Best executed RTS to date - lacks only based on current additions not available during development
Graphics (9.1/10): The graphics for the time were relatively good. Even today they hold up reasonably against most other RTS games because of the depth and most newer gamers are able to look past the perhaps "pixely" models. However, the game does not show age in the way that say FFVII does or even some of the other previous gen console games. This game is more of just a refinement issue when compared to the models and details of the current RTS games like WCIII and WH40k. The models in the window that show the detail can be a bit grainy, but there are no real issues with the animations being choppy or the models being too pixelated to really cause any confusion during gameplay. This game would have made people go "wow, that's really awesome" during the release of the game (and if you had the PC hardware to support it at max detail), but these days it will be more of "why didn't they do this, that, or the other thing like in this game?" Games will show their age, and this one is more like the Sharon Stone and Suzanne Sommers than the Joan Rivers of the celebrity world.
Sound Effects and Score (10/10): When you fire up the game and really get into the first menu, you will notice something very special about it... the music and sound. Even when compared to today's scores and sound effects you will not find very many games that boast the kind of respect this game has and continues to demand especially considering the age of the game. Whether you are building barracks, being talked to by the voice actors, or listening to the various firing guns/cannons or hydraulics... all of them seem not only believable, but genuinely recorded and mastered. The music is another score worth picking up in the Echoes of War set by Blizzard (and you will again find it in my iPod on my Soundtrack and Instrumental Lists). It matches the dark view of the game as well as sets the tone for what board you are on whether it be campaign or an online fight. While the dialogue for the voice actors is not award winning in terms of both excitement and bad jokes, the actors are usually flawless and each have a personality of their own (both unit and named units in campaign). I hesitated when I assigned this value a 10/10, but when you can hold up to current games and the sound and music quality that is something special when you consider it. Even without Dolby Digital and the other 5.1 - 7.1 coding setups, this game sounds better on my speakers and sound system than some of the Wii and PS3 games I have. Now, imagine that when it came out... just amazing stuff, and Blizzard got a lot of recognition of this when the game was released. Well, I'm going to carry that forward here and say this might be one of the best sounding games ever when all is considered. This is why it got the heralded 10 in my review.
Story and Replay Value (10/10): I recently went back and spent a lot of quality hours on this game. The story is still not only engrossing, but intriguing and heart-felt. There are a number of side stories across the three races' campaigns (zerg, protoss, terran) that intertwine to create a final "AHA!!!" moment at the conclusion of the game and expansion pack. For replay value, you can play this game online for hundreds of hours alone and never touch the campaign and still get your money out of the purchase price. The campaign has been played through by me about three times, and each time I find it to be easier... but this is not an easy game. There are cheats available, but you better believe if you use them you are not going to get as much out of the game as if you do the entire game all by yourself with no help. Also, the pure sense of achievement when you pound some people into the ground online is a reason to check the game out on its own. I challenge you to really find a game you can drop over 200 hours into that is 10 years old... point being, there are maybe 5 you will think of and they all hold a special place in your heart. This is one of those games, bar none.
Gameplay (9.4/10): StarCraft introduced a lot of options for gameplay we had not yet seen in RTS games that most of the younger group will take for granted. While it takes a real magician of micro-managing your units to really show off the overall weaknesses of the engine, there are not many people that can exploit these shortcomings. Some of the things introduced to the RTS games that were innovations of StarCraft were the ability to burrow certain units, patrol groups or individual units, assign groups based on the "Ctrl plus number" function. Cycle through previous announcements using the space bar, and perhaps one of the biggest areas that not a lot of people realize was the advanced board editor and creation of floating boards where flying units and overall terrain management came into a significant light to gain advantages over your enemy. While the engine does not have all the bells and whistles some of the current games do, it is also not going to detract from your experience as some of the "new and improved" engines do. As such, this was probably midway through the Blizzard RTS engine evolution as we well know it.
Conclusion: While I prefer to indulge in the WarCraft III expansion these days, this game is still a very close rival to the best RTS in my mind. The world still holds this as the most played and balanced RTS ever, as there are still more users on BattleNet than any other RTS game in the world. You really can't argue with them once you play the game, and while you will find perhaps a few shortcomings of the game you will not find any of these addressed in any games from this time period. In the end, this might have been one of the best games of all time when considered in the time frame when it was released... until they release the sequel about a year from now which promises to be this game and everything else a RTS game CAN AND WILL be.