Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm (PC/Mac DVD)

It's been 15 years since the release of the original StarCraft, and the Heart of the Swarm expansion ensures it stays as the best RTS game you can find.If you have never heard of StarCraft before it can be briefly summed up as follows: It is a complex MMO RTS game set in a fictional space age universe where 3 races of different design, Terran, Protoss and Zerg, are able to be played against each other. It has a story mode that gradually introduces the player to the game's units, buildings and basic strategies and a multiplayer system for player-versus-player combat. StarCraft also has a vibrant eSports community and there is a lot of depth to the game beyond the campaign. If you enjoy a competitive atmosphere then this title could be for you.Most obvious with this release is the brand new campaign spanning 20 missions where you play as Sarah Kerrigan, the psionic human-turned-zerg overlord, who is able to manipulate the Zerg swarm to her cause. The missions are good fun and can be played on a variety of different skill levels, and the story is easy to follow though some have criticised it for not being intellectually challenging and containing holes in its plausibility. I have to say at this point that I adore the voice acting talent in this release, the Zerg characters mesh really well with the overall feel of the story. The gameplay in the campaign is a mixtures of RTS and RPG elements. Sometimes you only control Kerrigan and must complete objectives using her powerful abilities and sometimes you gain access to a variety of the Zerg arsenal. Having previously played Zerg in Wings of Liberty, I think the campaign is a decent introduction to the Zerg race and many new players should feel relatively comfortable going forward into multiplayer, should they wish to do so, with the skills they develop during the missions. However it must be noted that a number of abilities in the campaign, such as the queen's heal, are different when switching to multiplayer.Blizzard have tried to widen it's appeal to both the casual and hardcore communities by introducing a number of features that address issues they had with Wings of Liberty. The new clan features are great if you play with friends or want to meet like-minded individuals, if you often play solo then this update won't mean much to you. Extra rewards have been added that are unlockable by gaining experience through the online ladder, presumably to encourage players to have a go at the multiplayer pvp and ensure they feel they are being rewarded for their play. Lots of new maps have been added as well as new tilesets.Despite receiving some visual upgrades it's still not aesthetically extravagant, but then it doesn't really need it. The gameplay has been knocked up another notch with the addition of new units and overall everything feels really fun right now. Having played a few games online it seems fairly balanced and there doesn't seem to be any overwhelming strategies storming the ladders (though widow mines are popular right now).I've given this review 5 stars because I'd started to get bored with Wings of Liberty at the end of 2012, but this expansion has rekindled my love for the game.

Sometimes I like to dress up as a lady nurse and take selfie photographs in a mirror.I blow kisses using the glossy lipstick I once also used as part of a 'halloween zombie set'The self satisfaction I get from that cannot be compared to anything in life. Or so I thought until I bought 'starcraft 2'.You will believe you are an unstoppable, tentacle and tendril loving goddess. You will believe that empires will crumble beneath your strangely still functional battle high-heels. You will believe that in the end, the love of a good moustachioed man is all that you need to defeat even gods.And then you will go back to your dreary existence, no longer a queen of (moderate) evil, but simply Dave Bloggs, construction worker. And you will smile as you think back to the times that all trembled before you, while sitting with your friends on your lunch break. None of the other labourers will ever know that within you was the power to strut your fine booty atop the throne of a devastating empire. And they would never understand what it felt like to do battle with the insidious Arcturus Mengsk and the Protss. But you won't care.Because they might be able to take your job and your wife might leave you, but they cannot take the memories away from you of the time that you were the queen of blades.

HOTS is the second installment of Starcraft II that focuses on the Zerg story as opposed to the Terran story in SCII. Without dwelling on it for too long, the installation of the game seemed a bit strange, with it seeming to install both from the DVD and as a download simultaneously for me. I have read on other forums that for some people, it downloads the game in its entirety and completely bypassed the DVD altogether, which makes you wonder why they didn't just release it as a digit download only. Anyway, regardless of how you get it on to your hard drive, it's certainly worth the wait.The 1 player Zerg story is every bit as good as the original. In a nutshell, the story begins at the end of SC2 - Sarah Kerrigan aka Queen of Blades has been captured and continues to enjoy wearing her orange Zerg contact lenses from time to time. The woman is also in desperate need of anti-psychotic medication to treat those anger outbursts that usually results in a burst of psychic energy followed by pain and death of those around her. Emperor Minsk is still that evil dude running the show and Jim Raynor continues to look in desperate need of a shower. Needless to say Kerrigan doesn't stay locked up for long, and the game plays out like a Rentokil nightmare as you build and increase the strength of the Zerg swarm. Kerrigan is playable as a "hero" unit that stronger during the game as you upgrade her abilities. In the 1 player missions, she can be "killed" but is quickly respawned from the hatchery so no lasting damage there. In addition, you can improve Zerg units during the course of the game, increasing speed of units, increase health etc. One thing that impressed me is that the graphics looked better, and the game feels smoother, yet the specs required to play the game are the same as SC2.There are a variety of new units for multiplayer for the different races. I won't go into detail on those here, there are plenty of other places online that describe it better than I could. Needless to say this will undoubtedly make the game more strategic than it already is.The only potential criticism is that those familiar with playing as Zerg from SC2 will likely find many of the early missions tedious as these act more as a tutorial on playing with that race. Actually that suited me, because I never got to grips massively with them in SC2 so I found it pretty useful. If you are a pro with Zerg, just enjoy the really good graphics! I previously wrote that an additional criticism was the fact that you needed a constant internet connection to play the game (as stated on the box as a minimum game requirement). As a gentleman helpfully highlighted in the comments, this is not true. You don't need a constant internet connection to play the one player campaign, but any achievements you get will not be saved to your Starcraft account.Although I've read criticisms about the price considering this is an "expansion", I actually think the game is reasonably priced given the length of the one player story and the additional multiplayer units. It's clear a lot of work went into this game. I should also note that a previous review have said they had problems connecting to Blizzard's servers. I have had no such issues so I would put that down to the first day rush of people logging on. Is it acceptable? Not really. Was it likely they would have problems? After the shambolic Diablo 3 launch by Blizzard it seemed highly likely. Whatever the issues it seems to be sorted now though.Overall, if you were fan of SC2 and found the story engaging this is a fantastic expansion that is just as gripping as SC2. There are plenty of cinematic cut scenes that look sensational, as well as the smaller cut scenes that help the story along. The improved graphics and smoothness of the gameplay are also impressive. For those of you more interested in the multiplayer side of things, the new units for the factions do spice things up. I look forward to the final expansion with the Protoss called Legacy of the Void. Game director Dustin Browder has said "we will certainly do our best to reduce the time between expansions" so I expect this final installment will be released around 2025. Until then, I would say any fan of SCII should add this expansion. Great fun.

Have been looking forward to receiving HOTS for weeks but now feel wounded where oh where does it state in the description that this is an expansion pack only????????? received but can,t play as not got SC2 had SC1 and thought I,d get the updated version and DOH now need to buy again!!!!!