Blizzards phenomenally popular Starcraft is easily one of the finest RTSes ever made, getting us to establish a powerful economy to maintain a military presence capable of winning the game. When Starcraft hit store shelves on that fateful day in the March of 1998 it would change the face of the RTS genre forever, mainly because of its close subscription to Sci-Fi principles. What separated Starcraft from the RTS games which had preceded it was that it didnt feature the same armies with slightly adjusted visuals rather it would create three incredibly distinctive warring factions (two of which were built up of alien races) which provided the player with three different ways of approaching the game. With the balanced futuristic humans the Terran, the elite Protoss and the Starship Troopers-esque swarming Zerg, Blizzard not only gave us an incredible variety of different gamplay options but also established three fascinating factions that any sci-fi fan would get giddy with excitement about. Not only were all three races given a rich, distinctive lore and visual style but they were also incredibly well balanced. It never felt like one race could be considered to be the best in the right hands all three factions could be deadly, though they each had their own limitations also. This exceptional RTS gameplay based on these three unique races that typify everything which is great about sci-fi meant that Starcraft was a commercial success and remains played all these years later: Blizzards classic shipped 9.5 million units worldwide with 4.5 million of these being sold in South Korea, where arenas are used to showcase elite players in front of a packed audience of fans.
Hailing from South East London, Sam Heard is an aspiring writer and recent graduate from the University of Warwick. Sam's favourite things include energy drinks, late nights spent watching the UFC with his girlfriend and annihilating his friends at FIFA.
