- The first expansion for Starcraft 2
- Campaign with about 20 new missions
- Evolution of the Zerg - Design your swarm individually, due to specific units and skills
- Improved graphics
- New units and maps for multiplayer mode
I have only played the game for 4 hours so far (finished 5 levels), I woke up at 3am just to play it! And I feel like I have fallen in love with Starcraft II aaaaall over again.
The Campaign starts right where wings of liberty finished, if you haven't finished that campaign you owe it to yourself to do so! It's still an amazing campaign and well worth the time to play.
The campaigns starts out a tiny bit slow for veterans, but for new players it quickly shows you the ropes of how to build up a zerg army and other necessary tutorial based things. After the first 2 missions you get to really get into building an army of zerg and stampeding over your enemies. And I am loving every second of it.
Zerg being my favorite race in Starcraft II does help my love for this game, but even still the game is done so well. The Graphics in and out of actual gameplay are great, the story is amazing, and the voice acting is top notch (All things you expect from the SCII Saga).
What's new:
They added a few things to make the campaign more... interesting. First of all is the leveling. Kerrigan can gain levels by completely story missions and extra side missions, every 10 levels or so she gains a new (and often extremely overpowered ability). For instance at level 10 you get the ability to either have Overlords build instantly and provide 50% extra control, or, whenever a zerg unit dies it revives at your hive after 10 seconds. You can only chose one, but you can switch them around between every mission.
Evolving Units is not something new but it is handled differently. Each unit has 3 different choices, for instance zerglings can be Faster, Have more health, or Attack faster. Again you can switch between them between missions freely, each unit also evolves into a more advanced unit. Zerglings can become a leaping Raptor for example. You get an amazing amount of customization choices in this.
The Achievements in missions are done the same in this as was in WoL and I enjoy that. There are 3 achievements for normal mode, and 1 for Hard mode, and some of them are quite difficult but rewarding. One of my favorite things to do in WoL was to try and get the achievements, some of them really made you think or change your strategy completely in order to complete them, and added a great deal of replay value for me.
Vs AI Mode has been added, and by that I mean you and your friends will be pitted against AI that is balanced to meet your level of skill. And it's awesome. It will chose the varying levels of difficulty automatically based on how you play so you don't have to think "Well maybe I can do hard...I don't know" You can still chose if you want but only in custom game mode. I find the auto choice to be more fun!
There are also added tutorials and things for new players, show them the ropes even get into some of the more advanced skills to learn for SCII, and the Challenges are back to teach you the REAL hard things.
New Units:
At this time I cannot comment much on any of the new units as I mentioned above I don't play Multiplayer so the whole balancing issues and such are lost on me. I can say that the new Zerg units are cool and offer a great deal of versatility, particularly with the Viper's pull skill. But that's sadly all I can really say for now on it. I only watched videos of them in action (and they all look awesome).
All in all, I think the game so far has been amazing. I feel that the campaign this time is shorter, but with more re playability than WoL even had, considering the amount of variations in evolution and skills you can go into missions with. I have been reminded how much fun SCII is to play and how well it's made. You aren't just getting a small expansion, like brood war was to SC1, you are getting a whole new game.
Buy StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Expansion Pack Now
I am a child of the 70s, so that puts me just outside the target demographic of these games, I walked away from them about 15 years ago when life just got in the way (my kids wouldn't let me play...and if I did, they slaughtered me...that is probably closer to the truth.) Anyway, about 6 months ago, I started playing again. My last kid moved out and I found a copy of Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty. Oddly enough, the last computer game I played was Command $ Conquer: Red Alert. While the mechanics were similar, the visuals blew me away.So, if you want a bunch of technical gobbldygook, you should read one of the other reviews that I am sure will be loaded with that sort of thing. Here is what I can tell you after just a few hours. ..
This game is visually stunning, has more depth than we even thought possible when we were playing games like Defender and Asteroids at the arcade. If you want to be drawn in and forget everything around you for a while...this game is for you. Simply put...it is fun! I realize that there will be plenty of reviews that tell you all sorts of things...but really, what you want to know is if this game is worth the money? Yes. Is it incredible to look at? Yes. Will a lot of your personal life be sucked away from you in the blink of an eye? Ask my wife...I never did make it to bed last night.
