14 DAY TRIAL // Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm is a spectacle when it comes to single player, more like a television mini-series than a traditional real-time strategy series, although one that looks way better than what the likes of the Syfy channel could do with the same theme.
I haven’t finished the game yet, but so far, the story seems to be a repeat of what we have seen in Wings of Liberty but with protagonists that have traded places, Sarah Kerrigan, former Ghost and Queen of Blades now leading the dance and beefcake Terran hero Raynor following.
That previous installment in the series ended with hope as the main theme and a relative peace and of course that state could not last because Starcraft 2 needs conflict.
The problem with Heart of the Swarm is that the game does not push the story forward but rather backward and fails to satisfy a fan’s desire for a new and interesting plot.
Raynor and Kerrigan are reunited and seem to be actually in love, but a quick turn of events sees them separated once more and the Terran rebel even seems to be dead.
Even if so much was sacrificed (I only known how many Marines died under my command) to turn her human again, the former Ghost wastes no time getting in touch with her Queen of Blades persona and turning towards revenge once more.
This character evolution might be interesting if it had been handled well, but the characters that Blizzard currently creates lack any sort of real motivation and only seem to act so that the team can introduce new missions for the player.
The writing is also pretty bad, bordering on a soap opera, and I have often felt that a true Starcraft fan should stick with the original and its Broodwar expansion rather than see the decline of Wings of Liberty and now Heart of the Swarm.