The metatorial review of SC2

[SpikeVorador]

lol, i love this article, it remind me to the Zero Punctuation style =).

[Dalarsco]

So funny! I don't necessarily agree that the story was that bad, and feel that making the Colonist missions one-time options but keeping the rest linear would have made it a pretty good story, but the writer succeeds as a comedian.

[Jabber Wookie]

I have no issue with not getting to play all three races in one campaign go. I have no issue with the story being told in 3 parts. My issue is with the fact I waited 12 years... for what? To be treated like a child? To have these characters and situations hollow and shallow and predictable? To be so bored with a vapid, hole-ridden plot and lackluster writing and dialogue, that the only reason one could possibly have to replay the campaign is for meaningless achievement points?

This... pretty much exactly describes how I feel about the single player as well.

I bet Bioware is going to write another epic story in only a year and a half for ME3, while Blizzard spent 10 years making an amazing multiplayer and campaign editor but left the writers to jerk off in their offices while no paid attention. At least I hope that's what happened, 30 Rock style. Otherwise, they're just incredibly terrible writers. But it's more fun to assume they just collected their paychecks and goofed around for the past 10 years.

[broodmywarcraft]

Here is GameShark's review of the game, where he also criticizes the story:

http://www.gameshark.com/reviews/358...rty-Review.htm

Here is the excerpt about the story at page 2 so you don't have to read the rest, though it is a good read:

"Yet for all the attention given the storyline, the actual story is flat-out awful. You'd think some of those artists' salaries might have been diverted to a better writer or two. Although it's got a provocative sci-fi/Western look, reminiscent of Firefly, this doesn’t go anywhere. At least it doesn't go anywhere Starcraft, Halo, Gears of War, and Mass Effect haven't already been. This isn't a story so much as a sci-fi clearinghouse. There are attempts at actual characters, but they fall casualty to clumsy stereotypes, contrived drama worthy of bad episodic TV, and a plodding plot about space marines discovering a Mysterious Alien Artifact. I guess you could credit Blizzard with a unique take on their Mysterious Alien Artifact. It looks like blue Toblerone. You don't see that very often. Also to Blizzard's credit, if you were worried about Starcraft II being split into three installments, you can rest assured that the first installment doesn't just drop a big fat "To Be Continued" in your lap. It all comes to a satisfying enough conclusion. Considering that it's a story about blue Toblerone."

[Gradius]

Here is GameShark's review of the game, where he also criticizes the story:

http://www.gameshark.com/reviews/358...rty-Review.htm

Here is the excerpt about the story at page 2 so you don't have to read the rest, though it is a good read:

"Yet for all the attention given the storyline, the actual story is flat-out awful. You'd think some of those artists' salaries might have been diverted to a better writer or two. Although it's got a provocative sci-fi/Western look, reminiscent of Firefly, this doesn’t go anywhere. At least it doesn't go anywhere Starcraft, Halo, Gears of War, and Mass Effect haven't already been. This isn't a story so much as a sci-fi clearinghouse. There are attempts at actual characters, but they fall casualty to clumsy stereotypes, contrived drama worthy of bad episodic TV, and a plodding plot about space marines discovering a Mysterious Alien Artifact. I guess you could credit Blizzard with a unique take on their Mysterious Alien Artifact. It looks like blue Toblerone. You don't see that very often. Also to Blizzard's credit, if you were worried about Starcraft II being split into three installments, you can rest assured that the first installment doesn't just drop a big fat "To Be Continued" in your lap. It all comes to a satisfying enough conclusion. Considering that it's a story about blue Toblerone."

lol:

[Genopath]

I agree with the article except on the Tal'darim references. If you been following the lore you know that these guys hate dark templar much like minutemen hate illegal immigrants but ironically their leader is a dark archon. The Tal'darim is a faction with Ulrezaj as the de-facto leader. Ulrezaj is a name known since broodwar but no one has taken him seriously. I'm absolutely sure it will later be revealed his working for the DV. Perhaps the story could have been improved a little here but the Tal'darim had to be portrayed in a bad sense eventually.

Also the Tosh vs Nova decision was a tough one if you ask me and it was designed well. I don't think any other newly introduced character would have made the decision hard otherwise everyone would have sticked with Tosh. However the Hanson vs Selendis was a bit more obvious I think he should have commented that on his article. I don't think many people went for Selendis.

What really bothered me of the story is the whole portrayal of Mengsk as the quintessential form of evil. Sure he ditched Kerrigan but the she had it coming. Considering she killed his father,mother and sister it was expectable at some point. Sure he destroyed Tarsonis with the Zerg but the confederacy weren't exactly good people as they launched nukes at Korhal and pressured the other colonies to join them. Even after all of this Arcturus helped (unwillingly but helped) the alliance defeat the UED. Compared to Kerrigan, Arcturus is a flower-child but the story goes and portray him as the source of all evil.

[Eligor]

Compared to Kerrigan, Arcturus is a flower-child but the story goes and portray him as the source of all evil.

And an inept and even borderline buffoonish source of all evil at that, to add insult to injury.

(I don't agree about the "flower-child compared to Kerrigan" bit though, Mengsk's morality is questionable at best, while Kerrigan has the excuse of being infested).

[Norfindel]

Questionable? Mengsk has destroyed entire worlds. Do you think that all people that lived there deserved it? He's a sick bastard. You cannot feed an entire world to the Zerg and justify it, because that killed the guys that ran the government.

[Louis]

And an inept and even borderline buffoonish source of all evil at that, to add insult to injury.

(I don't agree about the "flower-child compared to Kerrigan" bit though, Mengsk's morality is questionable at best, while Kerrigan has the excuse of being infested).

Arcturus had a lobotomy somewhere in between SCI and BW if I recall correctly.

[Eligor]

Er? I loved what little they did with him in Brood War. Showed the amoral, mercantile and tenacious aspects of his character pretty well (foreshadowings of what an actual confrontation between him and Raynor could have been). Don't see any discrepancies in his character between the original and BW.

P.S. The Toblerone comment is spot on. A ten year old could've come up with a better artefact design. But then, the Xel'Naga watchtower they've settled on looks like some sort of contemporary neon advertising sign you'd see in Tokyo or Las Vegas. Clearly, underlining the mystique and power of the Xel'Naga through artistic design is not on Blizz's chart (where are the "combined aspects of Zerg and Protoss architecture" we were promised in Xel'Naga related structures for that matter?).