Tristram O’Brien reviews StarCraft II : Legacy of the Void…
Now is time for our last stand, My Life for Aiur!
Welcome to the third and final expansion for the epic StarCraft II Trilogy, Legacy of the Void. I will skip the story recap of the previous two instalments in case you are one of those very patient buyers who likes to have their games and stories all ready and completed for you, for example, Mass Effect Trilogy; The Lord of the Rings; Drake’s Uncharted Series etc. and don’t want any spoilers. If you are unfamiliar with StarCraft, it is a real-time strategy game (RTS from now on.) made by Blizzard in which you pick a side in a war between three races. It was at first seen as a re-skinning of the popular game at the time, Warcraft II, and then being done in space but Blizzard wanted more, they created a game with great gameplay for its time, a very solid tactical game that could adapt to your needs and a story mode that actually required you to play from all three different available races to understand the full scope of an immersive story filled with politics, intrigue, betrayal and even romance among the stars. It was one of the greatest games of its era, even though graphically it was very similar to the style of Warcraft, it really pushed boundaries of a game initially released in 1998. That was the original StarCraft. StarCraft became one of the most, if not the most popular RTS game of the late 90’s and early 00’s. It was twelve years after the initial release that StarCraft II was released. I was excited; I even dusted off my old copy of StarCraft to relive the old memories and bitter vendettas that I had picked up from the previous games. StarCraft II was titled Wings of Liberty and it was revealed that it was one part of three games. This was met with mixed views on the matter, you’d expect with twelve years of down time that you would have a complete game. Having played Wings of Liberty to death, agonised and suffered while waiting for Heart of the Swarm to come out three years later to continue with a storyline that would rival almost any top-tier novel series and then wait another two for the finale, Legacy of the Void, I have only one thing to say about it. It was worth every second of the wait.
I’ll put these brief notes here about the review before I dive in. Firstly, I play on an XPS Laptop, it is not a fully optimised PC gaming machine but I can play the games, I do sometimes experience lag but I can easily play through a 4 v 4 on low graphics with a little stuttering here and there so most gameplay glitches I came across tended to be due to my processing power as opposed to the game itself which is more or less seamless as I’ve played it, I experienced it on a proper rig on ultra-high and it was a mind-blowing experience, the graphics were very different. As I played this game for the most part on my laptop, I won’t make much reference to in-game visual quality because that will depend on how good your computer is. Secondly, there are some plot elements that I would have to spoil if I were to mention names of characters and such so I will try to keep that to a minimum. It would be a massive spoiler if, for example, I were covering a game on Romeo and Juliet II: The Capulet’s Last Heir, then mentioned how one of the maps took place on Romeo’s grave thus spoiling the events of R & J the original. So some characters or plot points I point out may have already be resolved. The final note is that while I attempt to remain impartial with regards to all my reviews, I do enjoy Science Fiction to a large degree and the Protoss are also my favourite race in StarCraft so know that in spirit my enjoyment of the game was essentially 10/10 throughout the game. Personal notes over, straight into the fray… For Aiur, my brothers.
We’ve been warped into together for this battle, this is not just dramatic flair; this was the unbelievable opening to Legacy of the Void. I had goose bumps throughout as Blizzard demonstrated their mastery over these well-choreographed movie sequences. With a chilling narration of the struggle of the Protoss as they battled the Zerg on the verge of extinction while trying to take back their home world. Seeing the units come together as you’ve played them out in such a way really gets you in the mood to play. It sets a high standard which makes you wonder. As the Pylon teleports into being behind a lone zealot, left there after his squad had been killed by the overwhelming horde, you are pulled in again, wonder what is to come. Then they all warp in, the combined might of the Protoss army stands as one. The story itself continues on from Heart of the Swarm and Wings of Liberty. Not trying to spoil anything but as with most trilogies, the second in the set is where you realise how deep the problem is. It is down to a few legendary Protoss heroes to not only battle back against the corruption of the Zerg throughout the universe but also against the human forces that are trying to colonise and secure their corner of this galaxy. All the while a secret evil is hiding in the shadows. The story, at a glance, can seem unimaginative and cliché. However, there are reasons for clichés; they are good story telling when implemented correctly. With every mission, you are pulled deeper into the fight and struggle while also having your mind on the discoveries made by Zeratul in the previous two instalments. As with WoL and HotS, you are given many choices throughout the game that will gnaw at your very soul, do you sacrifice this planet for the greater good or do you save as many people as possible while allowing your enemy to gain a stronger foothold which will lead to more casualties to your allies? It also veers into a sort of customisation as you can choose what upgrades to pursue in the story modes so your journey to the end of the saga is personal.
Some of the plot twists were fairly obvious and as with many games you can get the odd piece of poor voice acting but I didn’t think those odd moments detracted from the story. It is not as comical as WoL nor is it a building of something large in HotS but it is both familiar and new, gloriously so. With each chapter of the narrative you begin to feel for your armies (They are essentially, your people for the rest of the game.) and with the help or in spite of the interference of allies and enemies (not always in ways we’d like either.) you weave a portion of your own making through the story. I was more satisfied with the tapestry I had created by the end and felt fulfilled. LotV, in my opinion, had the most polished of the three stories and also had the benefit of wrapping up the different stories. While you had a semblance of finality with WoL and the story felt more or less complete in HotS, LotV is a different feeling in that respect, on that makes you want to go back and play the others again to see if you can spot the little nuances that lead up to the ending. That being said, as a stand-alone, I don’t think it works as well. Part of the reason I was so invested was because I’ve lived with Jim Raynor, Sarah Kerrigan, and Zeratul to an extent. I knew these people for several years, so picking up the LotV without playing the other two instalments, I would imagine, would lead to a less satisfying feeling. The story can stand on its own surprisingly as it does fill in the important gaps where necessary (And there is a handy recap of the previous games if needed for a refresh or if you haven’t played them.) but the LotV would be overlong and painfully repetitive for those who played the previous games if it went to great length doing this. There is a very large downside to the story though. The initial thoughts behind the games in the original StarCraft were that you picked your side. As much as I love the Protoss, who I almost believe are very much strange-looking space elves with beam technology, there are those that will dislike them and this story is centred around playing their part in the saga, their roles into the end so if you find their lore dull and their manner of speech dry and archaic, you may not enjoy the story as much as I did.
