StarCraft II the review

[TheEconomist]

In Sc2 so far, the Protoss are irrelevant!

This is my single biggest problem with SC2. To me, Terran and Zerg conflict was just something mildly interesting to get to until the Protoss came and brought the real lore. The Protoss, the Xel'Naga, and the Void are the closest StarCraft comes to a real science fiction universe and it was mostly what I was interested in.

Naturally, Metzen found it to be the least important of all, way behind Raynor getting laid and Kerrigan catchin' feelin's.

I have no doubt that LotV will be somewhat of a Star Wars Episode III type scenario, but, by then, it'll be too little to late. The foundation of the universe will have already been destoyed even if there is something salvageable atop the mass of rubble..

[TSCR]

Did bringing Stukov back even give Blizzard the fan reaction they would have hoped for?

[Turalyon]

Naturally, Metzen found it to be the least important of all, way behind Raynor getting laid and Kerrigan catchin' feelin's.

Even accounting for personal taste, it wouldn't have been as bad as this had the Raynor/Kerrigan dynamic been less like the Anakin/Padme dynamic and more like John Crichton/Aeryn Sun.

I have no doubt that LotV will be somewhat of a Star Wars Episode III type scenario, but, by then, it'll be too little to late. The foundation of the universe will have already been destoyed even if there is something salvageable atop the mass of rubble..

To this day, I wonder whether Ep III is deemed "good" due to its own merits or whether it was more because it was comparatively like a ray of sunshine compared to all the dreck Star Wars was buried in up until then (in other words, better but still crap). I somehow doubt that even focusing solely on the Protoss in LoTV would make it at all salvageable - the Protoss have no credibility (just look at how Zeratul and Selendis are portrayed, let alone any other "faceless" Protoss characters so far - and that's only one aspect!) and the big bad, Amon, is as vacuous as any other dime-a-dozen, tin-pot villain you invariably come across in countless crappy games/comics/movies/books.

Did bringing Stukov back even give Blizzard the fan reaction they would have hoped for?

Who knows? The fanboys would have lapped it all up and the haters would've just kept on hating. I'd call it a tie.

[LestersPetZergling]

The Xel'Naga isn't really original. You can compare them to the makers of the Monoliths of 2001: A Space Odyseey in the fact that their ultimate goal is the evolution of life/ascension, et cetera. This is an all-too common trait found in stuff like Mass Effect (Protheans ascending evolution of young races, leaving black, tall beacons everywhere, Reapers ascending evolution by leaving advanced technology), Halo (Forerunners, etc). And the fact that their creation rebel on them and end up destroying them (the Zerg) is probably one of the most cliché things in a story.

If anything the Terran campaign is the best. It's an allegory of politics and government. It raises questions. Like Mengsk just slaughtered a planet to get his way, but could his harsh methods mean victory? Like how Bush/Obama are turning things into 1984 but could their harsh methods mean victory? And also it raises the point of how in almost all countries the parties/politicans are the exact same. Mengsk turns out to be as bad as the Confederacy, just like how politicians turn out to be as bad as each other.

I'll just leave this here as proof of how StarCraft used to be a real universe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6bVj-nTkiU

Did bringing Stukov back even give Blizzard the fan reaction they would have hoped for?

Did bringing Stukov back even give Blizzard the fan reaction they would have hoped for?
- He didn't have the same voice actor as the one from Brood War.
- He has no personality in HoTS. He just sits around taking orders. Whilst in Brood War, we all know he did the opposite...
- He doesn't care at all that Kerrigan slaughtered his men, the rest of the UED fleet and his best friend of several decades.

The guy in HoTS isn't Stukov, it's a Russian guy.

It's only fan-service if the character is the same as what made them popular with the fans. Stukov in HoTS sits in a corner and does nothing.

[Turalyon]

It's only fan-service if the character is the same as what made them popular with the fans.

Yeah, exactly like it was with Kerrigan.... oh, wait a minute, guess we're talking about a different type of fan service.

[LestersPetZergling]

Well I'm saying that Stukov is still the same guy... but doesn't have the qualities in HoTS that made him popular. So you can't really consider it fan-service.

[TheEconomist]

I wonder whether Ep III is deemed "good" due to its own merits or whether it was more because it was comparatively like a ray of sunshine compared to all the dreck Star Wars was buried in up until then

Mos def the latter.

You can compare them to the makers of the Monoliths of 2001: A Space Odyseey in the fact that their ultimate goal is the evolution of life/ascension, et cetera.

