Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm

 PC
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1640 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,240 out of 1640
  2. Mixed: 224 out of 1640
  3. Negative: 176 out of 1640
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  1. sayedstafa
    Apr 12, 2013
    6
    It's fun to go back to playing more SC2 after it's been close to 3 years since Wings of Liberty came out. Although, I feel like the story hurt the game a lot. Most of this game consists of you destroying what you worked so hard to accomplish in Wings of Liberty. Because of that, I felt as a player that I did not want to do the mission objectives that I was given. When I as a playerIt's fun to go back to playing more SC2 after it's been close to 3 years since Wings of Liberty came out. Although, I feel like the story hurt the game a lot. Most of this game consists of you destroying what you worked so hard to accomplish in Wings of Liberty. Because of that, I felt as a player that I did not want to do the mission objectives that I was given. When I as a player don't want to do the mission objectives, then how am I really supposed to have that much fun? With that aside, it's still SC2, they didn't do anything to the gameplay to make it worse, it's just the story really hurt the game for me.… Expand
  2. Eternald
    May 5, 2013
    10
    My personal score for this game is 8 but because there is too much hatred from anti blizzard boys around now days i will vote for 10.

    Graphics 8/10 Cinematic 10/10 Music 9/10 Story 8/10 Dialogues 7/10 As far as the campaign goes Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm is a very nice game with an interesting story and change of events. However missions felt a bit rushed due to the "beat    My personal score for this game is 8 but because there is too much hatred from anti blizzard boys around now days i will vote for 10.

    Graphics 8/10
    Cinematic 10/10
    Music 9/10
    Story 8/10
    Dialogues 7/10

    As far as the campaign goes Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm is a very nice game with an interesting story and change of events.
    However missions felt a bit rushed due to the "beat the time" mechanism but still it was soo fun to play that you will catch yourself finishing the game and you will not understand how the time passed.
    Most of the voice acting is nice and good but there are some parts especially close to the end of the game that seemed cheesy and flat.
    Storyline is interesting and nice however it could be much better, but still is a very nice story with strong elements of hatred, love, revenge, and pain.    … Expand
  3. Dozmo
    May 2, 2013
    8
    A great expansion, but priced a little steeply. The campaign is good (better than Wings of Liberty), the new units are fun, and the Battle.net interface is hugely improved.
    That said, the price tag is still pretty high for an expansion pack, especially when you consider how much you got in WOL versus only the NEW things you get in HOTS.
    Having played hundreds of HOTS games, I think it is    A great expansion, but priced a little steeply. The campaign is good (better than Wings of Liberty), the new units are fun, and the Battle.net interface is hugely improved.
    That said, the price tag is still pretty high for an expansion pack, especially when you consider how much you got in WOL versus only the NEW things you get in HOTS.
    Having played hundreds of HOTS games, I think it is definitely a worthy addition for any RTS fan, but only for RTS fans. If you are simply a casual player your money is better spent on something else.    … Expand
  4. AdderTude
    Apr 25, 2013
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I will admit, when it comes to StarCraft, I am biased towards the Terrans (human power for the win!), so I loved the new tech tree for the Terrans. The campaign for Wings of Liberty was also very well written, coming off in the same Firefly-style presentation. While Jim Raynor's group is still fighting a war unlike Malcolm Reynolds' crew, they're still in the same position: limited resources. The final bug payoff was saving his girlfriend, Sarah Kerrigan, from the clutches of the Zerg and turning her human again.

    When Heart of the Swarm was released, I got my hands on it as soon as possible to see how the story continued. Kerrigan still maintains a level of dominant control over some Zerg but her power is greatly weakened because she's human again. The tutorial was simple (yay) and the addition of hotkeys helped access the hero's abilites quicker (double yay). The Zerg may be complex at first for non-native Zerg users like me, but once you get the hang of the mechanics, they're pretty easy to play. I played the game for several hours, completely immersed in the storyline...until one fateful moment in the game changed that.

    After being deceived by the Dominion that Raynor had been killed, Kerrigan goes about the sector regaining control over the Swarm until she heads to the true Zerg homeworld, outside of Terran space. Here she learns that the original primal Zerg have no psi ability whatsoever (and thus no connection) and live in pack through domination. It is here that Kerrigan decides to re-infest herself and return as the Queen of Blades once more, pretty much giving a giant middle finger to everything that Raynor (and the player) did in Wing of Liberty. Except here's the catch: the old Queen of Blades was controlled by a fallen Xel'Naga, whose name is revealed as Amon. He wants to return to the galaxy and wipe every living being from existence, and he was using Kerrigan and the Swarm to do it. That is, up until Raynor's use of the Xel'Naga artifact severed her connection to Amon. Thus Kerrigan, after re-infesting herself, is still pretty much herself after becoming the Queen of Blades once again. I *hated* that writing, but at the same time, the player realizes that Kerrigan was right. In order to face Amon by the time he returns, she needed to re-assume her identity as the Queen of Blades. The best part of Heart of the Swarm was the conclusion. After assaulting Korhal with the combined forces of Kerrigan's Zerg and Raynor's Raiders, Kerrigan finally confronts Mengsk face-to-face. In one last plot twist, HE HAS THE FREAKING ARTIFACT!! The lying scumbag uses the artifact to torture and weaken Kerrigan. I honestly thought that Megsk would have the last laugh up until Jim reaches through the busted door to destroy the detonator operating the artifact. With no tricks up his sleeve left, Mengsk finally got was what was coming to him and dies (after four games, too). I *will* say that the final battle was a bit disappointing, however. Compared to the finale of Wings of Liberty, this one was pretty easy on Normal. I can't even beat Wings of Liberty on Normal, despite Terrans being my strongest race! (DISCLAIMER: I do not play StarCraft II on multiplayer, so my skill reflects how casually I play the game) In terms of new units, there's not a whole lot to offer. Sure each faction has a couple of new tricks, but that's just it. The addition of only two or three new units per faction really drives home the "expansion" point while the overall game feels a bit like a standalone sequel otherwise. I'm not exactly sure what to expect with Legacy of the Void, but I sure hope Blizzard can pull off a story as grand as Wings of Liberty. Given that it's just the second and final expansion, though, I hate to say that I'm not expecting a whole lot.. Overall, StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm is a great continuation of the story and game I personally enjoyed.    … Expand
  5. EVISpinerd
    Apr 23, 2013
    8
    You won't find a more polished RTS experience than Starcraft II. Heart of the Swarm is a welcome addition to the franchise and although it falls into some very cliche moments during the campaign, the gameplay is what you would come to expect of a Blizzard title. Start to finish, the campaign is loads of fun and worth checking out more than once as there is a large emphasis on choice.You won't find a more polished RTS experience than Starcraft II. Heart of the Swarm is a welcome addition to the franchise and although it falls into some very cliche moments during the campaign, the gameplay is what you would come to expect of a Blizzard title. Start to finish, the campaign is loads of fun and worth checking out more than once as there is a large emphasis on choice. The evolution missions feel a litte bit superfluous but ultimately I understand why Blizzard included them allowing players to test the two distinct changes the evolution will make to a unit before making a commitment. The experience system is a nice touch but it doesn't add too much the whole experience. The real draw of Heart of the Swarm is the multiplayer and it does not fail to disappoint. The new units given to each race may not seem like much at first but they are fun additions and do drastically change the metagame for anybody interested in playing the game competitively. The most welcomed additions are the ones involved with serving the eSports community. The interface has been overhauled, there are more stats, replays can be watched together, and ranked and unranked matchmaking is now available. HotS just brings the most refined and complete service surrounding the multiplayer aspect of the game, which has always been the main focus of Starcraft.

