and dark archons are kinda meh, guardians too slow?)
Units still have fairly small reaction range
The enemy AI wasn't improved (there are mods though)
Music is identical