StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm is more than the average add-on piece of downloadable content so prevalent in video games these days. Blizzard approached the second iteration of its massively popular real-time strategy game as a trilogy from the start, each portion allowing you to delve deeper into the gameplay and backstory of StarCraft's three warring factions. Heart of the Swarm is a beautiful dive into the slimy muck of the Zerg, and the centerpiece of an inevitable conclusion to a three-part story.
Picking up almost immediately after the events of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty – which is required to play this expansion – the story finds the former Queen of Blades in a more human-like disposition. Heart of the Swarm eases players back into the StarCraft play system flawlessly, while slowly exposing new gameplay concepts over the course of 20 missions. And lest you think stepping into the shoes of the former Zerg Queen means status quo stages from an alien viewpoint, Heart of the Swarm does an excellent job of introducing new strategies, units, and varied assignments.
Most notably, meeting up with Abathur – a grotesque Zerg genetic manipulator – on the reclaimed Leviathan ship opens up "evolution missions," which allow you to customize your various units with specific new traits. Talking with your shipmates is excellent, even if the acting consistently falls a bit flat. While there are exceptions, Heart of the Swarm's characters are at best wholly unbelievable, and at worst emotionless mannequins. It's a shame, considering the visuals are absolutely incredible, with some of the best cut-scene work seen in a Blizzard game to date.
However, the biggest issue with Heart of the Swarm isn't so much the acting as the storytelling itself. The interactions between series-long unrequited lovers Raynor and Kerrigan are fantastic, if a bit dopey, but Heart of the Swarm sometimes comes across as if penned by a teenaged fantasy writer. Granted, you're very likely not playing Heart of the Swarm for the narrative. And the addicting, steady build-up of units on the map, followed by the frantic exhilaration of the inevitable encounter is just as wonderful – if not better – in the second piece of StarCraft II.
The bottom line. Heart of the Swarm won't win any awards for its story, but it's still a great middle chapter in the StarCraft II trilogy.
of 5
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty; Mac OS X 10.7.X or later, 2GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M or ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro or better, Broadband connection
Varied mission types. Cool new units. Kerrigan is an enjoyable, conflicted character.
Some poor voice acting. Weak boss fights. Story feels like a "means to an end."