    There are some flaws in terms of the narrative and how safe Blizzard played it in terms of adding new units and gameplay, but what is included is honed and polished to the T. If you're an RTS fan, or just a fan of PC games, HotS is well worth the 40 dollars, especially if you own Wings of Liberty. You will have fun with this game.    … Expand
  6. Ccx55
    Mar 18, 2013
    0
    This expansion does nothing to improve on the fundamental flaws of Starcraft, it only adds a few gimmicky units. I would not recommend this expansion to anyone it's as much a waste of money as the original game.
  7. valero
    Mar 31, 2013
    2
    you are paying 10$ per new unit they added
  8. Necrotaur
    Mar 13, 2013
    8
    The Heart of the Swarm campaign is enjoyable and continues the storyline from where Wings of Liberty left off. It play similarly to WoL in that there are upgrades to choose from and you can do some missions out of order. The missions themselves are a little bit more guided you don't really have the freedom to just build a base and go to town due to certain mission parameters.The Heart of the Swarm campaign is enjoyable and continues the storyline from where Wings of Liberty left off. It play similarly to WoL in that there are upgrades to choose from and you can do some missions out of order. The missions themselves are a little bit more guided you don't really have the freedom to just build a base and go to town due to certain mission parameters. Multiplayer adds a few new units, and a lot of them will be familiar if you've played Brood War.… Expand
  9. MayhemMike83
    Apr 26, 2013
    8
    A solid expansion but not worth 40€, the campaign is really well done and the new units add more depth to the base game but that's it.
    Try to get it for 30€ or less
  10. kabilaking
    Apr 25, 2013
    8
    I Loved this expansion and I still think a strategy game does not even come close to Starcraft 2. I really liked the story and controlling the swarm was awesome and upgrading them to my will and doing evolution missions. This game also has some RPG elements as you upgrade Karrigan as you go further into the story. Story took me like 20 minutes per mission usually but I am not a hardcoreI Loved this expansion and I still think a strategy game does not even come close to Starcraft 2. I really liked the story and controlling the swarm was awesome and upgrading them to my will and doing evolution missions. This game also has some RPG elements as you upgrade Karrigan as you go further into the story. Story took me like 20 minutes per mission usually but I am not a hardcore player so others will do it a lot faster. So like 10 hours maximum to complete this which aint bad. There are bosses in game which do look cool I remember one in particular but no spoils but dont pose any real challenge which is a shame. Also this game did feel easier that starcraft 2 which for me aint bad as I am a noob but to hardcore players would be disappointed. The thing that bothers me most about expansions for games like this is lack of new units not many have been added which is a shame but apart from that game is an easy 8.0/10 for me.… Expand
  11. AntivanChicken
    Mar 16, 2013
    7
    This is review from single-player's only point of view!

    Where WoL had this Firefly-like feel of ridiculously tough space cowboys, HotS has only Kerrigan to offer and she has half of Raynor's charisma. Sure, bazillion times his power, but still half charisma. Same goes for the rest of her little helpers when compared to Hyperion's crew. As far as story goes, I enjoyed WoL much better,    This is review from single-player's only point of view!

    Where WoL had this Firefly-like feel of ridiculously tough space cowboys, HotS has only Kerrigan to offer and she has half of Raynor's charisma. Sure, bazillion times his power, but still half charisma. Same goes for the rest of her little helpers when compared to Hyperion's crew. As far as story goes, I enjoyed WoL much better, mainly thanks to better characters.

    Of advertised 27 missions, there are 7 evolution missions that are basically tutorials. That leaves 20 missions, which is still fair, I guess. Especially since HotS is expansion and not a full game. Just please, don't lie to us next time, Blizzard.

    The main issue for me is the gameplay the game is easy. I'm not an RTS expert and I'm too lame to play multiplayer matches so I expect an RTS game to be moderately challenging for me when I choose Normal difficulty. This game is not. You basically don't have to build your base. No, not even all the available buildings to unlock all your recruitment options. You don't have to bother with defense most of the time (unless you're playing defense mission). You don't even have to hotkey different groups of your units All you have to do is recruit few units, hit F2, set attack move to the center of the enemy base and repeat until enemy cracks.
    This in fact does terrific job of creating this Zerg "we are numberless" feeling. However, it's not that terrific when it comes gameplay, so I consider it more of a bug than a feature. In WoL I somehow cared for my units, I would use Siege tanks and Banshees to carefully remove enemy base's defenses and retreat for repair to prevent losses (concept of tougher and more unique mercenary units that were gone once killed was encouraging this careful gameplay that actually felt like I was deploying some strategy). Not in HotS. All because Kerrigan is immortal and her powers granted by leveling are so ridiculously overpowered. Especially one of them deprives any unit that has no anti-air capability of any value.

    However, despite these flaws, I still stormed through the campaign, giving it almost every single moment of my free time and I felt compelled to finish it all the time. So, there must be something to it. For example missions are quite diverse...

    Overall, even though the game has its flaws, at least from single player only point of view, it still gets green score from me for this... "something-to-it factor" that made me play all the way through it.    … Expand
  12. slic
    Jul 30, 2013
    0
    Remember when you could turtle in your base, build defenses, build a powerful upgraded army, advance tactically and slowly towards the enemy base while taking all the time you need? Well Blizzard doesn't! This horses**t of a campaign is nothing but timed missions, it's all rush rush rush. No more experimenting with awesome new units and playing around with them, no more playing at your ownRemember when you could turtle in your base, build defenses, build a powerful upgraded army, advance tactically and slowly towards the enemy base while taking all the time you need? Well Blizzard doesn't! This horses**t of a campaign is nothing but timed missions, it's all rush rush rush. No more experimenting with awesome new units and playing around with them, no more playing at your own pace and formulating attack and defense strategies, now you have FREE and UNLIMITED units and all you have to do to win a mission is select them and press "A" at the enemy base; and even if you don't want to do this, you have no choice since every mission is a race against the clock and is annoyingly scripted. I can't even remember building a single base defense in the entire campaign. "This is how you are supposed to play the zerg" Blizzard says, well in that case please don't call this piece of fecal matter an RTS game because it has absolutely no relation to classical RTS games (especially starcraft 1). It plays more like Call of Duty.

    And that's not even the worst part. The story looks like it was written by a ten year old. There are no more plot twists, everything is predictable and cliche, and the dialogue is cringe inducing (example: "My queen, your hatred is burning like a star"). The days when you would play a mission for hours and then near its end start to foam at the mouth while you await the awesome revelation in the story, they are gone. You feel more and more boredom as you click "next mission", and your only motivation to finish is a feeling that you just want to get this s**t over with. There is absolutely nothing to like about this story, it's all about the angry girlfriend on a quest for revenge. How the heck can anyone even relate to her? Who cares about some hysterical b*tch and her love driven rampages?
    And why the heck are zerg humanized? Why do they spare civilians? What happened to the mindless swarm that ravages human populations across the galaxies? Now they feel like nothing but a tool for some b*tch's personal vendettas.
    And speaking of the star of the show, do you remember when Kerrigan was a cynical badass "Queen b*tch of the Universe" who cared for nothing but power, expansion, and the glory of the swarm? Well now she's a sensitive Queen heroine who cares about saving humanity, and of course her paramour Jim Raynor. Here's a summary of the game's dialogue without giving away spoilers:
    "O Raynor, Raynor! wherefore art thou Raynor?"
    "But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
    It is the east, where Char is burning."
    And even this incredibly simple story managed to have more plotholes than Swiss cheese. I can't even call them plotholes since they're absolutely nonsensical and serve nothing but to advance the story to the predictable and hurried ending.

