Blizzard’s remastered version of StarCraft will go on sale on Monday 14 August, for Windows and Mac machines priced at £13 or $15 over in the US (around AU$20).
The classic RTS is up for pre-order now via Blizzard’s online store, and you get the original game plus the Brood War expansion, all of which has been brought up-to-date for contemporary gaming.
The core gameplay remains the same, but the enhancements include better graphics, support for widescreen monitors and 4K resolution, along with improved music, sound and remastered dialogue to boot.
You also get player profiles that track individual stats, a new matchmaking and leaderboard system, plus there’s now saving to the cloud (not just for your campaign, but also for replays, hotkeys and so forth).
Blizzard has also made it possible to switch between this remastered version and the original StarCraft game by simply clicking a button.
- Soon you'll be able to play Starcraft natively in Windows 10
Bonus skins
All in all, it sounds like a compelling recipe with which to revisit the classic sci-fi RTS, and it’s worth bearing in mind that those who pre-order before the launch of StarCraft: Remastered will get a neat little in-game bonus.
Namely three unique building skins: the Char Hive, Korhal Command Center, and Aiur Nexus. As well as that, those who own StarCraft II will get some additional goodies in that game, including three unique portraits and the Alexei Stukov co-op commander.
And all this won’t break the bank, because as mentioned, the asking price is pitched at a palatable level.
The original StarCraft (which was made available as a free download back in April) was launched almost two decades ago, back in 1998, but it’s still played today – and will be seeing a lot more action come August, no doubt.
It was preceded by the original WarCraft RTS, of course, which first came out in 1994. Rumor has it that Blizzard seemingly looked at the possibility of doing WarCraft: Remastered, but decided that revamping this particular golden oldie wouldn’t work as well, or be much fun to play.
- Starcraft necessitates only the best gaming mouse there is
