StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Review

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If the Wings of Liberty widely treated as a mercenary adventures of Jim Raynor idealist through space, Heart of the Swarm detail transform Kerrigan's fixed cancer who had escaped. Both games have in common variegated trend graphics, easy approach anime character development and story, as well as interactive elements borrowed from other genres that are crocheted campaign.
What I like so much in his story are the characters Hots. Kerrigan is ... Kerrigan and her so-called trend follows the same path of revenge against the Terran Dominion's you always know, cheesy reasons of principle. In orbit around it rather unpleasant characters such as Fancy Valerian Mengsk (this Arthas space, pre-Northrend) and Alexei Stukov something infestation.

A trio that would be pretty hard to keep if you had not forced, basically because the arsenal of one-liners, side childish and moral dilemmas about as subtle as a hammer in his mouth consist of both setups, as Disney and Cartoon solutions. Relatively sympathetic characters (or do not have a ficus) occur later and less campaign. Mira Han and Emil Narud for instance roles quite intense and captivating lines, but little appears to leave some emotional crater in us, the audience.
At that contributes fully and aesthetics supersaturated and quiet, where the tentacles viscous grohăielile aggressive attitude expansive and Amorim Zerg's Starcraft the original was passed to allies personality sometimes pleasant, sometimes less, aspirations genetic engineering Mario and more than hentai (carapace more than tentacles). Where you put the whole mess is fueled by an argument which seems to dominate Chris Metzen's creative trends for ten years.
Specifically, on behalf cliché favorite Blizzard games (revenge) when it comes to motivating fanatic of any anti-hero (Illidan, Kerrigan or King Mukla) girlfriend appellant's Raynor threw all their efforts on window shortly after the beginning of the story . What follows are nearly 30 missions in which we (re) accustomed Zerg infrastructure and frost kept outlet elements of RPG that brings more than Starcraft II Warcraft III.

The campaign is dressed in a great production value and the order in undergoing non-linear missions is easy in the sense that we visit a planet before the other and they get attached units before others. Meanwhile, Kerrigan filed in level as a reward for main and secondary objectives, level of passive and active abilities that unlock a pretty bushy tree.
Missions were only tangentially related to the strategic essence of the series, and most involve highly customized interactive objects and tactics. For example, some bosses should be treated as creatures of Diablo and not once will have to dance around them, avoiding projectiles and use your skills to succeed to overcome. Other times you must destroy items on the map in a given time, fly a battlecruiser or Zerg and pick bionavă resources on the map for [CENSORED]ure upgrades.

At certain key levels, Kerrigan got useful skills that transforms, by the end, a calamity ambulance. Each skill-threshold has several options that can be interchanged from Banelings invoked to Heal or AoE attacks.
Meanwhile, some tier sites include only passive abilities that stimulates the economy (extraction do not need drones, two drones coming out of the same larva, more supply per overlord), and skills in the last tier are particularly strong (though start it on cooldown and lasts long enough): Zerg Queen can invoke a block of units, one monstrosity by hook or a devastating area attack.

In parallel, the units can be specialized in one of two foreign sites and blessed with a passive bonus between missions. The game tells us how we should go through some "mission evolution" for the transformation of the Pokémon from Utralisk in Torrasque, for example, but the truth is that there are no tasks at all - are just some tutorials vaguely interactive that presents us special abilities of each "strains". From my point of view, it might as well be some gifs, because there is absolutely no challenge in it.
As a general trend, the missions are shorter and lighter than the Wings of Liberty, regardless of the level of difficulty. And not surprisingly, if you pick up all upgrades and achievement sites you will have to repeat certain scenarios secondary objectives scroll obtain a better time.