    If you are a fan of the original series, then do yourself a favor and stay away from this game.    … Expand
  13. wordy_actions
    Mar 15, 2013
    8
    A solid addition to Starcraft 2. The campaign has a wide variety of fun missions, and the added units in mutliplayer add a needed shift in competitive strategy. If you don't already like Starcraft, you probably won't like this, but for any fans of the series this is a must.
  14. Kenmei
    Mar 16, 2013
    8
    Every fan of Starcraft will love this game. The classic gameplay is there and all the multiplayer emphasis is still present. The campaign this time around is a more linear experience. While the missions are varied and there is plenty to do, there are zero side missions, beyond the zerg evolution upgrade missions. That added onto the very bland story, one that makes the whole point of theEvery fan of Starcraft will love this game. The classic gameplay is there and all the multiplayer emphasis is still present. The campaign this time around is a more linear experience. While the missions are varied and there is plenty to do, there are zero side missions, beyond the zerg evolution upgrade missions. That added onto the very bland story, one that makes the whole point of the Wings of Liberty story feel useless, lowers the score for me. Still, there's alot here to love, especially if you like the multiplayer. This definitely feels like an expansion, as it should. But there just didn't seem like alot of thought went into the story at all, which is sad since alot of people like the Starcraft story.… Expand
  15. ludiq
    Mar 17, 2013
    8
    I love StarCraft. WoL lacked a lot of things that HotS adds. There's still more to be wanted but overall Blizzard have stepped up a lot. The campaign was rather short, but god damn those cutscenes! I'm still getting chills thinking about them, I even teared at the end. Epic, epic, epic! Good job, Blizzard! BW>HotS in terms of multiplayer but HotS is still an incredible, INCREDIBLE game
  16. Maxson
    Mar 16, 2013
    8
    Not bad for a expansion, but Wings of Liberty's campaign is still better. In my opinion the campaign in this expansion is okay..but thank god the cinematics are amazing!! When it comes to cinematics you could always count on Blizzard. I noticed some graphical upgrades, especially how the zergs looks now...scary lol. The game looks great for a Blizzard game. Can't for the final expansionNot bad for a expansion, but Wings of Liberty's campaign is still better. In my opinion the campaign in this expansion is okay..but thank god the cinematics are amazing!! When it comes to cinematics you could always count on Blizzard. I noticed some graphical upgrades, especially how the zergs looks now...scary lol. The game looks great for a Blizzard game. Can't for the final expansion maybe 2-3 years.… Expand
  17. matty_o
    Mar 19, 2013
    8
    Thoroughly enjoyable, however rather short, no protoss missions and sadly not as memorable as Wings of Liberty was. This game did not hit home as it should have, but was still a good game.
  18. ktamlyn
    Mar 17, 2013
    7
    I like the subtle improvements and the cinematics are amazing. As others have stated the plot is wholy not engaging though its not as full of holes as people say, its just not good, nor do I empathize with the characters. In fact I empathize more with the empire's troops needlessly being killed in the plot-line more than ANY of the main characters. Its still in the macho rouge guy styleI like the subtle improvements and the cinematics are amazing. As others have stated the plot is wholy not engaging though its not as full of holes as people say, its just not good, nor do I empathize with the characters. In fact I empathize more with the empire's troops needlessly being killed in the plot-line more than ANY of the main characters. Its still in the macho rouge guy style vein of the previous Star Craft storyline, the problem is the now the main character is a woman who has lost her humanity yet somehow she still loves Raynor? kind of a weird mix. If her struggle was more gradual than I could buy into it. Some complain its too easy, well then I say pursue the achievements, not just beating the missions once on normal. The game is the same Star Craft 2 we love and for motivating me to play SC2 some more, this gets a 7. If the plot was better, than I would have given it a better score. Star Craft 2 first storyline was strong for all its flaws, this plot-line is not strong.… Expand
  19. L4rry
    Mar 15, 2013
    8
    Starcraft 2 is the best real time sci fi strategy game out there. Period.

    Pure gameplay, math, strategy, and last but not least APM. The campaign was fun, didn't really have high expectations for that though, I played all sc campaigns, they all seem the same to me, ending in some big battle where you have many bases and tons of units. The downsides: The races aren't that    Starcraft 2 is the best real time sci fi strategy game out there. Period.

    Pure gameplay, math, strategy, and last but not least APM.

    The campaign was fun, didn't really have high expectations for that though, I played all sc campaigns, they all seem the same to me, ending in some big battle where you have many bases and tons of units.

    The downsides:

    The races aren't that balanced, and they CANNOT be exactly balanced because they're so different.

    And last, as in any game you ll play against guys who have a TON of games played and know the game much much better, which is kinda ridiculous.

    Mirror match-ups aren't that fun.    … Expand
  20. comiekilla
    Mar 19, 2013
    8
    This is a great game. I did not like it as much as the first one (wings of liberty) or Starcraft one but it contains tons of nostalgia and brings me back to the good old days. I did miss the money from WOL and the arcade game. Also, it is harder to immerse myself with characters that are not human (obviously). But the game is great and I recommend it to anyone who has played the lastThis is a great game. I did not like it as much as the first one (wings of liberty) or Starcraft one but it contains tons of nostalgia and brings me back to the good old days. I did miss the money from WOL and the arcade game. Also, it is harder to immerse myself with characters that are not human (obviously). But the game is great and I recommend it to anyone who has played the last two games. Even on my laptop that is about three years old I could play it on max and it ran very smoothly. You can play it offline which is great.… Expand
  21. kazannova
    Apr 30, 2013
    4
    i dont know why people like this game, compare to other game it doesnt have that much to offer its the same old game but different pant. i think this game is just for the fans of the old one
  22. spore1999
    May 24, 2013
    10
    A very omnipotent creation from Blizzard,challenging as well true game-play for a strategy game.It's exactly what someone could want to be in a game type like this.
  23. HUDWheels
    Dec 8, 2013
    0
    The online matchmaking is dreadful. I stopped playing for a few months, started again and was put into Silver league. My first 6 matches were against:-
    - Gold
    - Gold - Platinum - Diamond - Gold - Gold and guess what...I lost them all because I'm A SILVER PLAYER WHO SHOULD BE PLAYING SILVER PLAYERS NOT PLATINUM OR DIAMOND PLAYERS. Don't waste your time on the campaign either,    The online matchmaking is dreadful. I stopped playing for a few months, started again and was put into Silver league. My first 6 matches were against:-
    - Gold
    - Gold
    - Platinum
    - Diamond
    - Gold
    - Gold

    and guess what...I lost them all because I'm A SILVER PLAYER WHO SHOULD BE PLAYING SILVER PLAYERS NOT PLATINUM OR DIAMOND PLAYERS.

    Don't waste your time on the campaign either, it's pointless.    … Expand
  24. AC1DSKU11
    Mar 15, 2013
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Blizzard has managed to bring back a sliver of the old magic with HOTS. It doesn't exactly live up to Brood War or Frozen Thrown in terms of expansions but they made quite the solid effort. There are quite a few interesting units and missions throughout the campaign. While the game is plagued by horrible mission types forcing the player to escort and protect heroes and destroy structures a few missions managed to shine above the rest. With a little more work and restructuring the story and game play could have been absolutely brilliant (the ending cinematic shows that). On the whole the campaign keeps the Starcraft universe interesting without bogging it down to heavily with bad mission design Campaign: 7/10. The multiplayer is an entirely different story, while there are the expected balance issues from the start the matchmaking and interface drastically improve the quality of the multiplayer experience. This quality of community content and level of enthusiasm is very difficult to find these days in games and is absolutely above par Multiplayer: 9/10. On the whole I would give Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm a great 8/10… Expand
  25. patyomkin
    Mar 22, 2013
    0
    As usual, unbalanced game play. Funnily easy campaign in brutal mode, but the ai is shamelessly cheater in versus mode. Constant server side lagg in my region, f.ing annoying...
  26. althea
    Mar 15, 2013
    8
    I had to uninstall Starcraft 2 completely before I was able to install this expansion, so I had to wait hours to play it. Besides that it's a nice game. The campaign is amazing.
  27. Absynce
    Feb 25, 2015
    0
    this game is trash, as Starcraft 2 has always been, its about who can hit the most keys per minute in a sim city world. it should be a combat game, try making something new that resembles Myth: The Fallen Lords and maybe we buy your garbage.
  28. Skulb
    Mar 30, 2013
    5
    As usual with a Blizzard game there`s a lot of polish to HotS. The MP engine, the in game interface and unit control is all great as is the graphical quality and the sound. In fact, if you love playing MP RTS games with lag HotS is just about the perfect game.
    Unfortunately I don`t and consider e-sports about as entertaining to take part in as math exams, and more stressful than Christmas    As usual with a Blizzard game there`s a lot of polish to HotS. The MP engine, the in game interface and unit control is all great as is the graphical quality and the sound. In fact, if you love playing MP RTS games with lag HotS is just about the perfect game.
    Unfortunately I don`t and consider e-sports about as entertaining to take part in as math exams, and more stressful than Christmas shopping. It`s OK to watch, but just like with downhill skiing, Tour de France or professional wrestling I`m more than happy not to ever participate in it.
    Which leaves the single player campaign, which is to be perfectly honest full of some of the most lame ass writing you`re likely to have ever seen. Cliche on cliche piles onto the never ending monologue of weirdness and bravado of Kerrigan. I don`t think I can remember the last time I had a more overwhelming desire to kill off the main character in the story of a video game. It is just too bad to even properly describe in words.
    The story itself might be OK actually, but it`s just the way it`s being told. Until otherwise proven by Blizzard my opinion is that the entire scripting crew of SC2 have bee fired because they had too much talent,, and have been replaced by 3 illegal aliens being held prisoners in a broom closet by evil Blizzard accountants and forced to write scripts for the SC2 franchise, unless they wanna be handed over to immigration.

