(Warcraft Games, Diablo)
Levels: 30 Regular, 26 more with broodwar, tons of multiplayer
Multi: Battle.net, free, good interface.
Buy it? YES. You MUST. Future Shop always has a copy or two. I reccomend, if you ahve lots of moolah, getting Broodwar along with it.
Graphics:
At first, you may think that Starcraft's graphics are nothing special to talk about. They seem a bit cartoony, a bit simple. But once you get to where the action is, with Carriers spewing dozens of fighters at base defenses and Seige Tanks ripping into legions of charging Hydralisks, you tend to forget about the slight graphical problems and focus on the task at hand- survival. The cinemas are the best Starcraft has to offer graphically, with excellent rendered movies that have definitely evolved since Warcraft 2. Watch in awe as the Protoss unleash the mind numbing power of the Xel Naga on the Zerg. These cinemas you'll watch over and over again.
Gameplay:
The great Warcraft-style interface and commands; select a few
units, hit A, click somewhere on the main- or mini-map, and watch them
charge off in that direction, wisely attacking any enemy they see in their
path. Tell a few Observers to follow your Carriers into enemy territory
with a right click or two. Sneak an arbiter behind an enemy worker line
and unleash it's Recall ability on a group of slow-moving Reavers in your
own base, a map away. but be careful... a group of upgraded Ultralisks
are charging for your base, which has almost no defense since your Reavers
are gone. It's situations like this, especially in Multiplayer, that keep
this game so fresh. It is practically everlasting. I've been playing it
since the summer of '98, and I still have yet to either master or get tired
of it.
