StarCraft is a big name in PC RTS games. The previous RTS port to the N64 tried to play to the console’s strength by completely recreating the levels in 3D, but StarCraft 64 takes a different approach, being a more direct port of the original PC game and the Brood War expansion.

For N64 owners at the time, this was a great way to play StarCraft, but it also means that there’s not much reason to try out the N64 version now. The controls are well done, and feel more intuitive than Command & Conquer, with easy access to build menus, and the R button allowing for easy selection of units, but it’s more a case that it works well enough for the N64, rather than a fully tailored experience.

But, while it doesn’t have anything unique about it, it’s not really a negative, as this provides the full StarCraft experience on a cartridge, and StarCraft is one of the all time RTS greats, with a detailed campaign with a gripping story and variation, as the game works well with just a few units or hundreds of units.

Fun

It’s laziness, pure and simple. Blizzard could have spent two years cooking up a real-time strategy game specifically for the N64, perhaps one that carefully utilised the unique specialities of the console. Instead, we get Starcraft. A conversion of a PC game, and a two-year olf PC game at that.

Mark Green, N64 Magazine #45. Review Score: 78%

Remake or remaster?

There’s an extremely well done remaster of Starcraft, keeping the core game exactly the same, and updating the graphics to be a cleaner version of the original style.

Official ways to get the game.

There’s no official way to get the N64 specific version of StarCraft 64, but the original PC version is available on Battle.net for free, with the Remastered version also available to buy.