    Honestly though, if it wasn`t for the damn lag I get every time I so much as think about multi player, I might not be so harsh on SC2. But when the campaign is so poorly written I squirm with embarrassment in every single dialogue, and I can`t play multi player because of lag, what is left to like of the things I paid for? Not much is the answer to that question.    … Expand
  29. ploppytheman
    Apr 19, 2013
    7
    Im very fair in all of my reviews and the industry does seem to be in a downward spiral however I thought that sc2 hots was very well done. I wouldnt say single player was great, the story was downright absolute trash, but the gameplay and units are great. A lot of people think that starcraft is only a single player game but its not, its mainly about multiplayer and esports. Dont get meIm very fair in all of my reviews and the industry does seem to be in a downward spiral however I thought that sc2 hots was very well done. I wouldnt say single player was great, the story was downright absolute trash, but the gameplay and units are great. A lot of people think that starcraft is only a single player game but its not, its mainly about multiplayer and esports. Dont get me wrong I loved sc1 and its single player and neither sc2 single or multi can hold a candle to it, but it is still very well done and a good solid game. If you feel you didnt get your money for singleplayer only, you are right, because the game is a multipart package, like taking a slice of cake and saying the cake is too small, its your own damn fault for not playing multi isnt it.

    Blizzard failed in the areas of wow and d3, they are trying to fix starcraft for multi imo, but the campaign story was frankly absolute trash. They made it into a cheesy soap opera and took "queen of the universe" and make her good and shallow, damsel in distress. They turned kerrigan from a cunning cutthroat evil respectable and feared dictator to a weak emotional woman. Now dont get me wrong I hate feminism and all that trash, but this is a joke, they basically destroyed what she was, like sarah conner going back to being a waitress... well I really could go on and on about how everything in sc1 was essentially tossed out for primal zerg wow clone nonsense you can find long posts about it if you look around. Its just so disappointing... the potential sc2 story could have had... WoL had the same problem but at least Jim Raynor and Zeratul seemed in character, at least partially.

    So overall its still a 7 because its a good game, but if I were to rate this on "what blizzard is capable of" or their old standard I would give it around a 4 or 5, because this is shody work. And the campaign story is literally about a ZERO because of how terrible it was, negative even for the lore they spit out and stomped on.    … Expand
  30. teshia
    Jun 28, 2013
    5
    I was very disappointed with Heart of the Swarm. The story was okay and the art direction was pretty good but I found the gameplay lacking. I played through it on Normal difficulty and didn't die once during the entire campaign. That's not Normal, that's Easy, or even easier. I'm no Starcraft expert and couldn't remember what any of the units did when I came back to play thisI was very disappointed with Heart of the Swarm. The story was okay and the art direction was pretty good but I found the gameplay lacking. I played through it on Normal difficulty and didn't die once during the entire campaign. That's not Normal, that's Easy, or even easier. I'm no Starcraft expert and couldn't remember what any of the units did when I came back to play this expansion. It shouldn't have been this easy. I'm not paying good money to walk through it like it was an RTS for kids. Total snore fest. It certainly wasn't like that when I played the first Starcraft game or even Warcraft 2. Come on guys, add some tactics in make me work for it. Hard should be hard. Normal should be normal. Easy should be easy.… Expand
  31. birdman3
    May 15, 2013
    7
    I played the single player campaign mostly to see all the cool upgrades and evolutions for each of the zerg creatures. That alone made the game rewarding- the campaign is pretty mundane (the writing is not very good) and fairly short (about 20 missions? Right?), but overall: it was the various evolutions that made me keep playing.
  32. pandacub
    Apr 16, 2013
    8
    As a competitive SC2 player, the campaign in Heart of the Swarm was far less challenging than in the Wings of Liberty. However the multiplayer was honestly the main reason why I bought the game, essentially all non-casual starcraft players paid only for the handful of new units and some game mechanics updates which I for one cannot justify spending $50 for.
  33. tiho
    Jan 8, 2015
    9
    Great game for sure, but more in terms of gameplay than story. I found the SP campaign to be way too easy but I can only blame myself for playing on Normal instead of Hard... MP is obviously quite competitive, but one may still have fun without being a pro. In any case it offers a lot of different strategies so that each match is really unique, and the balance between the 3 races is reallyGreat game for sure, but more in terms of gameplay than story. I found the SP campaign to be way too easy but I can only blame myself for playing on Normal instead of Hard... MP is obviously quite competitive, but one may still have fun without being a pro. In any case it offers a lot of different strategies so that each match is really unique, and the balance between the 3 races is really good, in spite of their fundamental differences.… Expand
  34. scruffycavetrol
    Mar 27, 2013
    5
    It's only an expansion, so you need Wings of Liberty. It adds some upgraded units, and some cool genetic upgrading of units. It really just continues the story, where you play as the Zerg and Kerrigan, so expect the 3rd expansion to revolve around Protoss. It's a decent expansion, I'm not as into the RTS multiplayer, but being old enough to remember when the first was released back in theIt's only an expansion, so you need Wings of Liberty. It adds some upgraded units, and some cool genetic upgrading of units. It really just continues the story, where you play as the Zerg and Kerrigan, so expect the 3rd expansion to revolve around Protoss. It's a decent expansion, I'm not as into the RTS multiplayer, but being old enough to remember when the first was released back in the 90's, this is where the game really does shine. There's nothing groundbreaking here, just a nifty continuation to the story. Typical expansion type of stuff.… Expand
  35. DOSBox
    Apr 2, 2013
    7
    Hervorragende Cinematics, Story sehr unterhaltsam und die Missionen spielt man an einem Guß durch ohne dass jemals Langeweile aufkommt. Die Kampagne ist aufjedenfall die beste, die in den letzten vielen Jahren rausgekommen ist. Das einzige was besser ist, ist die Frozen Throne Kampagne, weil HotS zum einen selbst auf Brutal einfach zu leicht ist. Karrigan ist schlicht zu stark ausgefallenHervorragende Cinematics, Story sehr unterhaltsam und die Missionen spielt man an einem Guß durch ohne dass jemals Langeweile aufkommt. Die Kampagne ist aufjedenfall die beste, die in den letzten vielen Jahren rausgekommen ist. Das einzige was besser ist, ist die Frozen Throne Kampagne, weil HotS zum einen selbst auf Brutal einfach zu leicht ist. Karrigan ist schlicht zu stark ausgefallen und zum anderen sind die einzelnen Missionen zu kurz. Nach 20 Minuten ist der Spaß dann auch schon vorbei. Die Missionen wurden also mehr als ein Quickie für zwischendurch designed. Eine Schande, denn ich vermisse das anspruchsvolle Missionsdesign aus The Frozen Throne, deren Spieldauer pro Missionen auch gern mal mehrere Stunden dauerte.
    Im großen und ganzen ist HotS für dieses Genre grandios aber sieht man davon ab, reichts nur für ein "ganz nett". Zumindest wie bereits erwähnt sind die Cinematics geil und das Missionsdesign ist zwar nicht das was ich mir gewünscht habe, aber langweilig wurde es nicht.    … Expand
  36. ArtanisDude
    May 29, 2013
    9
    Overall, Heart of the Swarm is a very great game, Blizzard has gone all out with the quality of the cinematics and almost perfectly set gameplay experiences. The story is a good continuance of Wings of Liberty, yet offers it's own specialty too. I do think that Blizzard could have added a longer story to get those major SC fans an even better experience. They could also extend theirOverall, Heart of the Swarm is a very great game, Blizzard has gone all out with the quality of the cinematics and almost perfectly set gameplay experiences. The story is a good continuance of Wings of Liberty, yet offers it's own specialty too. I do think that Blizzard could have added a longer story to get those major SC fans an even better experience. They could also extend their ladders and leveling system to a whole new level. Still, I would say HotS is one of the best games that came out recently. Definitely worth the 35 bucks.… Expand
  37. KiT2142
    Aug 10, 2014
    10
    Just 10/10. Awesome story, awesome gameplay, awesome multiplayer(if you can overcome ladder anxiety, of course). One of the best strategy game of all times.
  38. kyriores
    Aug 4, 2015
    1
    Button mashing simulator. If you always dreamed of developing carpal tunnel syndrome, this game is for you ! In order to beat your opponent, you must be able to perform more actions per minute than they do. Oh and when you see x unit on the minimap, you have to produce y unit, that counters it. That's all the strategy there is to it. Another solid game by Blizzard.
  39. filthyrichguy
    Oct 4, 2013
    9
    Excellent game, picks up on wings of liberty fluently and brings much improvements in gameplay. Story is criticized for some reason but it's not any worse than any other Blizzard game, it's perfectly acceptable.
  40. SupaChigga
    Nov 18, 2013
    7
    Single Player/Multi Player (2/2)

    (If the single player is better than the multiplayer, review this section as if it had no multplayer) (If the multiplayer is better than the multiplayer, review this section as if it had no single player) Gameplay (2/2) Visuals/Story (2/2) (If the visuals are better than the story, review this section as if it had no story) (If the story is    Single Player/Multi Player (2/2)

    (If the single player is better than the multiplayer, review this section as if it had no multplayer) (If the multiplayer is better than the multiplayer, review this section as if it had no single player)

    Gameplay (2/2)

    Visuals/Story (2/2)

    (If the visuals are better than the story, review this section as if it had no story) (If the story is better than the visuals, review this section as if the visuals didn’t matter)

    Accessibility/Longevity (2/2)

    (Review this section only on Accessibility if the game has no longevity) (Review this section only on longevity if the game isn’t accessible)

    Pricing (0/2)

    Wildcard (-1)

    This is a guideline for how to properly review games. Many reviewers like to get a “feel” for a game, and arbitrarily give a game a score that they believe it deserves. This results in wildly different scores between different reviewers, and vastly different scores between similar games. This guideline addresses these problems and scores games fairly and consistently. This guideline also gives scores that are usually similar to the metacritic score.

