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Advantages:
Incredible editor, good diversity
Disadvantages:
1) Build up your army to a million units,2) click and press 'A' on the enemy base 3) leave computer to eat dinner for half an hour 4) return to find enemy base destroyed
Initially this game seems awe inspiringly good. The graphics are gorgeous, the story line gripping, the units fun, varied and exciting, and the races are original and diverse.
And so it plays for the first few days
But then it hits you
In every mission all you do is build up your defences, click on the enemy base while pressing 'A', and sit back and watch your forces destroy the enemy ones.
The game begins to feel like its pretty much running itself. As your 1000s of zerg units or your 27 Terran Battle Cruisers melt the enemy's base into Tar, you suddenly realize that they did it all that without your help.
I do understand the theory behind this idea. Blizzard are kindly trying to remove the tedious aspects of the game so we don't all beat the computer screen into a pulp because our units decided to walk across the swamp of eternal damnation, despite the fact that is a longer route and anyone with a brain knows not to walk across a red hot burning lava swamp (this swamp doesn't actually exist in any game, its just an example) because its going to kill you.
But blizzard takes it too far. There's nothing left for us to do. And so we watch our astutely intelligent soldiers do their thing. And then we pick up a magazine. Or go eat dinner. Or go to the pub. And suddenly your questioning why you have a game that is essentially in autoplay.
If your lazy, relaxed and chilled out, then you might enjoy being able to to kick back and watch beautifully animated and exciting computer run battles. If you are like me, and you like the type of games that makes you be on your toes, directing, commanding, sweating as in the heat of battle as everything goes to hell. The type of game where you find yourself screaming and yelling at those little morons as everything comes to a head at once. The type of game that gives you an adrenaline rush like no other. Then this is not the game for you. Nor is this the game for you if you enjoy the finer arts of strategy. Click and press 'A' on the enemy base hardly strains the imagination.
A quick side note about the editor. This is very very enjoyable and easy to use. It has an incredible number of options and lets you change just about everything but the game engine. The computer AI is a little hard to tune, and some scenarios don't work as well as others on it. But generally I loved that part of it. More editors like that please Blizzard :)
Overall, there are better games out there. Go buy one of them.
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Advantages: The best real-time strat. game. A must have if you play multiplayer Disadvantages: There are none. O the er 1.08 patch isn't ready yet - soon be ready though I hope
WormySqurmy 01.02.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of StarCraft (PC)
Advantages: New units, campaigns, levels and a fluid plot. Did not tip the balance of units but some cool idea Disadvantages: Requires full working version of Starcraft.
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