Full Playlist: • Casual Starcraft Remas...
You didn't think I'd have a strategy focused series without covering one of the grandparents of the modern genre, did you? Back before activisions, back before microtransactions, here back at the start of "the golden age", Blizzard entertainment was a modest studio that had seen their best success to date out of the title "Warcraft: Orcs & Humans" and its sequel "Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness". On these successes they expanded their real-time strategy development out of high fantasy and into science fantasy. In 1998 Starcraft was released to exceptional reception, taking the title of top-selling PC game for that year. Very quickly after Starcraft's inital release, several expansion packs of story campaigns and multiplayer maps were added. "Insurrection", "Brood War", and "Retribution". Of these three, Brood War was the most elaborate and was the only expansion recieved well. Insurrection and Retribution, while having plots that reviewed anywhere from "okay" to "pretty good", otherwise did not impress reviewers because of a lack of any new units or mechanics, and lackluster multiplayer maps.
For this series I will only be covering the Classic and Brood War releases, and casually at that. While I have enough skill to complete these campaigns, I am by no means amazing at the game. There will be little to no fancy tricks, and my micro will make anyone who plays above a bronze rank sob and/or froth uncontrollably. I will strive to use units when they are introduced in a new mission and resist my urge to stall and build an overkill army before rolling out. This is one of the games that shaped my tastes in aesthetics, sci fi, music, it was very formative to be frank. I'm pleased to share this experience with anyone who joins me on this great big digital couch. So come with me, to explore the life and death drama in the Koprulu sector.