    The review score is based out of 10 points. There are no “half” or 0.5 increments. It is impossible to have a score above 10 or below 0. The review score will change as the game gets new dlc, drops in price, or if more secrets are found through the game increasing its appeal.

    The scoring is split into 6 sections. The first five sections can add a possible 2 points to the final score. The first 5 sections are Single Player/Multi Player, Gameplay, Visuals/Story, Accessibility/Longevity, and Pricing.

    Notice that 3 of these sections have two parts. These particular sections will be scored based on the stronger part of the game of the two. For example, if a game has a lousy single player campaign, but an excellent multiplayer component, that section will be based solely on the multiplayer as if the single player did not exist. This allows games to be based on their own merits, as many unnecessary features are shoehorned into video games by publishers to reach a “feature quota”. Games that excel in both areas of a section don’t receive should be noted in the written review, but cannot increase the score past 2 in that section. However, it can be taken into account in the final section

    The final section can add 1, add 0, or subtract 1 to the final score. This final section is the “wildcard” section. This section is for how the reviewer “feels” about the game, but limits this only to this section, rather than the entire 10 point review. This section can include any positive or negative point that was not covered in the previous 5 sections.    … Expand
  41. Derkness
    Mar 26, 2014
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is a really good one, it makes sense in every way. A lot of people criticise it just because Kerrigan becomes the queen again, but that's not that bad. All in all, this game is a great one.… Expand
  42. kdkade
    Nov 12, 2014
    10
    I just adore this expansion: For Music, for Kerrigan being a badass, for Abatour being... Abatour, for cinematics being amazing, for the thrill of swarming poor enemies with my huge army of zerglings. Last time I had so much fun with a RTS campaign was Warcraft 3 Undead one. SC2 is great on its own, but HotS is just an outstanding gem for me.
  43. ArcticChod
    Jun 23, 2014
    10
    This game is pretty great. Relatively well balanced, still a few balance problems. But hey, it took Blizzard about 8-10 years to make Starcraft: Brood War the game that everyone wanted it to be. And it only succeeded because Blizz made the effort. I feel it's the same with this game. I recommend a buy. Campaign wasn't that good, though. But I only play for the 1v1 Multiplayer anyways, so...
  44. Rakim
    Jul 25, 2014
    10
    Love the campaign and cut scenes, Like the leveling system they added and overall a great expansion for Starcraft II. Looking forward to the next expansion.
  45. David_Tay
    Oct 28, 2014
    10
    ignore all the hate that people are throwing at this game.

    this is a great game for 20USD. Very polish with good singleplayer and multiplayer aspect. I like how to revamped the missions just to fit the "zerg" mutation and parasite abilities. Very clever.

    highly recommended.
  46. dreadnought
    Sep 9, 2014
    9
    Cross-Realms introduced
    Campaign lacking, no where near as good as WOL
    strong Pro-Scene
    Added units are interesting and adds depth to game well
    Decent sound-track additions
  47. Khyron320
    Sep 14, 2014
    10
    Near perfect balance if not for protoss and the storyline is moving along, though not as fast as most of us would like. There really isnt any better RTS out there.
  48. scrubbEN
    Nov 6, 2014
    9
    This game is beyond words amazing. Campaign is interesting (something you don't often see in modern releases), and I felt invested in playing. When I won a multiplayer game I felt accomplished and up there with professionals, despite being leagues behind. I've invested almost twice as much hours into this game alone compared to any other game I've ever played. There are a few balanceThis game is beyond words amazing. Campaign is interesting (something you don't often see in modern releases), and I felt invested in playing. When I won a multiplayer game I felt accomplished and up there with professionals, despite being leagues behind. I've invested almost twice as much hours into this game alone compared to any other game I've ever played. There are a few balance issues (2/2 roach/hydra can be really difficult to beat if not dealt with quickly), but luckily it suffers from perfect imbalance, where a certain cheap strategy will eventually be useless due to a large community working together to beat that strategy. The modding community is huge as well. Overall, buy this game if you liked the first one, if you like RTS games, eSports: heck, just buy the game anyway!… Expand
  49. WarcraftAwesome
    Nov 20, 2014
    10
    Although challenging, this game proves to be one of the best Real Time Strategy games out in the market. It probably is the best at this moment both in product as well as in its competition.
  50. laertan
    Feb 7, 2020
    7
    Very short campaign, nice design, great cinematic. Sad to admit it, since I love zerg, but WoL is superior to this one in every possible way.
  51. Honeybadgers
    Jun 3, 2013
    6
    This review is for the single player, because the if you want to play a multiplayer RTS, you already know that SCII is about as good as it gets.

    The campaign is just atrocious. It's polished, as blizzard games always are, but it's about as relevant to multiplayer or RTS elements as I am related to a tuna. It's essentially a nonstop flow of new, gimmicky map ideas, and while I'm okay    This review is for the single player, because the if you want to play a multiplayer RTS, you already know that SCII is about as good as it gets.

    The campaign is just atrocious. It's polished, as blizzard games always are, but it's about as relevant to multiplayer or RTS elements as I am related to a tuna. It's essentially a nonstop flow of new, gimmicky map ideas, and while I'm okay with mechanics that supplement the RTS elements, I don't like how many levels were DOTA-esque and central around the hero. Starcraft and warcraft 3 just don't blend well together, and it might make new players think that the hero concept has anything to do with the game, where it doesn't. I can count on one hand the number of missions where I felt like I could play proper zerg (I'm a terran player and still felt like zerg got cheated) and the number of departures from multiplayer zerg is almost frightening (queens are completely changed, all the mutations and different attributes of each unit make them feel completely different to how they do in multiplayer)

    The character arc for kerrigan is bipolar at best. She starts out just right, but almost immediately, goes completely bananas. They really could have paced her arc better, instead of wildly bouncing around. And pacing the story around what happens in the very first mission just doesn't set a good tone for the rest of the game.

    Interacting with your crew is pretty awful, as well. WoL's crew was equally as varied, but they were human, and thus, relatable. The zerg characters were just goofy and camp. Tychus and Matt in WoL were central, driving characters that you felt invested in. I went through every piece of dialogue in HOTS, and I absolutely hated almost every word spoken. I wanted nothing more than to not listen to those irrelevant sidekicks. Starcraft is dark and a very human story, and the zerg campaign made it feel goofy and completely inconsistent in tone, bouncing between drama, cliche, and humor with all the smoothness of falling down a flight of stairs.

    The game is also just brokenly easy. I breezed through it on brutal, and I'm by no means a great starcraft player.

    Cinematics are as good as video game cinematics can get. But unfortunately, and this feels unique in a blizzard game, they feel completely detached from the game that I was playing.

    If you're looking to play some multiplayer RTS, buy this game without even batting an eye. But if you're only looking for a top notch single player RTS, I'd suggest you go to teamliquid.net and find the starcraft brood war mod done in SCII graphics.    … Expand
  52. oso
    Dec 12, 2017
    5
    Story is cheesy and unlogical compared to the WoL campaign. It is way to short and filled with several no-brain-missions where you simply have to build more units than the opponent and ****ty characters with bull**** dialogues. Gameplay is (as expected) superior to most other competitive rts games. (The few new units didnt change much from my noob pov)
    as a conclusion id say it is not    Story is cheesy and unlogical compared to the WoL campaign. It is way to short and filled with several no-brain-missions where you simply have to build more units than the opponent and ****ty characters with bull**** dialogues. Gameplay is (as expected) superior to most other competitive rts games. (The few new units didnt change much from my noob pov)
    as a conclusion id say it is not worth a full priced game. Blizzard has lost a lot of my respect after D3 and this.    … Expand
  53. ACESsiggy
    Jun 28, 2013
    4
    To be honest, I think this game is nothing more than copy and paste of the Wings of Liberty campaign. However, this game has a horrible story along with it's cheesy lines from the queen of blades. Graphically nothing is new from starcraft 2. The new units introduced are alright but bland at best.