Read Best Reviews of StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Expansion Pack Here
Starcraft 2 continues the overarching storyline, obviously centering on Kerrigan, who flees Prince Valarians remote research lab when its attacked by Emperor Mengsk, and vows to kill Mengsk to end his meddling in her life.Graphically stunning, this pushes even the earlier boundary of starcraft 1. Flawlessly voice by Tricia Helfer, during some of the closeups, Kerrigan even looks photorealistically like Helfer. Some of these cutscenes have to be seen to be believed. Granted, your box does have to have some horsepower, but even a 3 year old computer can run graphics at or near High settings.
Gameplay is what you know and love, with well designed missions, especially some of the lone owlf missions. Each one is thoughtfully laid out, and I can't think of but 2 that felt even remotely like grinders. You can beat yourself bloody against all comers if you so choose, but theres always intelligent planning that can simplify things tremendously. The space mission was especially fun, and I wish that there'd been more of thsoe, but hopefully the final chapter will have more of that.
Multiplayer has a sprinkling of new options, but is otherwise the same well nailed down system, and it now includings a vs AI option that seems to work well, though you really ahve to pick your difficulty level well.
The only real gripe is the Battlenet. While it may just be going through the startup jitters, nothing is annoying as getting a hard difficulty achievement, then losing it because the Battlenet connection hiccuped at the last second.
Unit evolution is neat, and you'll love being able to mix and match, rather than be stuck with every purchase made. The specilization of each Zerg type is especially nice, as you gte to see both in action, rather than having to make an irreversible choice blindly. The incorporation of some of the aspects of the Zerg Hive are really clever and enjoyable.
Overall, worth the wait. While everyone was annoyed at the delay between chapter 1 and 2, the added polish and depth of feel to this shows it wasn't a waste. Gorgeous graphics, great plot twists out of the gate, and enjoyable gameplay make this a rare 5 stars.
All told, this was worth the wait. Stunning graphics, great plot twists right out of the gate, and enjoyable in and out-of-mission play make this a rare 5 stars.
Want StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Expansion Pack Discount?
The same things I didn't like about StarCraft 2 wings of liberty are back again for Heart of the swarm (which Ill just refer to as HOS) only in greater quantity this time. Don't get me wrong HOS still has that great polish that Blizzard puts into all of their games, a good balance for the races, a fleshed out storyline and the usual quality they put into their products but it is still lacking in several areas with their old trappings from SC2 back again, only much more this time around.I really don't like how HOS is constantly holding your hand the entire time. I never felt like I got to really chose my own strategies and I constantly felt like Blizzard was right there holding my hand and telling me what to do. Every mission you are guided along being told which place you need to build on, which unit to use, how to use it, what you need to accomplish and such. Some missions do give you a bit of freedom but for the most part you are directed on what to do. I just wish I had more freedom in more stages of the game because to me that's what a strategy game is, getting to use strategy and come up with ways to win and it just isn't that much fun when the game is always telling me what strategy to use. I never felt like I got to stretch the old brain out and flex it somewhat with the game doing your thinking for you. You can definitely tell this is from Blizzard because hand holding has become their thing even like World of Warcraft is based around quests and dialogue that guide you, tell you exactly where to go and what to do when you get there with even raid encounters telling you what to do and warning you before a boss does some special attack. The entire time I'm playing HOS I just feel like it's one great big training level that never fully removes the training wheels. Age of empires or civilization would hold your hand but it wasn't long before those games would let go and let you go off on your own. HOS feels like an overprotective mother that won't stop looking over your shoulder.
"Hero units" are also a bit overplayed. While it is cool to occasionally play as someone that's very powerful with unique abilities it does get tiring when you spend the majority of game playing as one. Actually building, evolving, creating units and such always take a backseat when you control a hero unit. The missions where you actually have to mine resources, create troops, upgrade them and so on like you would in any other strategy game are in the minority here as usually you have to play as Kerrigan, and a ship and other hero I wont mention for sake of not spoiling anything. Even the missions where I got to play as the hero as well as my regular units I found regular units to be pointless really since I could easily finish any mission with the hero without alone and sometimes found bothering with making other units pointless and that to me seems like lazy design.
