Kerrigan is finally free from the Zerg. But Mengsk isn't satisfied. Now Kerrigan must retake command of the Zerg and put an end to the man that endangers the entire galaxy.
1. Gameplay
Originally I was extremely upset when I found out that Starcraft 2 was to be divided into three parts released at three different times. And while Wings of Liberty, the first part, was entertaining, I wasn’t convinced that the other three parts would turn out as well. Fortunately, despite the long wait, Heart of the Swarm has alleviated my concerns and given me hope that the third and final part will be an epic end to a long, drawn-out process. Those familiar with the way that Starcraft is designed will know how the campaign works in general. In Heart of the Swarm, the players take control of the Zerg forces as Kerrigan works to destroy Mengsk, a particularly evil Terran (human) who betrayed her and left her for the Zerg. Fortunately, Kerrigan is the opposite of the “damsel in distress”, choosing to take an active role in her destructive campaign of revenge. The campaign is very well written and entertaining. There is great mission variety, tons of customization options, and units unlock in a logical progression that keeps this sometimes ridiculously complex game simple enough for new players. If a player has never tried a Starcraft game before, Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm are good places to start (although the story won’t make as much sense without having played the original Starcraft first). The multiplayer has made improvements since Wings of Liberty, but hardcore players should be well aware of the general rules, concepts, and maps that have been released. New multiplayer-specific content is limited in Heart of the Swarm, but those who play Starcraft 2’s multiplayer on a regular basis should not have a problem with it. I might consider this expansion a bit overpriced at $40, but even then it’s worth playing. I would highly recommend that new players try out the original Starcraft first, since the mechanics and story from the original game are vitally important for understanding Starcraft 2.
The campaign is long and has a good amount of replay value. I ended the campaign wanting to continue playing more. Unfortunately, there is no opportunity to use the campaign-based upgrades I earned in multiplayer, which is a bit of a lost opportunity, the game doesn't suffer from this exclusion. Still, each mission will take the player a decent amount of time and the story as a whole feels full. That doesn’t include the numerous multiplayer maps and modes, the challenge maps, and the random matches the player can play against AI. It is entirely possible for an average player to spend hundreds of hours playing this game. Even if a player never touches the standard multiplayer environment, there is plenty to do.
Excluding multiplayer, which is its own beast, Heart of the Swarm improved greatly on the areas that left me frustrated with Wings of Liberty. While the player will have the opportunity to select certain upgrades to units that cannot be reversed, there are plenty of other minor upgrades to units and to Kerrigan that can be changed at any time. These will have a much more direct effect on the player’s ability to combat enemies. The actual difficulty of each match will vary depending on the player’s knowledge of the races and units, the skill level of the enemy, and the player’s ability to adapt to every situation presented. The game does an excellent job of introducing the Zerg units, so after that it’s really up to the player’s tactical ingenuity. 2. Parental Notices
This game is all about strategic real-time combat, so violence is a major factor in every mission. The effects of combat will depend partially on the weapons or abilities used and partially on who they are used on. Biological enemies will usually burst or disintegrate into a small puddle of red blood. The deaths can include gore, but this is usually very quick and difficult to notice if the player is using a large force of units. If the unit is larger, the blood and gore may be more noticeable. This can also be affected by the length of the death animation. Units with long death animations, usually the larger units, will have more obvious blood and gore, while smaller units with quicker death animations will have less noticeable blood and gore. In either case, the blood and gore will fade from view very quickly. Mechanical and energy-based units will frequently emit no blood during combat. If a unit was killed with acid or fire, the death animation can change. These animations, though rare since few enemies have fire or acid damage, do result in more obviously violent death animation that usually involves melting. The likelihood of seeing blood and gore is directly related to the race that the player is using and the races that the player is fighting. The Protoss are almost all mechanical or energy-based, so blood is practically nonexistent when using or fighting them. The Terrans are a sort of mixed bag, with their smaller units being biological and the larger units being mechanical. The Zerg are entirely biologically based, so blood and gore is a constant factor in combat with or against them. Since the player uses the Zerg race for almost every mission of the campaign, blood and gore is a more prominent element than it would be with Terrans or Protoss as the main focus.