    Can't believe all the positive reviews.
  54. GDawgTUK
    Aug 28, 2013
    1
    The matchmaking is literally broken beyond repair. It is completely unreal how uneven matches will get. Every Tryhard on Battlenet will defend the matchmaking with by just blindly spraying off the term "MMR." "It's perfect, you don't even know about mmr do you?"

    This is not the perfect system people convince themselves it is. It does not take into consideration if you leave a game    The matchmaking is literally broken beyond repair. It is completely unreal how uneven matches will get. Every Tryhard on Battlenet will defend the matchmaking with by just blindly spraying off the term "MMR." "It's perfect, you don't even know about mmr do you?"

    This is not the perfect system people convince themselves it is. It does not take into consideration if you leave a game within, say, 90 seconds of it beginning, or if your starting building is destroyed by your own units. It can be manipulated to work in people's favor because it only counts win/losses. That's it. If you get good with one race, and try to play off-race, then without a doubt you will lose countless games before it evens back out. There is nothing that tracks your stats per individual race to know if you should have easier matches if you are playing a race you are not familiar with. It's a very broken system and needs immediate attention before this game's multiplayer can be considered anything other than a crying shame.    … Expand
  55. botas2
    Jun 11, 2013
    10
    I'm just a few missions into campaign, and I can already say I'm excited for the story. I've been playing Starcraft since it's original release years and years ago, and this is just completely epic. I cannot wait to finish the story, and hop online. A good price for what will seem to be a completely new game.
  56. faceless-1
    Nov 24, 2013
    8
    This Exp. is really weak in compare to older blizzard exps. or even Dawn of War Exps.. Very few units, far worse matchmaking system and more laggy than WoL. Story missions are fine, but story it self is really bad.This really pisses me off, because Wings of liberty was so good.
  57. Galwail
    Aug 10, 2013
    10
    This is the best RTS game I have played this year. The single player campaign is very fun and fast paced. Gone are missions, where you would mindlessly build base, create army and clean the map over and over again. Every mission has unique objectives and game mechanics. The multiplayer part is also well balanced and very competitive. What more could you want?
  58. chrisjames416
    Jan 12, 2014
    10
    I personally really liked the campaign. The story was sorta predictable. I was totally expecting something different in the end but meh whatever. The story fits and it wasn't garbage.

    The single player was really fun. I almost wished it had 1 or 2 more levels but again whatever. it was still really good. and thats what i really wanted. a juicy video game i could sink my teeth into.
  59. fffortune
    Jan 8, 2018
    3
    Tried playing through Heart of the Swarm recently and actually completely forgot I was playing it mid-way through. Didn't come to me until a few weeks later.

    It's just so incredibly bland and without that flare of earlier Blizzard titles.
  60. Red-Rocket
    Jun 23, 2013
    10
    loved that blizzard cleaned up region locks and many things Activision did. As an expansion this game just adds so much more to it (and gives me a reason to play more starcraft) with new units, more options and a new campaign. However, blizzard screwed up with one element of the campaign. It was to easy. The final mission was a JOKE. Blizzard is known for having incredibly hard finalloved that blizzard cleaned up region locks and many things Activision did. As an expansion this game just adds so much more to it (and gives me a reason to play more starcraft) with new units, more options and a new campaign. However, blizzard screwed up with one element of the campaign. It was to easy. The final mission was a JOKE. Blizzard is known for having incredibly hard final missions in their games, WOL was so difficult that even pros where having difficulty with it. But doesnt do enough to take away from score, of course i knew there would be less missions but i felt there weren't enough yet still story was excellent with amazing cinematics and mostly interesting missions if a bit to easy… Expand
  61. owen1218
    Jul 9, 2013
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A definite step-down from Wings of Liberty. The campaign is really too short to be worth the cost. I like to play through things nice and slow, and even still finished this over the course of two days. The victory over Mengsk feels really empty when it's so quick to be obtained. Half the work of the swarm is done via unchallenging "evolution missions" and an occasional defection by a brood mother. Beyond that, this really simplifies (and butchers) the nonlinear fun of WoL. I enjoyed being able to play off in one direction for a while and then returning to another thread later on. And finally, the new characters are really not that interesting, the dialogue unmemorable, and the story doesn't have the interesting twists that WoL does.

    All of that said, this game is not a total flop. If there was ever a perfect sequel to a game, Starcraft II was it. It takes nothing away from the original game and only adds to it. And as in WoL, the gameplay here is terrific. The story, although not on par with WoL, is still fairly decent.

    The real failure here is that the game's designers seem to have intentionally set it up for failure, by intentionally reducing gameplay time and the nonlinearity that helped make WoL so appealing. As this product stands, it's definitely fun but also something of a rip off.    … Expand
  62. voidspawngreg
    Jul 18, 2013
    6
    I was really looking forward to this game since I loved Wings of Liberty but unfortunately I was disappointed. Not to say that it's a bad game, it certainly isn't..but in my opinion it doesn't even come close to WoL.

    Good: Graphics Some fun missions (Although very few) Multiplayer Cutscenes Bad: Writing, Dialogues Story progression (Many "wtf did I miss an episode or something"    I was really looking forward to this game since I loved Wings of Liberty but unfortunately I was disappointed. Not to say that it's a bad game, it certainly isn't..but in my opinion it doesn't even come close to WoL.

    Good:
    Graphics
    Some fun missions (Although very few)
    Multiplayer
    Cutscenes

