[The Second Opinion] Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm
Now if you did not know, Starcraft II is a big deal in the PC world. Now Blizzard
has gave us another example of there master work on the RTS world. With Kerrigan
saved by Mr. Jim Raynor in the last game. You will now take control of Kerrigan in this
expansion.
Heart of the Swarm picks up right where Starcraft II left off on the campaign.
Letting us know what in the world is happening to our long lost Queen of Blades.
While the story starts very familiar, the single player shines, more in the game play that
the story fully. Raynor and Kerrigan cheesy, typical love story kicking off, it than spirals
into a world of zerg and mishap from there after…yea that is pretty much sums the story
up after my 10 hours of entertainment. Yet again, the gameplay is where the campaign
fully shines in my opinion.
Having a hero character in RTS can sometimes be a pro and con to a game. Well,
it is a real pro in this game. Kerrigan has set the bar on how a hero character should be
used and played as. While some missions you do just have control of the zerg units, most
missions grace you with the, formally known as the Queen of Blades. While Kerrigan is
on the field, her powers come into great use. Such as the starting psi blast you get. As
you play missions and collect relics or research, you gain experience for her. After each
mission, you can level her up which than unlocks more powers and more badassness for
all. A great way she was also used was on some missions the Queen could die on the
battlefield. She would just respawn from a giant egg at your base. Just hold out for the 30
seconds it takes and than take back the battlefield.
Now just having Kerrigan is a great aspect, But new troops are always a plus. The
way the make you earn your new troops, not the most fun. Instead of, as Starcraft II did,
having videos to show them new troops and what they do. You now play a brief training
mission to choose the evolution of your zerg units. Such as deciding, should your
zergling evolve into a creature with wings to jump gaps. On the other hand, should I have
them spawn three at a time with a quicker attack speed? Little things like that make you
think a little. Yet the missions to play as them feel tedious. A simple video would have
been enough.
The most important thing to Starcraft is the multiplayer. Yes, this is still the
number one reason to play this game. With all the new units on all races added. The
battles have added so much more thinking on the field. The protoss can not just spawn a
mothership. They must first bulid a unit to upgrade to the mothership. The terran have a
mine that now shoots rockets and can level infantry units. Also comes with the units is
more balance to the older units. No more super power increasing void rays. Sorry.
Along with the game play, the matchmaking is much smoother. The ladder system seems
much more balanced and overall just more enjoyable online play.
So my opinion is that if you have a PC. You should buy this game. If you have
Starcraft II already. You should have already gotten Heart of the Swarm. If you like
Starcraft and not yet got II at all, well I do not know what to say to you than. Yet you
should think about finally getting Starcraft II because it did drop in price. So, buy this
game.
Tom’s Rating: 5 zerglings out of 5
Pros:
– more epic battles
– more fluid multi player
– Kerrigan never felt so good
Cons:
– “meh” story
– evoulution missions tedious
Bottom line: If you ask me I would say, buy this game!!!
