A Craftsman of the Stars
by Jason DeShaw

    At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to make this a Review of the game Starcraft, or an Article about my feelings on Starcraft.  I finally came to the conclusion that a review of the game would not accomplish as much as an article about the game.  Most people already know about Starcraft and the actual dynamics of the game, whereas there are some certain points that I want to touch on that just wouldn't fit right into a review.  So, here it is, an ARTICLE about Starcraft.

    When Jason Met Starcraft

    One day, many years ago, before there was PsychoNoble, there was me at fellow PsychoNobler Brady's house.  That is where I was first introduced to this strange new game called Starcraft.  As I watched him play, I was confused.  What the heck were all these things I was seeing?  Protoss?  Zerg?  Terran?  I wasn't sure what to think.  That is of course until I saw a fleet of twelve Protoss Carriers in action...

A Reenactment of the Carriers overwhelming an opponent

    I was in awe as nearly one hundred interceptors destroyed everything in their path in one fowl swoop after another.  This alone had me yearning to go out and buy the game as soon as I got home.  Alas, I was still a youngin', and had to wait a few weeks for my mom to drive me down to Best Buy, but once I had Starcraft in my hands, I knew this would be a game for the ages...

    A Few Reasons Why Starcraft is So Cool

    1.  This game will never get old.  I'm quite positive that playing this game is the most use out of $40 that I have ever gotten (Except maybe Diablo 2 (So I like Blizzard games, sue me(Please don't sue me))).  The replay value of this game is through the roof.  First of all, you have the massive campaign, which should take you plenty of time to finish.  The story is half way decent, but the true shinning point is the variety of game types in the campaign.  Believe me, I've played some other games where every single campaign mission consists of building a base and destroying your opponent with no variations what so ever.  In Starcraft, you often have more than one way of beating a mission, or your mission consists of taking a small army of infantry into an enemy base.  Some missions require you to hold your ground for a certain time period, most notably one of the early Terran missions where you have to hold off the Zerg for 15 minutes.  I feel as if this bullet point is getting confusing, perhaps I should do some 1a type of thing.

        1a.  There we go.  Campaign: See Above

        1b.  Single player:  As basic as it sounds, sometimes its fun just to go and play some 1v1 against the computer, or 1v2, or 2v1, or whatever.  The combinations are endless.  You can always just pick a huge map, and make it an 8 player free for all.  The game will probably never end, but its fun none-the-less.

        1c.  Online play:  This is common now a days, but when Starcraft came out, playing against your friends or strangers online was still relatively new.  For some reason, when you are playing against a real person, winning and losing becomes more important.  When you lose, it hurts, but when you win, it feels so much better than beating the computer.  Oh sweet victory.

    2.  Variety of Units:  Starcraft is able to give each race completely different types of units, yet still make everything relatively equal.  Each unit has its strengths and weaknesses.  Even twelve Carriers can be taken down relatively easy if you have the means.  This is much different from some games where its like, "Oh, he has the so-and-so unit, well, I lose."  I'd give you an example, but I can't think of any right now, so trust me on this one, Starcraft is the best.

    3.  Memorable Characters:  This is more about the campaign mode again, but the characters are great.  They have real personalities and you actually care about keeping them alive.  You've got Raynor, the bad-ass Terran.  You also have the oddly seductive Kerrigan, who is later taken over by the Zerg, only to become the Queen of Blades.  On the Protoss side you have Fenix and Tassadar, to name a few.  It is a great ensemble cast that you can actually care about and remember.  As for other games, I'd be surprised if you can even remember anyone's name.  There is that one guy from Warcraft 3... some death night guy... uhhh... begins with an A... maybe...

    Some Thoughts About Starcraft 2

    The question that is often on the mind of Starcraft fans is "When is Starcraft 2 Coming?"  It's been at least 7 years since Starcraft was released and smashed all the PC game records for sales, yet no Starcraft 2?  Even the Starcraft Expansion that came out left the possibilities open for a sequel.  Sure, you have the console game Starcraft: Ghost coming out someday, maybe, but it has been expressed by Blizzard as NOT Starcraft 2.  So where is it and why hasn't it come out yet?  I have my own theories...

    Starcraft and Starcraft: Brood War were such hits, that there was no need for a Starcraft 2.  Thousands upon thousands of people were playing Starcraft and its expansion online everyday.  Starcraft was still selling fine, why make a sequel to overshadow such a fine game?  Blizzard moved on to continue other projects, such as the Diablo and Warcraft franchises, leaving Starcraft alone.  I'm not criticizing them for this, because I believe that was a fine move, as Starcraft didn't need a sequel to stay popular at this point.

    After many years though, Starcraft did begin to dwindle in popularity.  Sure, it was still considered a classic and by all means a great game, but there were newer games out to be played.  Starcraft is practically retro now.  So, once again, why no Starcraft 2 to bring it back to popularity?  As I said, Blizzard had moved on to its other projects, Diablo 2, Warcraft 3, and their respective expansions, not to mention World of Warcraft.  Because of all these things, Starcraft was forgotten about and rightly so if there was no longer a demand for the game.  I'm sure Blizzard watched as the numbers of players fell, but there was no need to panic, as all of their newer games were also successes.  There was no need to rush out a Starcraft 2 when they already had other games that were successful.

    So will Blizzard ever make a Starcraft 2?  I bet they will.  They would be crazy not to.  As I said though, there is no longer a rush.  They are past the point of riding the coattails of the first game's success, which I think is a good thing.  Often games pump out a sequel just to make more money, and that's nothing new.  Ever wonder why Mario 2 is so radically different from the first Mario game?  It's because Nintendo just took Japanese game called Doki Doki Panic and replaced it with Mario characters so they could release it as soon as possible.  Don't believe me?  Take a look here.  (Off-Topic.  Wikipedia has to be one of my new favorite places to browse around and collect random information)

    I'm glad they didn't rush out a Starcraft 2, because it would have probably just been the same game with a little better graphics, a couple new options, and a waste of money (Halo 2 I'm looking your way).

    I used to periodically peak at the Starcraft Message boards on the battle.net website to see what was up, but I got tired of everyone whining about Starcraft 2.  Either they were saying, "Starcraft 2 \/\/1Ll |\|3\/3r cu|\/| LOLZZZZ!!!11" or they were saying "1 \/\/4|\|T Starcraft 2 |\|0\/\/ LOLZZZZ!!!11"  Here is what I think you should do.  If you want Starcraft 2 to come out, quit going on the Blizzard forums and shouting at them that they are stupid.  This will only make them care less about the Starcraft fans.  If you want Starcraft 2, here's an idea, go play Starcraft.  It's a great game.  Go get some of your old Starcraft buddies and go on bnet.  That is what will make Blizzard pay attention to Starcraft again, people playing Starcraft!

    Wrap-up

    I like Starcraft.

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