The storyline which at its core was good and an interesting continuation it feels overly padded that gets a little long in the tooth after awhile. It had some great ideas in it that I enjoyed but there was too much of it constantly being shoved in my face. I don't always need every single detail of everything that's happening no matter how insignificant explained to me. The problem is a lot of the dialogue in the game just feels so needless and doesn't make me feel like I'm learning anything because it just feels pointless a lot of the time. I'm all for extra story and dialogue if it helps you feel more "in the games universe" because characterization is important but when it just seems like filler to pad out the game it means nothing to me.
I felt too rushed in most missions. It always seemed like there was a timer, or there was always something forcing me to constantly be moving ahead. Either I'm going to be destroyed, some beam is going to kill me unless I slow it down, a giant ship is heading my way, the enemy is going to escape, I have to gather something before the enemy does or something else. Which being rushed goes back to lack of freedom and lack of the ability to use strategy since those missions usually just mean you bulk up on troops and run out as fast as you can. I mean a good timed mission can invoke a sense of urgency and make you sweat a little but when you get 4 or 5 of them in a row, or every other mission is timed it gets old real fast.
And maybe this is just me but I felt like there was no strategy in the game at all. There wasn't a mission I couldn't easily finish using just the hero unit with hit and run tactics, or just creating a mass of some regular unit and running across the stage. I mean I tried to use strategy and plan things out but honestly I had to force myself to do that, and forcing myself to use strategy is a sign of poor design because the game didn't present me a challenge by properly setting the stage and forcing me to think outside the box or use tactics. The game basically just sets it up so you can overrun everything easily. Like the game dishonored, sure I could run through and kill everyone but I could also use tactics and take the long way by sneaking and each option was viable and each option was fun. It was fun to go in guns blazing, it was also great fun planning my routes and avoiding detection but in HOTS neither plowing through everything or trying to be tactful was very much fun.
This is a game worth playing but I can't recommend it for more than 20 bucks.
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I did not review Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty but I played it inside and out and in spite of its flaws I actually enjoyed it enough to gift another copy to an old friend of mine with whom we played the hell out of Starcraft I & Brood Wars back in the day. But seeing how out of some 80 reviews here approximately 40 are hyperbolic 1-liners saying things like "The best game I ever played", I felt I'd join those level-headed and objective reviewers who actually tell the truth about this game and give reasons and examples to support their claims. So, here it goes:BOTTOM LINE: I bought my copy of SCII:HOTS directly from Blizzard, downloaded and started playing. Played several missions (3 or 4) through the 'flash-freeze' planet and went to bed. However, the next day and every day since I just couldn't force myself to play this game again. I just don't want to play it. I mean, I spent money on it, I should play and finish it. I am sitting here thinking: "I should play HOTS"... but I just don't want to.
The greatest problem with this game is that it is leaps and bounds worse than Wings of Liberty and even more so than Starcraft 1 and Brood Wars.
The GOOD: Yes, they improved the interface (for example you now can see how many drones are assigned to mining in a given hatchery so that you can assign the optimal number of drones to that field of minerals), the graphics (for an RTS) are excellent (even better than WoL graphics, they are somehow cleaner and crisper); the cinematic cut scenes are so good that if you could not view them on YouTube, I'd say "buy HOTS just to see them cinematics". There appear to be zero bugs in the game (not counting the Zerg that is :), it is 100% stable, runs smoothly (at least on my machine) and technically it is extremely polished. Multiplayer has been also improved in functionality and there are enough new units to allow for various new tactics in competitive PvP gaming. But that's all that's good about it. Everything else is just BAD.
The BAD: The foundation of your gaming experience is laid in the first half-hour to an hour of gameplay: Either it excites you and makes you drool over what comes next... OR it does not; and if you don't care about what/how happens next you find better things to do. And here's what happens during the first hour of HOTS (see below).
You start the game, you watch an incredible opening cinematic. Then you watch a melodramatic and childish (in quality of dialogue and voice acting) cinematic depicting the reunion of Kerrigan and Raynor, which completely fails to stir up any kind of emotion in you. You just say ... 'meh'.
Then you get your first mission which is a very basic (and boring as well as unnecessary) tutorial teaching you how to build a Spawning Pool + a bunch of Overlords and Zerglings.