Kerrigan’s Zerg form is purposefully designed to accentuate her natural female form. It is clearly an armor-like carapace, but the high heels and tight-fitted design make it so that Kerrigan is attractive despite her infestation. While there may have been one or two subtle allusions to sex and sexuality in the dialog, Kerrigan’s form is the most obvious element in the game. Kerrigan and Raynor have an obvious thing for each other, but other than kissing in a few cutscenes and some related conversations it isn’t present in the campaign.
Poison gasses are sparsely used in missions in order to control the Zerg, but the nature of these substances isn’t mentioned. During the final cutscene, the main antagonist Mengsk takes out a cigar. However, instead of lighting it, he simply keeps it in his mouth while he attacks Kerrigan. This is the only time any sort of specific substance is even present in the game, and because of this substances are not a factor.
Gambling is not a factor in this game. 3. Other Factors
While mods are allowed in this game, the mods are all tightly regulated by the game developers. While the specific content in each mod may vary, it is filtered for any significantly mature content. None of the mods currently available should increase any of this game’s maturity ratings in any significant way.
Some of the Protoss and other characters have a sort of cult-like fascination with a forerunner race called the Xel’Naga. Their reverence borders on a religion, although there is never any set religion ever mentioned. There are Xel’Naga temples occasionally in the campaign, but these are structures more than religions locations and end up feeling more like the Egyptian pyramids rather than a cathedral.
Anti-law is not a factor in this game.
The online community for Starcraft 2 is filled with real-time strategy veterans. Even in the low-level “learning” matches that I tried I was completely outclassed. Granted, I am not very good at real-time strategy games, but anyone who doesn’t have the ability to multitask and keep track of multiple fronts at once will find themselves completely overwhelmed by enemies. For those who are unfamiliar with Starcraft, complete the campaign and try some of the challenge missions first. If you can complete those without much effort, you should be able to participate in multiplayer matches without getting steamrolled. Otherwise, fighting the AI can be just as fun.
Since the players always views the game from an overhead camera, they will never actively participate in any sort of extreme sports. While certain characters can leap up and down cliffs quickly and easily, these aren’t portrayed as a “sport” as much as an “ability”.
While all of the powers and abilities available to certain creature types, characters, and races are supposed to be biologically or technically based, many of them are so loosely based in anything biological or technical that they can definitely be considered magical. Kerrigan, for example, can attack her enemies using energy beams, can rush straight through an entire line of enemies, and can even use a devastating energy blast to heavily damage units and buildings in a large area. Kerrigan’s abilities will be the most obvious in this campaign, since the player will rely on her to complete most missions. The game explains her powers as “psyotic”, but does very little to explain why Kerrigan has these powers or how they work. Some Zerg and Terran forces have similarly “magical” abilities, but these aren’t nearly as obvious as the Protoss. Almost all of the Protoss units and buildings are held together by magic. Protoss units are called into battle by warp gates attached to buildings. Protoss buildings are powered by large floating energy crystals. While none of this is directly called magical, there are plenty of units, buildings, abilities, and events in this game that make this more “science fantasy” than science fiction.
Weapons of Mass Destruction The humans occasionally have access to nuclear missiles and will, on occasion, launch them to combat the Zerg. These missiles have a devastating effect on a small area but no long-term ramifications. Human Disfigurement The Zerg have the ability to infest humans. Kerrigan is the most obvious example of this, since she is the main character throughout the entire campaign. However, her disfigurement looks more like a sort of skin-tight armor. Another character, an infested human, has much more obvious disfigurements. Half of his face is melted off with some sort of constantly burning fire and the rest is being held together with muscle-like tendrils.
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