StarCraft

Published by Vivendi UIP
Designed by Blizzard Entertainment
Platform: PC CD/ROM
Price £9.99 Released: Out Now

System requirements
Windows 95/98/98SE/ME
Pentium 200 or better
32MB of RAM

I remember the last few years of the 48k Spectrum well. The new 'thing' was the budget game. These games came out at either £1.99 or £2.99 and despite being about a ¼ of the price of a full price game the quality was comparable. The games shops soon became flooded with these cut price games as customers could buy 3 or 4 for the price of 1. Now zooming back to the present day and history is repeating itself. Some of the finest jewels in Sierra's gaming crown can now be had for under £10. StarCraft is one of these jewels and bundled with the Brood War expansion it offers breathtaking value.

For those of you who don't know, StarCraft is a sci-fi RTS that offers you the chance to play as Terrans, the Zerg and Protoss. Each race has a very distinctive playing style and offers a very different experience. The game is one the finest RTS ever created with its simple, addictive and well balanced gameplay. The graphics maybe a few years old but they still look very good and the interface is clear and very easy to use. Subtitles can be enabled and help give deaf gamers a welcome feedback they usually don't get from this type of game. It was disappointing to see that the introduction was not subtitled. There are 6 campaigns in all with the installation of the Brood War expansion (2 for each of the races) and the difficulty progresses at an even rate so you won't find yourself getting slaughtered in a mission after just easily completing one.

With games like StarCraft being released for less than £10 (as well as Caesar 3, Pharaoh, Homeworld etc.) it is clear to see that the 'budget' PC games are going to be more popular than the new full price releases after all what you rather have? Red Alert 2 for £35 or games such as StarCraft, Homeworld and Warcraft 2 and still have change for a trip Burger King. There is no choice really, is there.

Recommendation: Highly Recommended. A wonderful RTS that shames some of the more recent efforts.
Suitability for deaf gamers: Very Good but the introduction should have been subtitled.