When comparing Starcraft vs Warcraft III, the Slant community recommends Starcraft for most people. In the question“What are the best LAN party PC games?” Starcraft is ranked 9th while Warcraft III is ranked 24th. The most important reason people chose Starcraft is:
There are three selectable races in the game, Terrans, Protoss and the Zerg. The Terrans being human, while the other two are alien races. What makes the game stand out is that each race feels exceptionally different from one another, each with their own personalities. This makes for a different experience depending on what race has been chosen to play with.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Tons of personality that keeps the story and gameplay interesting and entertaining
There are three selectable races in the game, Terrans, Protoss and the Zerg. The Terrans being human, while the other two are alien races. What makes the game stand out is that each race feels exceptionally different from one another, each with their own personalities. This makes for a different experience depending on what race has been chosen to play with.
Pro Built-in offline LAN support
Being an older game, Starcraft suports offline LAN due to not as many people having internet back when it was released. This is something that many games (including Starcraft 2) regrettably do not feature anymore.
Pro Well balanced race selection keeps the gameplay fair
The game is fairly well balanced, so nobody gets an advantage by choosing a certain race. While each race will have their own unique abilities, the balancing of these abilities allows the game to play even handed, with no real advantage to any race.
Pro This game can be downloaded for free
Blizzard is now offering the original Starcraft (titled Starcraft Anthology) as a free download.
Pro Highly specialized units that are easy to learn but hard to master
This helps keep the game challenging and interesting even at a high level of proficiency.
Pro Four varied races give more play styles
In multiplayer and skirmish matches, you get to choose which race you would like to control: Humans, Orcs, Elves, and the Undead. Each faction have their own advantages and down-sides, as well as wholly unique play styles. For example, the Orcs have units that are tougher and can deal more damage, while Night Elves units are completely invisible while standing still during the game's night cycle. This makes for gameplay that can change dramatically depending on which race is chosen.
Pro Story-filled campaign gives players knowledge of the game world
Warcraft III has an excellent story that's told through the eyes of four separate races. As you progress through each race's story, you are presented with background knowledge of previous events in the world of Azeroth, while taking on new and challenging missions. Due to this, you are given a breadth of information about the races of the world, as well as key characters that make appearances in later missions and other Warcraft titles.
Pro Heroes that rank up and carry inventory adds a well done RPG icing
Pro Single Player campaign serves as a learning tool
The campaign acts as a tutorial for each of the game's four races. New units become available every mission, which feature their own unique abilities and skills. By giving you access to different units over time, the game allows you to acclimate yourself with each individual unit type as the campaign progresses. This gives you an understanding of how each race plays, thus helping you develop a desirable playstyle.
Pro Multiple build orders make each Multi-Player match feel different
Warcraft III gives players the freedom to build their bases in any order they choose, to fit any strategic purpose they need. This allows players to start each match with a certain strategy in mind, build toward it, then alter it if it's no longer viable. For instance, players can build toward a rush of low-cost units at the start of the match and abruptly switch their strategy, constructing buildings that will enable them to train flying units instead. This keeps matches interesting, requiring players to adapt their build order at a moment's notice if their strategies change.
Pro Wonderful design
Cons
Con Old and outdated
With the original release dating back to 1998, the game is quite old now and its graphics are not on par with current game offerings.
Con Lacks widescreen support
Starcraft is only available in a 4:3 resolution. However, a hack to make it work in widescreen can be found here.
Con Heavy focus on micromanagement makes Warcraft III too strenuous for casual play
The combat in Warcraft III relies heavily on the micromanagement of units in each encounter. The crux of each engagement is unit placement: Each individual unit has to be positioned properly, with their abilities activated the moment they are off cooldown. Due to this, every battle requires constant focus and the maneuvering of individual units, which can be quite difficult for casual players to maintain.
Con Macromanagement supplies casual players with a difficult learning curve
Warcraft III provides players with a difficult balancing act of maintaining armies, upgrades, and economy. Each unit takes a large amount of resources to complete, so it is imperative to keep as many of your units alive as possible with each fight. In order to do so, you must research technologies that increase their effectiveness and resilience in combat, making it imperative that you queue these upgrades once you have the money to do so. However, as your army grows in size, you will gain less resources due to an Upkeep Tax that is levied against you once you reach a certain population. This will make it harder to replace fallen units and purchase additional unit upgrades. Because of this intensive macromanagement of army, upgrades, and resources, casual players will find it difficult to master the balancing act required in order to win each match.