starcraft board game review
Test: Starcraft Remastered, a good dustingOriginally released in 1998, StarCraft has almost 20 years later an edition remastered by Blizzard himself. The opportunity to immerse yourself headlong in this legendary RTS, which lacked only a dusting in the rules to become instantly essential again.
In 1998, Starcraft rolled out on RTS fans' PCs, the same year as titles like Dominion: Storm Over Gift 3, Dune 2000 or The Settlers III. A bit of name dropping to indicate that at the time, competition was fierce, but Starcraft had managed to make a place of choice with its very sci-fi universe, its particularly rich scenario and its three playable factions - Terran , Zerg and Protos - with their own mechanics. Success had been there and six months later came out Brood War, the title's only extension adding 26 additional missions and two new units per faction.
In addition to its complex scenario, Starcraft has also endured for years thanks to its multiplayer mode. Blizzard sells 1.5 million copies during its first year of marketing but the game benefits from a large community, the publisher and developer sells 10 million during the following 10 years. Starcraft is clearly a reference in the genre and we can say that the title that surpassed it is none other than its Starcraft II suite, the first part of which was released in 2010.
And now that Blizzard is done with Starcraft II - Legacy of the Void which was released in November 2015, it is not really surprising that the studio is putting on a revival of one of its most popular games. We imagine that the objectives of Blizzard are multiple: to vibrate the rope of nostalgia with the players, to surf the fashion of remasters which tends to be successful, but also to rekindle the flame of the followers of multiplayer. And Starcraft Remastered quickly imposes its arguments.
THE SAME, BUT MORE BEAUTIFUL
Remember: last April, Blizzard offered everyone to download the original version of Starcraft for free, in all its pixelated splendor. This version, you will have to download it if you acquire Starcraft Remastered: it is in the options that you must activate the HD graphics that dust the game in the space of a second. We find ourselves, on the fly, with HD graphics - even Ultra HD if your screen has a 4K definition - in 16 / 9th, and a soundtrack which also benefits from a facelift. By the way, to convince yourself of the graphical evolution, you can have fun checking and unchecking the option of HD graphics for an instant comparison. And if you want to play with vintage graphics in the middle of a mission, it is entirely possible.
French dubbing is still available, and it has been updated to match that of Starcraft II, which explains the re-recording of the voices of the main characters. Graphically, the animated portraits of the characters also benefited from the same treatment to offer consistency with the second installment of the franchise. Between each mission, a series of illustrations flesh out the narration and highlight the consequences of the mission that has just been completed. This is a real novelty since nothing like this was present in the original version of the game.
In this whole refreshing process, we can be surprised that the cutscenes have remained original, and that they only benefit from a simple passage in 16 / 9th not really convincing. In addition, while they were in French in the original version, they are offered here in English with subtitles. Not necessarily very disturbing since they are quite rare, but it is still an amazing choice. Another point likely to disturb the purists who dwell on the details: the animations of the units have not been streamlined. Blizzard was content to update them graphically without adding frames, which results in a jerky effect necessarily more visible with HD graphics.
THE CLASSIC REMAINS A CLASSIC
Starcraft Remastered, a good dusting
For the rest, campaign side, we find the exact proposal of the original version of the title. We have the right to the three basic campaigns, Terran, Zerg and Protoss, to be done in order to fully understand the story. If you are one of those players who played Starcraft II without having done Starcraft, you will discover in particular the tragic fate of Sarah Kerrigan, who is largely at the heart of the intrigue of Starcraft II ... but the scenario of Starcraft is rich in twists and turns , in betrayal and in heroism, so that certain missions sometimes seem very long to arrive at the next chapter of history. Obviously, Brood War is included in Starcraft Remastered. There are therefore 26 additional missions and a story that begins at the exact moment that that of Starcraft ended.
Starcraft Remastered is played in exactly the same way as Starcraft, with its keyboard shortcuts, its limited troop controls which require more than ever organizing its army by squads before attacking, its unit upgrade systems which require a lot of organization ... missions are often slow and demanding. At the time of the release of the game in 1998, all this seemed particularly normal, but replaying it today with all the history of the last 20 years - Starcraft II in mind, by the way - also shows that if Starcraft is a classic, today it uses mechanics that have certainly aged.
