The Definitive RTS
I have had tons of fun, and loved other RTS games, but I don't think any of them stand up to the test of time quite as well as this game. I don't think any of them can boast a cult following as big as this one, ELEVEN years after their original release. I am also not of the opinion that popularity alone determines a game's value, but in this game, the fans are not wrong.
Gameplay - The game is played from one of three, VERY distinct classes. This is one area in which most other RTS games fail, even ones that I deem as worthy games. Consider: Ages of Empires and its Star Wars clone had "distinct" races that in all honesty, had virtually cloned units when it came to function and coding, and left the variation to the models. Oh sure, they had some class specific units, but the bulk of the force were identical. You can go on and on with this listing: Dawn of the Modern World, Civilization, etc. This is definitely NOT the case in Starcraft. From the grunts to the heavy hitters in each race's arsenal, the units are EXTREMELY different; in look, in function, in damage and hit points, in every conceivable way. This left some REAL variation in strength and strategy for each race, and it is from this that the bulk of this game's strength is drawn. Apart from this boon to the game, the gameplay is fast paced and rewarding. Often it is downright vicious. The AI can provide a very difficult challenge at times, especially with their inhuman ability to micromanage. However it is online play that really makes this game start to shine, and where the truly insane competition comes forth.
Graphics and Sound - Again, you have to consider the fact that this game was released in 1998. Considering that, the graphics were nice, and the voice acting is actually not half bad. The different background musics are actually decent, and you might even be able to play with them for a couple hours before you hear everything and need to mute them.
Storyline and Campaigns- The storyline was inspired, especially if you took the time to read through the background in the game's manual. The campaigns were a bit tedious - you often wished you could get through the missions quicker to get through the storyline some more - and you sometimes felt like you were doing the same things over and over again. I will say that years later, and after having done a lot of PVP with the game, it was fun to play through them again and dominate what I thought was very hard the first time through.