Multiplayer
What always attracted me to Starcraft (along with many others, I'm sure) was asymmetrical balance of the race. From simple recruiting units to advanced combat tactics, the Zerg, Terran and Protoss your site have fundamentally different approaches that have enabled a dynamic and creative metagame. Further manufacturers understand and exploit synergies units and new units Hots fully prove that.
Changes in the tech tree's architecture, new units and maps format tilts the balance towards action rather than to economics, micro prior ranges. Distributive attention has always been a central factor for RTS fast, but I think Heart of the Swarm took this philosophy a step forward.
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Widow's new Terran units are Me and Hellbat. Widow Mine site covers an aspect that stood relatively weak Terrans before without chokepoint sites and ramps that control the map. It can bury and can launch missiles equipped with splash damage, cooldown is an enormous disadvantage. Hellbat site as Hellion is a tougher and slower (in fact, there are two forms of the same toys), quite useful to counter mass units resistant to the zealots.
Zerg just got Viper (a devastating flying skills in battles with "mass") and Swarm Hosts, giant cockroaches that releases waves after waves of locusts once they are buried (very good siege from a distance). Important to note not only the individual introduction of these jewelry menagerie Starcraft, but the synergy that it forms with existing ones. If zerg were generally subject to a philosophy of playing aggressive tactics and harassment remote possibilities decisively changed the mentality of ladder games.
Finally, the protoss have received reinforcements airline. Oracle and Tempest are new models, each devastating in its own way. Oracle is rather a ship harrass (initially have an ability to halt mining, but the results of abuse and harrass's frustrating based on this ability has prompted Blizzard to give it) specializes in the eradication workers.
Then, in a move not surprising given the particularities of race, we have a capital ship obscene called Tempest, whose range it beyond line of sight of the very useful against units like the Colossus, but extremely vulnerable against aerienelor AA, Viking genre. And Mothership Core is making ugly harrass sites directed against Protoss's becoming a bit easier cons.

Overall, they have nice rounded game - a pretty large metagame is generated by the capitalization of units which before had moments of vulnerability in synergy with the new additions.
Because yes, the old units newly added skills and roles they quite spectacular when used properly. Medevac sites, for instance, received Haste and hyraxes have an upgrade that allows them to go faster when they are not on creep. Other items have been reinvented and simplified - for example, Siege tanks do not need research to siege mode.
Some units, such as Infested Terrans, ineligible for upgrades, while others were united minimalism and efficiency. Concrete example: Thor site now has two modes of fire, but was removed Strike Cannons energy bar and sites. Even tech requirements and resources of other races were reduced - Crawlers not need Chamber Evolution, Dark Shrine's costs were low and Hallucination not be researched.

But we must also consider that potential newcomers will discover a painful learning curve. Footpaths that, although they were beaten by many others before them, are filled to overflowing with concepts and exercises whose assimilation involves repetition and speed of thought specific competitive games, but very difficult to practicing a sport that is not Starcraft.
On the other hand, this is a somewhat natural evolution of things in many years and can be attributed to Blizzard's what solidified over time. Somewhat welcomes those who want to grab the 10th lap of the race divisions are now six in number, and are designed polygon unranked matches. And if you want to get lower and there is always matchmaking site vs. AI.

Battle.net has long established as the most efficient, stable and fast matchmaking system and changes, both those related to the mechanics and ergonomics, I have only to optimize further the cornerstone of gamers online. We unranked matchmaking, exchanges of custom maps and excellent channels organized groups.
Under Custom Games reviews appear with stars as you can filter the pearls of yeast (in addition to simple and effective additional filters), post-match statistics are more detailed and the players now have a pretty elaborate leveling system.
Level-ups are related to race you play, and the experience is made in almost all online game modes (including AI). The support of clan entered did not know how much help, but the people he tickles the idea of an acronym in parentheses before the username guess that's good news.

The interface has been improved noticeably, with an emphasis on customization and introducing an array of options for spectators - bars of life can occur only when the units lose health pool, it can be seen from the perspective of each player individually and status bar They can take color faction they belong to.
In addition, the entire interface can be formatted as you like, each window can be repositioned or removed completely, allowing livestream sites showing extremely flexible for any game seen, whether "official" or simply a channel random comments .

Like The Frozen Throne before him, Heart of the Swarm expansion pack is a more than decent opening new doors and trying to get rid of the stiffness predecessor. If in the series Warcraft, TFT allowed the use of some races quite unpo[CENSORED]r in multiplayer (Orc's pre-TFT had no chance of success), here we have units, tactics and synergies that discourage total turtling site and inclined as many offensive maneuvers.
Unfortunately, a gamer who is not already in the boat RTS Blizzard would have little belong in this title (the story is mediocre, and the multiplayer is pretty poisonous to novices), but for everyone else there is Heart of the Swarm .