But we are not going to complain about that: Blizzard has not changed the gameplay by an inch, betting everything on aesthetics, and it is a bias that is understandable and that is justified in particular in the multiplayer approach of the title. Even without casualization, Starcraft still plays in a pleasant way, and the narration breathed into the campaigns of this RTS has not, for its part, not aged.
You just have to keep in mind that this new version of Starcraft is not a remake, but a remastering, and that the players who discover the title here will undoubtedly be challenged by a rigid gameplay compared to current productions. For their part, the old people of the old will be able to satisfy their nostalgia by rediscovering the campaigns with maps, sprites and an interface in HD frankly successful. Even if it means enjoying a significant piece of RTS history, you might as well do it without itchy eyes, right?
A WILL TO PUSH THE MULTIPLAYER
But in reality, what probably motivated Blizzard to release this remaster is probably not linked to the nostalgia of the solo player wanting to return to the epic fight between Terrans, Zergs and Protoss. Because the publisher took advantage of this update to update the multiplayer part of its title, just to attract followers who will make Starcraft Remastered live over time.
To try to pinpoint the reason, it should be remembered that Starcraft II is a horse on which Blizzard has bet a lot in eSports, in particular in South Korea where the first Starcraft enjoyed a colossal success for more than 10 years. A success that Starcraft II has not been able to repeat since, despite a very positive critical and commercial reception, the game has been losing momentum in this part of the world for more than a year. So we imagine that with Starcraft Remastered, Blizzard hopes to reclaim this market and make other followers along the way.
Suddenly, Blizzard has revised the multiplayer mode of the title, to facilitate matchmaking, but also to add a competitive system via ranked matches. If you just want to play games without classification pressure, it is quite possible: you just have to look for an open game, which corresponds to your expectations, in the list proposed by the community. You can also choose to create one according to your own criteria, and if you want to play with friends, you can close it with a password. Finally, it is not without some pleasure that all of the cards offered in the heyday of Starcraft, including personalized cards, all remain compatible with Starcraft Remastered. What revive the instincts of the regulars of the title, who had left it aside for a few years.
If it is fairly easy to find a game, know that you will have a much better chance of playing quickly if you choose directly the multiplayer Brood War, which is much more popular, which is not surprising given that the extension offers additional play units.
The ranked games are 1 vs 1 and are the only ones to have an automatic matchmaking system, which takes care of finding you an opponent of a level similar to yours. Without being as advanced as that of Starcraft II, the system however exploits the same bases and allows to play rather quickly, with the promise of a balanced match. It is then possible to follow its ranking among European players or internationally, with a ranking which brings together players from all servers.
In short, the multiplayer has been revised to satisfy a maximum of players, both casual and those who want to make a place in a ranking that requires significant skills. But we imagine however that the challenge will attract more those who have already played Starcraft, rather than beginners: far from being a casual game, the title of Blizzard can be more discouraging in multiplayer than in solo, which doesn’t is not fundamentally surprising.
The notes
+ Positive points
A successful graphic and sound update
Original illustrated interludes
Brood War expansion is included
Cloud backup
The effective overhaul of multiplayer
Negative points
Gameplay that has aged
Minimalist work on cutscenes
No work on animations
If Starcraft Remastered is worth as much the detour as a good note, it is above all because the original material is excellent. By not changing the well-oiled mechanics of its game released 19 years ago, Blizzard does not take the risk of upsetting its community, retains what made the success of Starcraft when it was released and is part of the nostalgia trend demanding already widely prized by other publishers - Capcom, for example. In addition to the significant aesthetic and sound update, Blizzard has skillfully updated the multiplayer to bring it up to date without changing its essence. That’s probably what will make the difference in the community. As for answering the age-old question, whether a Starcraft remaster was necessary, remember that Blizzard offers to download the game and its extension in their original version for free: it is therefore possible to quickly realize if you can still support, or not, the graphics of 1998. One thing is certain, however: once we have played the remastered version, it is clearly impossible to reverse!
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