You can compare them to a hundred thousand aliens in books. I know, I do it all the time. The fact that you brought up 2001 proves my point.

It's an allegory of politics and government

Spongebob did it better. The crosswords on the back of the cereal I'm eating right now have better allegories.

Like how Bush/Obama are turning things into 1984 but could their harsh methods mean victory?

You're a simple one, aren't you.

Either way, these themes are in almost all fiction. It's not unique to science fiction. Hard science fiction (real sci fi) is supposed to present to you large concepts that are hard to wrap your brain around. What you described is so simplistic a child could understand. I was seven when I first played StarCraft and I understood all of the levels and concepts then. So, no, the Terrans are not a good example of a science fiction themes in StarCraft.

Again, I repeat, the Xel'Naga and the Protoss lore is the closest thing to big concept science fiction StarCraft has. If you want scary mutant thingies infesting up the sergeant, you can go anywhere for that. If you want Mojo Jojo failtaculars, you can go anywhere for that. If you want something about ancient space faring, genetic engineering alien civilizations, you have to go to the harder science fiction for that.

The fact that you had to bring up something completely irrelevant to my statement (originality) makes me wonder if you're wanting to get into an argument with me over SOMETHING. If you do, be more direct and don't waste my time with mind numbing topics like this.

[LestersPetZergling]

that are hard to wrap your brain around.

Yes, that does not mean it is good. It's quite simple, really. Aliens want to speed-up evolution. It's not really hard to understand the generic race presented in 2001. Mengsk did terrible things in Rebel Yell but should you rebel against him or not? And so on. StarCraft II just throws this out the window, where Mengsk is evil and working to destroy the galaxy with the big-bad.

Again, I'll leave this here.

Fellow Terrans, I come to you in the wake of recent events to issue a call to reason. Let no human deny the perils of our time. While we battle one another, divided be the petty strife of our common history, the tide of greater conflict is turning against us, threatening to destroy all that we have accomplished. It is time for us as nations and as individuals to set aside our long-standing feuds and unite. The tides of an unwinnable war are upon us and we must seek refuge on higher ground lest we be swept away by the flood. The Confederacy is no more. Whatever semblance of unity and protection it once provided is a phantom... a memory. With our enemies left unchecked, who will you turn to for protection? The devastation wrought by the alien invaders is self-evident. We have seen our homes and villages destroyed by the calculated blows of the Protoss. We have seen first hand our friends and loved ones consumed by the nightmarish Zerg. Unprecedented and unimaginable though they may be, these are the signs of our time. The time has come my fellow Terrans to rally to a new banner. In unity lies strength; already many of the dissident factions have joined us. Out of the many we shall forge an indivisible whole capitulating only to a single throne. And from that throne, I shall watch over you. From this day forward let no human make war upon any other human. Let no Terran agency conspire against this new beginning, and let no man consort with alien powers, and to all the enemies of humanity: seek not to bar our way. For we shall win through, no matter the cost!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6bVj-nTkiU

[Gradius]

Either way, these themes are in almost all fiction. It's not unique to science fiction. Hard science fiction (real sci fi) is supposed to present to you large concepts that are hard to wrap your brain around. What you described is so simplistic a child could understand. I was seven when I first played StarCraft and I understood all of the levels and concepts then. So, no, the Terrans are not a good example of a science fiction themes in StarCraft.

Again, I repeat, the Xel'Naga and the Protoss lore is the closest thing to big concept science fiction StarCraft has. If you want scary mutant thingies infesting up the sergeant, you can go anywhere for that. If you want Mojo Jojo failtaculars, you can go anywhere for that. If you want something about ancient space faring, genetic engineering alien civilizations, you have to go to the harder science fiction for that.

The fact that you had to bring up something completely irrelevant to my statement (originality) makes me wonder if you're wanting to get into an argument with me over SOMETHING. If you do, be more direct and don't waste my time with mind numbing topics like this.

I remember writing this up ages ago: http://blizzforums.com/showthread.ph...-Energy-Matrix

Really, speculating about things like this is the reason I enjoyed SC lore. But I thought hard sci-fi just meant it strictly adhered to current science i.e. no ftl, no psionics, etc.

[LestersPetZergling]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_science_fiction

"Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail, or on scientific accuracy, or on both."

Mass Effect has implausible things that are essentially magic like Biotics, but it does thoroughly explain the science of the universe. StarCraft pretty much goes into no detail about the science of the universe, and doesn't care, some reasons why it wouldn't qualify for hard sci-fi.