The gameplay has improved. That’s a very simple statement for something that I was a more than a little surprised about. I very much enjoyed WoL, I played it up until HotS was released and I delayed a little in getting HotS because, while I was aching to find out what happened next in the story, Zerg was my least favourite of the three races but when I took the plunge, I found nice tweaks I didn’t know I needed and new units that almost completely changed the way the game was played. LotV has changed the game again, at first glance; the main new feature is the speed. It feels as if the game has been given more power to run and the set up before initiation of combat seems to come even sooner now. The story mode allows you time to adapt and enjoy these new changes and to also see all of the new units and their upgrades in action without you being Zergling rushed into oblivion (Except maybe on that one mission…), with the new modes available, the vastly competitive, and at times, unforgiving multiplayer becomes more accessible for beginners, newcomers and rusty veterans who would like to get back into the game without spending hours on strict ranking ladders that could be harsh and unforgiving. Multiplayer is unchanged only in the fashion that it has the same set of vs. modes and competitions. There are a few new units and balance changes designed to change-up the style of play and breed more innovation. I was… mercilessly crushed in my first few games having had some success with the previous expansions and then I found my groove and began some crushing of my own… until a group of archons reduced my army to a smouldering heap of space ash and I was inconsolable. I think it is a plus that a game can make you Love it to the point that you are sobbing uncontrollably after a hard-fought loss that you really should have won! Jokes aside, the game can turn unforgiving in an instant and while I mostly played again very polite users, there are pockets of players with very poor attitudes and sometimes they slip through.
There are new game modes! There are two new modes that both add a new dimension to the game and build up your skill and confidence, Archon Mode and Co-op Missions. Archon Mode is where two players have control over one army and set to battle against another like army with two people sharing one set of resource, army cap. It allows you to build up knowledge of micromanaging one part of the battle effort giving you much greater control on the battle field. For example, a pair could split along the lines of logistics and battle; another could split along a tactical fight of securing resources for air units and ground units or mech and bio tactics. The greatest strength of this mode is also its greatest weakness at the same time, you can specialise what you excel at the most in the game but you can hit the problem of your partner having the same strengths and deficiencies you do. This can lead to arguments and losses unfortunately. It is the downside of coming together with people you don’t know, sometimes there is a barrier of communication you just can’t get around but at other times it flows as if you were better than one pro player.
The Co-op missions are where you take on the persona of one of the heroes/generals in the galactic war and with the help of an ally set forward to capture, kill, and survive whatever comes at you all the while trying to cooperate to win while competing for bragging rights. It is beautifully executed because you aren’t simply given the armies and you just build as you like, each general has their own set of expertise and resource allocation so playing as one Terran general is a wildly different experience from playing the other, adding in other races with their own generals makes for an adaptive and exciting game mode that could be a whole game almost unto itself. Difficulties can be managed up and down for a challenge/relaxing bit of fun and you can play with a friend or be paired up with someone of similar skill. It can be trying at times because you are very dependent on your partner. While in traditional 2v2 online play, a very gifted player can beat two others with ease as long as he has control over his partners units and access to the minerals; this is not the case in Co-op missions where your teamwork is the difference between being the victors or the dust beneath your enemies’ boots. One little issue I had with the concept was that while free commander was provided not long after the games release, subsequent commanders will require purchase which makes me feel slightly annoyed. I do love the modes and would welcome the diversity but it makes one question how much fun one will be able to have dependent on the cost of the new generals.
Overall, the game was wonderful. Of the three titles on its own merit, I believe it is without a doubt the strongest. It provided a praiseworthy story, it improved upon an already successful and viable multiplayer experience that was considered near perfect to begin with, and it gives the opportunity to those new to the series a chance to get their legs beneath them first before they tackle the players who haven’t put the game down since mid-2010. While it works as a stand-alone game and functions as one as well, unlike HotS which only became playable without WoL in the summer last year, the best experience is to play the game as a whole. If you have played either of the previous two instalments and you enjoyed them, this provides the improvement and the cathartic ending you’ll love, if you are new to the series, it gives you and excuse to splurge and catch up on some 120 hours of story gameplay across three games and then make your way into the multiplayer area with some of the best tools designed considering that there are people who have been playing and experimenting with this style of game for eighteen years. Legacy of the Void is easily one of the best games to come out in 2016 and, for me at least, it makes for a thrilling end to the great StarCraft II ride. I’m talking about the story; I’ll be playing the multiplayer until the Zerg invade the earth!
Pros
+ Excellent story with a great soundtrack and stunning cutscenes.
+ Game operates much faster than before.
+ New modes add hours of replayability.
+ Very Accessible newcomers to the series.
Cons
– Enjoyment of the story is subjective, so enjoyment can vary at times.
– Voice acting can be inconsistent at some points
– Planned DLC feels like a money grab.
– Playing previous installments a must for the best experience.
Rating: 9.5/10
Tristram O’Brien
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=vDx6g5ua25E