    Bad:
    Writing, Dialogues
    Story progression (Many "wtf did I miss an episode or something" moments)
    Boring and easy missions (Many of them were different versions of WoL missions)
    Pointless evolution missions (And they feld soooo out of place, Kerrigan seemed like a whole different person during those missions)
    0 strategy, just take Kerrigan with you and kick ass    … Expand
  63. TommyGunx
    Sep 10, 2013
    7
    Playing SC since 98' the single player campaign is so so i do understand this is a RTS and there is only so much you can do in a single player setting some of the cut scenes blew me away however the over all experience left me kind of hallow I did give the game a 7 mostly due to the online competition bottom line don't buy for the single player if you enjoy playing "chess on crack"Playing SC since 98' the single player campaign is so so i do understand this is a RTS and there is only so much you can do in a single player setting some of the cut scenes blew me away however the over all experience left me kind of hallow I did give the game a 7 mostly due to the online competition bottom line don't buy for the single player if you enjoy playing "chess on crack" this is the game for you online that is.… Expand
  64. TimMaxShift
    Dec 24, 2021
    5
    It's a shame they didn't take the script as seriously as they did the technical part. I played both parts already 10 times. The first part was much more serious and more mature, I would call it category R, ​​and the second part is PG-13. It feels like the story of the first part is not ideal, but it was written by people with a level of knowledge comparable to university students .. ItIt's a shame they didn't take the script as seriously as they did the technical part. I played both parts already 10 times. The first part was much more serious and more mature, I would call it category R, ​​and the second part is PG-13. It feels like the story of the first part is not ideal, but it was written by people with a level of knowledge comparable to university students .. It would seem that we have grown, they have too... Many naive works of art from our childhood grew up with us and began to acquire adult materialistic features or even rethought, without ceasing to be themselves, without losing the spirit of the original source. But not StarCraft. He not only remained in the same place, but also took a step back. Feels like the second part was written by schoolchildren. The game itself became brighter, the feeling of stuffiness disappeared, a large amount of children's humor appeared.
    An evil villain who is evil because he is evil, Prophecies, chosen ones, cosmic magic, abstract gods devouring worlds to which it is difficult to experience any kind of emotion, just as a person is not able to feel the distance in light years (since our biology was formed in conditions where this was not necessary), pink queen of blades, with a healthy complexion, neat eyebrows, hair styling and lip gloss with stilettos from a modeling agency called "swarm" ... if stilettos are her evolutionary advantage, then what does the world in which she exist look like? The world of strip clubs? Queen of our ... "blades". She is no longer a ruthless sociopath and manipulator, but a campy hysterical model from high society in Zerg.
    The first part is materialism, realism, and the second part is idealism and romanticism / classicism. The first SC is Terminator 1, 2, Alien 1, 2, Bladerunner and SC2 is Terminator 3, 5. This was the first time the game hurt me, the second time was BL3. In the opening videos Wol, Hots, LotV there is the spirit of the first part of the game, but in the game itself and in the rest of the videos, everything is much and much worse. And it's not the high cost of the videos, watch the SC: BroodWar videos. They are outdated, but they have a sense of danger, war, impending threat. The videos in the second part seem to be made by Hollywood. Secondary techniques, only proven methods. They seemed to come off the assembly line, as a result of the work of a raw neural network, and not of people.    … Expand
  65. DeusXCom
    Feb 16, 2017
    7
    Second part of the Startcraft 2 story, now the Zerg campaign with Kerrigan as the main protagonist. It's very good for what it is and I liked the story mode, Kerrigan is cool and so are her other Zerg buddies, but I'm giving it a 1 point lower score compared to the first one. It was all a bit too easy, but the main problem for me is simply the fact that while in the 90's Starcraft you hadSecond part of the Startcraft 2 story, now the Zerg campaign with Kerrigan as the main protagonist. It's very good for what it is and I liked the story mode, Kerrigan is cool and so are her other Zerg buddies, but I'm giving it a 1 point lower score compared to the first one. It was all a bit too easy, but the main problem for me is simply the fact that while in the 90's Starcraft you had all 3 races and their story campaigns in 1 game, now they basically force you to buy 3 games to complete the full story. 7/10… Expand
  66. leeds_manc
    Nov 22, 2013
    6
    It has been proved a terrible idea to force a trilogy release structure on to Starcraft 2. HOTS forced "new" units to be made which were "cool" and "different" enough to make people want to upgrade to a sequel of Wings of Liberty. Unfortunately, while there are some nice ideas, medivac boost being one of them, units such as the swarmhost have made what was a fast-paced and exciting game toIt has been proved a terrible idea to force a trilogy release structure on to Starcraft 2. HOTS forced "new" units to be made which were "cool" and "different" enough to make people want to upgrade to a sequel of Wings of Liberty. Unfortunately, while there are some nice ideas, medivac boost being one of them, units such as the swarmhost have made what was a fast-paced and exciting game to watch a very, very dull game to both play and spectate. The game has got worse over time and unfortunately the strongest tactics for each race are now also the most boring ones to watch. I wished they had stuck with WOL for a few more years, and added the best units from HOTs in one at a time... Blizzard's marketing experiment has ultimately failed.… Expand
  67. jiffypop333
    Mar 12, 2014
    10
    Story wise the game is awesome. I don't even like the Zerg but playing as them is fun. The upgraded graphics is nice and refreshing. And the upgrades to units is great as well. Online multilayer is fun as well. This is a great game to continue the starcraft 2 trilogy and I expect the protoss story to be as good as this one.
  68. DREST
    Sep 3, 2015
    10
    Great game. Great story with interesting characters, great music like it's predecessors, beautiful cutscenes, great gameplay with nice missions and nice new add-ons.
  69. kresa3333
    Oct 19, 2015
    10
    After an amazing start with Wings of liberty Blizzard did it again, a totaly fresh take on the zerg with a different and an unique interactive campaign, the story isnt anything crazy but as always its more then good enough.
    It was an amazing ride and i cant wait for the third part.
    My only negative comment is that i actually felt bad killing protoss on some of the different missions and    After an amazing start with Wings of liberty Blizzard did it again, a totaly fresh take on the zerg with a different and an unique interactive campaign, the story isnt anything crazy but as always its more then good enough.
    It was an amazing ride and i cant wait for the third part.
    My only negative comment is that i actually felt bad killing protoss on some of the different missions and i hated kerrigan for being so evil hehe, but it sits right with the theme of this expansion, you are the zerg after all hehe.    … Expand
  70. Tuz0
    Jul 14, 2017
    8
    The campaign mode was incredibly unexpected, since this expansion felt much like Warcraft 3. For those who did not play Warcraft 3, it is a RTS game only with a hero in the midst of an army who can use multiple spells. They borrowed elements from Diablo and implemented that in this game which make it an interesting game. AND IT HAS BOSS FIGHTS !!! Furthermore the missions are creative, forThe campaign mode was incredibly unexpected, since this expansion felt much like Warcraft 3. For those who did not play Warcraft 3, it is a RTS game only with a hero in the midst of an army who can use multiple spells. They borrowed elements from Diablo and implemented that in this game which make it an interesting game. AND IT HAS BOSS FIGHTS !!! Furthermore the missions are creative, for those who loved WoL and wc3 then you will love this one too.
    Surprisingly for Blizzard this game has a weak story compared to starcraft and startcraft 2 WoL. Reunite the Swarm, Upgrade Kerrigan and take revenge, that's probably it. But at least the music and the cutscences are always outstanding on the side of blizzard, makes everything more enjoyable.    … Expand
  71. jelikey
    Sep 10, 2015
    10
    One of the funnest games I have played in years. Blizzard did an excellent job with the story, game play and graphics. The game is just smooth to play.
  72. Zerg_King
    Jul 14, 2015
    10
    To quote on of the users: "I don't like giving out 10's, especially to Blizzard, but this one earned it. I sat here for a good 5 mins trying to think of something I did not like about the game. But honestly, as far as RTS's go this is a great one. "

    Can't stop playing this even today. :)
  73. mulv81
    Feb 3, 2015
    5
    I waited until recently to pick this expansion pack up for only $20. They wanted $40 for this when it came out and I just laughed, I'm not paying Activision $40 every time they feel like reskinning their multiplayer games.

    They added a couple new units, completely changed the tech requirements for many units, and I feel like I'm not even playing the same game anymore. It's annoying to    I waited until recently to pick this expansion pack up for only $20. They wanted $40 for this when it came out and I just laughed, I'm not paying Activision $40 every time they feel like reskinning their multiplayer games.

    They added a couple new units, completely changed the tech requirements for many units, and I feel like I'm not even playing the same game anymore. It's annoying to me, I spent months learning to play StarCraft II, I get this expansion and now the command centre queues the first SCV for me? Why? This is confusing, I am OCD as Hell and I can't stand when a game developer makes pointless changes like this. Well, I'm going back to Wings of Liberty since this is a dead game.    … Expand
  74. CaptainBounty
    Mar 9, 2016
    7
    Although being a fun campaign, i was hoping for a little more within this addon. Competitive gameplay needed balancing in the beginning but is okay by now. Nothing too spectacular in the "new stuff department" but still a good choice if you like SC in general.
  75. BaconChamp
    Mar 18, 2016
    7
    Good game, but single player is very short. Also, it feels like most of the game is a tutorial, getting a new unit every few levels, or a new mutation to a unit. It took forever to have the hydralisk available. The end credits are looooooooooong.
  76. hpw182
    Apr 17, 2016
    9
    Blizzard vuelve a acertar con la expansión de esta segunda parte de Stacraft, la primera parte deja un muy buen sabor de boca y ésta la continúa.

    -Novedades notables en el sistema de juego. -Historia muy épica, completa, y con gran cantidad de ramificaciones posibles. -Aspecto gráfico bastante bueno para ser juego de estrategia tipo Diablo 3. -Campaña como en el anterior juego muy    Blizzard vuelve a acertar con la expansión de esta segunda parte de Stacraft, la primera parte deja un muy buen sabor de boca y ésta la continúa.

    -Novedades notables en el sistema de juego.
    -Historia muy épica, completa, y con gran cantidad de ramificaciones posibles.
    -Aspecto gráfico bastante bueno para ser juego de estrategia tipo Diablo 3.
    -Campaña como en el anterior juego muy completa, divertida y no se hace corta.

