Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void – Review
After the Terran and Zerg campaigns, it’s finally time for the Protoss to shine in the latest expansion for StarCraft II. Of course, Legacy of the Void will offer more than a new storyline and conclusion to an epic space adventure, but new units will also enter the fray, as well as new modes will be made available. We were quite curious to see the new additions and of course see how the fate of the world was in the mighty Protoss’ hands. For Aiur!
Story
After having the chance to plow through both the Terran and Zerg campaign, the stage makes way for the Protoss, to have their time in the spotlight in the StarCraft II ‘trilogy’. Whilst we will see the famous Zeratul dig deeper with his research, the story will revolve mainly around Artanis, who has also been seen in the StarCraft franchise in the past.
Whilst Aiur, the Protoss’ home world, has been overrun by the Zerg in the past, the highly evolved race simply does not want to give up on their birthplace. Even though the odds are highly against them, Artanis will lead his own armada into the fray, hoping to regain control over their home. Even though Artanis and his troops are heavily outnumbered, they have their technology to give them a necessary boost to overcome many enemies at once but of course, as expected, the Zerg would not be their only problem. Amon, a corrupted Xel’Naga has been resurrected, and once again the Protoss are part of his evil plans, creating another foe for Artanis amidst the already swarmed battlefield.
Just like the previous game, the story is portrayed by great looking cinematics or conversations during and in-between missions. The theatrical feeling that every story section brings, is very pleasant, motivating the player to plow through one mission after another.
Graphics
Luckily not that much has changed in the graphical department, as the previous portions of the game looked quite beautiful. The theatrical cinematics are still present in this third part of StarCraft II and again they are simply topnotch. You’ll be able to dive into the world of StarCraft quite easily thanks to the impressive intro to this new expansion.
Ingame the graphics aren’t too shabby either. Blizzard is a master of creating its own style and StarCraft has had its specific features from when the first game went live in 1998 up till this day. Even though the overall game still has its iconic dark tones, everything is very detailed, going from the lifelikeness of the main characters, to the small demon spawns of the Zerg and of course the now important race, the Protoss. As you’ll be seeing these characters more, thanks to the new campaign, you’ll have a bit more lightness added to your characters, as the Protoss feel like that one religious cult, you might end up liking after all.
Whilst Blizzard does their best to present games that are accessible for all, even those with a less superior gaming rig, the ingame graphical quality might not blow you away, but everything looks great, mainly thanks to the atmosphere and StarCraft’s overall style patterns.
Sound
As almost always, the sound quality in Blizzard’s different franchises is superb. You’ll be treated to a lot of voice acting throughout the entire campaign, thanks to the many conversations you’ll be able to listen to in-between missions, or throughout the campaign on the battlefield itself. All units have their own set of catchphrases, which might get repetitive, but they start becoming unnoticeable after a short while.
The game has more mood setting music, rather than epic adventurous tunes that will make you dive into battle again. The music is rather subtle, offering a fun environment for you to spend longer periods of time in.
Gameplay
It’s a given that this third part of StarCraft II would still remain true to its Real Time Strategy mechanics, thus you’ll be spending most of your time building up your bases, defeating all the enemies on the map or surviving for a fixed amount of time. Of course, scattered throughout the campaign there are also a few missions where you will not have the possibility of building a base, but you’ll have to survive with a fixed amount of troops, finding backup from time to time, with a key character in the lead.
As always the game feels heavily situated around multiplayer features, with a dazzlingly good story for those who wish to learn the ropes of course. You’ll notice that this installment has added extra units, two per race the be precise, and some new multiplayer options, which are actually quite good.
Perhaps the main addition might be the Archon Mode, in which two players take control over one base, building up an armada with two heads, rather than having to do everything alone. Whilst this allows players to plot out more elaborate battles, pincer attacks and what not, this is also a great way of helping a newer player learn the ropes if some online battles prove to be too intensive for a newcomer.
Well stating that the Archon mode might have been the biggest addition, this might not be entirely correct as it seems that ‘multiplayer’ is still the main focus, but rather than solely competitive multiplayer, co-op has been implemented in a big portion of the game. Outside of the Archon mode you’ll be able to do co-op missions, in which you’ll have to work together with another player in order to complete objectives, all with a famous ‘hero’ by your side. Overall a fun twist, which cooperative players will surely spend many hours with.
Conclusion
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void is a great end piece for the StarCraft II ‘series’. You’ll not only get a new breathtaking storyline and several new units, but the greatest addition of all might be the cooperative modes that have been thrown into the mix. These modes make the games accessible for an entirely new group of people, who’d normally rather avoid online gaming, as it’s only competitive: Problem solved. We are sad that this saga has already ended and we hope for a third installment in the future, especially seeing this might be one of Blizzard’s best taken care of franchises.
No Comments