Then Kerrigan and Raynor must escape the testing facility and every section of the maze is on a 2-minute timer. During your escape the tutorial continues where Kerrigan tells you to hit Q or W to cast those spells on attacking Mengsk's marines and marauders and every time our love birds reach a checkpoint either Raynor or Kerrigan or both say 'We made it!' in the most uninspired display of voice acting, and suddenly you feel there's a sour grin on your face.
Then Kerrigan and Raynor must ride some platform to the hangar bay where Raynor's shuttle awaits. The Dominion forces try to destroy the platform's engines and you must run around the platform fighting them off. There are two medical stations on the platform so that you can instantly replenish your health and energy, therefore there is no need whatsoever to 'strategize' or use your health/energy intelligently. Just hit them Q and W and shoot that rifle while the spells are on cooldowns.
Then Kerrigan and Raynor get separated and Kerrigan must fight a big mech. The mech lines up its shots and the ground is covered with bulls-eye circles indicating where the missiles will hit. Kerrigan must move outside of the targeted area, but if she gets hit there is a convenient medical station nearby where she can instantly restore health and energy. From time to time troop pods land in the battle zone. Here Kerrigan must hit Q or W. Then a diagonal red line appears on the ground indicating where an incoming bomber will drop the bombs. Better not stand on that red line...but who cares, really? The medical station is right there near you... and the bombs seem to do zero area damage because if you stand literally inches to the side of the red line you will take no damage whatsoever.
Then when the mech is destroyed Nova from WoL finds Raynor and says that had he helped her with her Tosh problem, she would now look the other way, but he chose 'poorly', so now she must bring him in. NOTE: When I played WoL I actually DID side with Nova against Tosh, so Nova saying the above in HOTS was a turn off for me because it did not make any sense whatsoever. The HOTS storyline is lousy and scripted badly ignoring such simple things and outcomes from WoL.
And Kerrigan, for God's sake... Remember that nostalgic picture Raynor had pinned to the wall in WoL? Remember that cinematic where Raynor is having a nightmare about Kerrigan being left behind when she is taken by the Zerg? Okay. In WoL, when she was the Queen of Blades, she looked differently with those skeletal wings, those Zerg tentacles on her head and a scaly skin body suit. But now (according to prince Valerian) 99.9% of Zerg essence has been removed from her genome and according to Kerrigan she does not remember anything about being the Queen of Blades. You would think that she would revert to her former appearance and that you should see the beautiful good-old Sarah Kerrigan who has finally returned... but she looks so completely different that there is literally NOTHING in common in the appearance of the HOTS Kerrigan and her original self from WoL and SC1. In fact, the HOTS Kerrigan looks very much like TOSH from WoL, for all I care, she looks like his twin sister. I wonder how Raynor even recognized her... And what's with the gigantic watermelons on her chest? Zerg evolution or a cheap shot at getting juvenile gamers aroused?
Then, Kerrigan goes to a rendez-vous planet where Raynor is supposed to rejoin her. Of course, the Dominion is building a huge space-shooting cannon, seemingly for the purpose of shooting down Raynor's shuttle. Kerrigan must build a sea of zirglings and (maybe) Queens which are unnecessary by the way, and destroy that cannon. So you do that, and every step of the way the annoying tutorial continues: Build that. Good gamer. Now click this. Good, good. Now go there. Excellent. And now click that. Finally, on this mission you discover that Kerrigan is immortal if she dies, she does not really die. She is magically teleported to the Hatchery where she is restored to full health in a matter of seconds... And so you destroy the cannon but Raynor's ship is nowhere to be seen. Kerrigan goes back to her shuttle and (oh, what a timely coincidence) there is a newscast saying that Raynor was apprehended, questioned and summarily executed... What a twist! Wow! (sarcasm intended)
I could go on, but basically this game is boring. You do not play it. It plays you as in Blizzard constantly telling you exactly what you should do, how to do it and when. The story is cheesy and the overall gaming experience is just bad. I don't know why they even bothered to create a single-player campaign. Clearly, all the gameplay refinements that are present in HOTS are for competitive multi-player. I am not a Starcraft competitive PvP gamer and I can't force myself to continue playing HOTS single-palyer.
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