    Como punto en contra quizás que solo hay tres facciones pero están muy completas y cuidadas, con gran cantidad de unidades edificios, y gran variedad de unidades y habilidades entre las tres facciones.    … Expand
  77. dlcatalin
    Jul 12, 2020
    10
    I'm gonna give it a perfect 10. Loved the Campaign, loved it. The graphics and feel of the game.
  78. atomlord
    Apr 19, 2023
    7
    Компанія як завжди топ в жанрі, проте в 2023 жанр RTS скоріше мертвий ніж живий.
  79. Nekellor
    Aug 1, 2018
    6
    Логичное продолжение основной сюжетки с кооперацией с терранами. Неплохая альтернатива корабля с своей схемой прокачки и развития. Интересный рассказы зергов про их отношения к чему либо. Что то наподобие прокачки, как в 3 варике, для Кериган.Логичное продолжение основной сюжетки с кооперацией с терранами. Неплохая альтернатива корабля с своей схемой прокачки и развития. Интересный рассказы зергов про их отношения к чему либо. Что то наподобие прокачки, как в 3 варике, для Кериган.
  80. MillersWeeb
    Nov 16, 2018
    8
    Вот эта понравилась больше чем вингс ов либерти, герой Кэрриган с кучей способностей и бесконечные зерги.
  81. SilverOrlov
    Oct 11, 2019
    9
    This trilogy have become a very big breath of very fresh air in the strategy genre. I would say that for me it is the best real-time strategy about battles. The continuation of the cult story of the first game, made in a new, very beautiful and stylish graphics. All movements, animations, sounds and music are made at the highest level as Blizzard only can do. The plot and cut-scenes of theThis trilogy have become a very big breath of very fresh air in the strategy genre. I would say that for me it is the best real-time strategy about battles. The continuation of the cult story of the first game, made in a new, very beautiful and stylish graphics. All movements, animations, sounds and music are made at the highest level as Blizzard only can do. The plot and cut-scenes of the game make you constantly watch and delve into, like a some good movie or book. Such a strategy seems to be for the most part in a single structure (battles on a limited area in the form of a map), but many levels in this game are something unique with their own ideas. And the rest, what are just battles with the bases, are still made so, that they are never boring, and you do not think that they are similar. In this game, absolutely everything is perfect... I didn't give Heart of the Swarm rating 10 only because I didn't like to play for bugs... they are not comfortable for me. Not my type, so I felt some difficult feelings during that company.… Expand
  82. Ruzaky
    Aug 6, 2020
    9
    More of the Starcraft 2. Still very good campaing, playing as zerg is fun. I like WoL more but this is still very very good
  83. res0nancer
    Jun 5, 2023
    5
    Дополнение продолжающее общий сюжет в котором планка, заданная первой частью, медленно начинает падать. Видно, что главная героиня имеет все задатки стать отличным женским персонажем, но дополнение вроде посвященное этому персонажу, не раскрывает его суть и конечную личностную мотивацию, что оставляет только большое чувство грусти. Геймплей освежается за новую фракцию, но после привыканияДополнение продолжающее общий сюжет в котором планка, заданная первой частью, медленно начинает падать. Видно, что главная героиня имеет все задатки стать отличным женским персонажем, но дополнение вроде посвященное этому персонажу, не раскрывает его суть и конечную личностную мотивацию, что оставляет только большое чувство грусти. Геймплей освежается за новую фракцию, но после привыкания возвращаются те же проблемы из первого дополнения. Единственное, что отлично в этом дополнении - это персонажи, финальная катсцена и отыгрыш актеров.… Expand
  84. matdimond
    Aug 9, 2019
    10
    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  85. Ignattanto
    Oct 27, 2019
    10
    I don't like Zerg, but this campaign has made me purr with pleasure! The developers are great.
  86. Denis94
    Aug 26, 2020
    7
    7 años después de pasarme el juego principal me atreví a jugar a esta expansión la cual tenía criando polvo en edición física ya hacía un puñado de años y que por diversos motivos no jugué hasta ahora.

    Esta vez nos toca controlar a Kerrigan esa mujer que nos hizo la vida imposible en la campaña principal, tenía dudas si Blizzard podría hacer una campaña bien orientada a la raza Zerg y la    7 años después de pasarme el juego principal me atreví a jugar a esta expansión la cual tenía criando polvo en edición física ya hacía un puñado de años y que por diversos motivos no jugué hasta ahora.

    Esta vez nos toca controlar a Kerrigan esa mujer que nos hizo la vida imposible en la campaña principal, tenía dudas si Blizzard podría hacer una campaña bien orientada a la raza Zerg y la respuesta fue un rotundo si, hace ver a estos alienígenas horribles desde el punto de vista más "humano" de su causa.

    Las misiones son muy entretenidas y dinámicas te da la sensación de esta controlando algo incontrolable por momentos.

    La banda sonora es perfecta en ocasiones meten "guitarreos" de Heavy Metal que van de maravilla.

    En general es una buena expansión la campaña creo que no llega a estar a la altura de la del juego base pero para los que quieran seguir esta magnífica historia de Starcraft 2 cumple bien.    … Expand
  87. Magjk
    Feb 24, 2020
    10
    Это лучшая глава из трёх. В ней изменена система улучшения войск, появился выбор между мутациями, и появилась возможность управлять и улучшать героя.
  88. Rob-Piton
    Aug 2, 2022
    10
    Good example of good quality game, good campaigne, I am still playing sc2 in 2022 in customs
  89. DaPonti
    Mar 21, 2021
    7
    Like WoL, the single player campaign is has good variety, but the whole "primal zerg" thing didn't gel with me. Still a good game in both single and multi player, but easily my least favorite part of the campaign. Honestly, the most memorable part is the intro video.
  90. zzz_DeV1L_zzz
    Jun 7, 2020
    9
    Great, great story. The game is addictive, worry about the main characters. Definitely 9 points.
  91. KepasaAmigo
    Jul 11, 2021
    10
    if u are a fan of rts games there is nothing better than this so 10 out of 10 SP is just great as well
    2nd of trylogy
  92. Awanka
    May 27, 2022
    7
    Pretty good example of the RTS genre. HoTS has a fun collection of units with nifty abilities to control. It has an inventive campaign with light RPG elements built in that allow you to choose abilities for your main hero and units. I was only mildly entertained while playing it however. Maybe the time of the RTS has passed, at least for me. Maybe I'm too old to control 2 armies atPretty good example of the RTS genre. HoTS has a fun collection of units with nifty abilities to control. It has an inventive campaign with light RPG elements built in that allow you to choose abilities for your main hero and units. I was only mildly entertained while playing it however. Maybe the time of the RTS has passed, at least for me. Maybe I'm too old to control 2 armies at the same time while making sure my bases are collecting resources and pumping out units. I find it annoying and stressful in an unfun way, like herding cats. I do like the unit choices that you can make in the game though. If Blizzard had leaned harder on the RPG part of the game I would have liked it better.… Expand
  93. igolrum
    May 26, 2021
    6
    I loved the original Starcraft and Brood war. And while Starcraft 2 is still good gameplay-wise and character-wise, the story is much worse. It feels like they wanted to get rid of the series. Wrap it all up and be done with it. Pretty stale and straight-forward, uninspired. No more twists, betrayals and interesting political situations, like the original story had.
    The whole Xel'naga and    I loved the original Starcraft and Brood war. And while Starcraft 2 is still good gameplay-wise and character-wise, the story is much worse. It feels like they wanted to get rid of the series. Wrap it all up and be done with it. Pretty stale and straight-forward, uninspired. No more twists, betrayals and interesting political situations, like the original story had.
    The whole Xel'naga and Duran story-line mystery especially has basically been straight up thrown away.

    Gameplay: 10
    Characters: 8
    Story: 3    … Expand
  94. Woolee
    Sep 26, 2021
    9
    For those of us who still deeply love this specific style of real-time strategy and want more of it, this is a must-have add-on.
  95. Nikolas_super
    Mar 5, 2022
    0
    Отличная игра, с хорошим сюжетом и графикой.
    Поставил плохую оценку, так как разработчики этой игры влезли в политику!
  96. joglow
    May 16, 2022
    7
    In some way it feels like StarCraft and just a little bit... rushed? I feel I just lack of something there.
  97. Raziel72
    Aug 7, 2022
    10
    Лучшая стратегия с самым удобным управлением, которое еще и можно настроить для себя! Самый крутой сюжет и кампания! Игра просто великолепна!
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Awards & Rankings

17
#17 Best PC Game of 2013
33
#33 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
52
#52 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 68 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 66 out of 68
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 68
  3. Negative: 1 out of 68
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Jun 10, 2013
    90
    The tutorials and the A.I have been improved, giving newcomers the chance to calmly try new tactics… before playing against experienced players that will go straight to their jugular. [April 2013]
  2. Games Master UK
    May 9, 2013
    85
    Accomplished, if not exactly groundbreaking. [June 2013, p.80]
  3. Hyper Magazine
    May 9, 2013
    90
    Heart of the Swarm is ScarCraft made better. Welcoming to newcomers, but never dumbed-down, the franchise at its best. [June 2013, p.66]
See all critic reviews »