StarCarft is a legendary real-time strategy game developed and released by Blizzard Entertainment. Many consider the game a defining title in the genre, especially for competitive gameplay. Blizzard Entertainment released StarCraft for PC in 1998, and it quickly gained worldwide success. Soon after, the studio released an expansion pack called Brood War, which was the real spark for the competitive environment to flourish. There were also two add-ons released for the game, Insurrection and Retribution.
StarCraft Premise
The game is set in the 25th century, in the Koprulu Sector of the Milky Way, where three species are engaged in a conflict. StarCraft pits the Terrans, the Zerg, and the Protoss against each other in a galactic battle. The Terrans are an exiled human civilization that is far away from their origins on planet Earth. The Protoss are an advanced humanoid species that has psionic capabilities and powerful technological development. Lastly, the Zerg are an aggressive insectoid species that spread their invasive creep where ever they go.
Each of these races offers unique abilities, technological trees, and units, which allows for exciting and strategic gameplay. While one might be strong with quick attacks, the other might have powerful area attack units or strong armor. When it comes to base building, the Terrans can build their buildings where ever they want, while the Zerg require creep spread. The Protoss uses the pylons to power the buildings by creating a powered grid. While the races behave differently in many ways, the game offers a very good balance where no particular race is better than the other. The gameplay involves building a base, which consists of resource collection and unit production. With each building, the base becomes stronger and can build more advanced units and research new technologies.
In addition to a highly-acclaimed campaign, the game can be played against human players in online matches. This became increasingly popular, as players were honing their strategies and perfecting their base-building skills. Especially after Brood War, the game took off online and became one of the first esports titles that offered massive payouts to the best in the world.
StarCraft Characters
The game has a strong campaign mode where players engage in a story from the specific faction’s point of view. While the player characters don’t have names, there are plenty of vivid and complex characters they meet during the galactic journey. The complex backstory has also been adapted into a series of novels and comics that expand upon the setting and deepen the connections between certain characters.
Here are some of the key characters from the game:
- Arcturus Mengsk: Leader of the Sons of Korhal, a rebel group. He fought against the Terran Confederacy during the Great War and became the ruler of its successor, the Terran Dominion.
- Jim Raynor: A law enforcement officer from Mar Sara. One of the main characters in the campaign, and comes in a couple of different unit variants in the game.
- Sarah Kerrigan: Another major character in the story. A psychic assassin who started as a Confederate ghost and became later the deputy to Mengsk. One of the best-known characters in the entire series.
- The Zerg Overmind: The collective consciousness and leader of the Zerg Swarm. As the Zerg, the player reports to the leader of the Zerg Swarm. The Great Hungerer, the Prophecy of Ulaan has also infected many familiar Terrans, who come to serve it.
- Aldaris: A Protoss government representative the players take orders from. Aldaris frequently clashes with Tassadar.
- Tassadar: The Protoss High Templar, who has issues with the Protoss leader Aldaris. Tassadar commands the force that made the first contact with the Zerg and the Terrans.
- Zeratul: A protoss mystic who leads the Dark Templar. Dark Prelate Zeratul was an ally of Tassadar in the Great War, although the factions has had issues in the past.
Games in the StarCraft Series
At the time of its release, StarCraft hasn’t yet become a game series at all. As the first game in the franchise, it started one of the most celebrated real-time strategy game series of all time. The initial game was released in 1998, over twenty years ago. While gamers had to wait for a full-fledged successor for over ten years, Blizzard released various expansions and add-ons that increased the shelf-life of the original StarCraft tremendously. The same continued with the second title of the series, which is now also over ten years old. The latest title is the Remastered version of the original StarCraft.
Here are all the games, expansions, and add-ons in the StarCraft series:
- StarCraft (1998)
- StarCraft: Insurrection (1998)
- StarCraft: Brood War (1998)
- StarCraft: Retribution (1998)
- StarCraft 64 (2000)
- StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (2010)
- StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (2013)
- StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void (2015)
- StarCraft II: Nova Covert Ops (2016)
- StarCraft: Remastered (2017)
StarCraft Cheats
Fortunately, the developers of StarCraft, Blizzard Entertainment, included a built-in cheat code system in the game. This allows players to make the process more exciting in case that they are stuck or want to advance faster. There are couple dozen cheat codes that allow faster building speed, gaining of resources, winning of missions, and much more.
Entering cheat codes in StarCraft is easy. Simply press the Enter button to open the chat view. Then type in one of the codes found below and press Enter again. The cheat should now be activated. Note that these cheats are only available in single-player mode. Cheating in multiplayer games is against fair play and not condoned.
| Effect | Cheat Code |
| Build faster (also affects enemy AI) | operation cwal |
| Players can continue playing after winning | staying alive |
| Disables Fog of War | war aint what it used to be |
| Eliminates unit supply limit | food for thought |
| Enable mission select (terran#, zerg#, and protoss#) | ophelia |
| Enemy Protoss cannot use Psionic Storm | noglues |
| Gain 10,000 minerals and vespene gas | show me the money |
| Gain 500 crystals | whats mine is mine |
| Gain 500 vespene gas | breathe deep |
| Grants free upgrades | something for nothing |
| Grants invincibility | power overwhelming |
| Instantly lose the mission | game over man |
| Instantly win the mission | there is no cow level |
| Protoss level skip | protoss# (replace # with the number of the mission) |
| Reveals the entire map | black sheep wall |
| Terran level skip | terran# (replace # with the number of the mission) |
| Unlocks all buildings | modify the phase variance |
| Unlocks all research abilities | medieval man |
| Unlocks Zerg music while playing as Zerg (requires Brood War) | radio free zerg |
| Unit spells and abilities are free | the gathering |
| Zerg level skip | zerg# (replace # with the number of the mission) |
StarCraft FAQ
Is the original StarCraft free?
Yes. The original, 1998 StarCraft is indeed free to play. This includes the expansion pack Brood War. However, Blizzard also now offers a Remastered version with much-improved graphics and other perks that you can buy.
Will there be StarCraft 3?
Blizzard hasn’t officially revealed anything about a third title in the series. However, it is fairly certain that the studio would continue one of the world’s leading real-time strategy series after StarCraft II. There are also rumors that the company is working already on StarCraft 3, although no plans have been revealed.
Which came first Warcraft or StarCraft?
The first real-time strategy game released by Blizzard was Warcraft. Blizzard Entertainment released the first Warcraft game, Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, in 1994. They even released Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness before StarCraft. However, many consider StarCraft as the first real-time strategy game to truly embrace competitive online gameplay.