Legacy of the Void changes that with several distinct co-op missions with distinct objectives. True co-op is a very interesting new addition to StarCraft II. To this point, the best bet for a player looking for a more cooperative flavor has been the Arcade - the section reserved for heavily customized maps (as it happens, MOBAs got their start in just such an environment). While other games have put more emphasis on teamwork, StarCraft has mostly limited itself to 2v2 battles and so-called "comp stomp" battles against the computer. That honor, in my opinion, goes to the new cooperative missions.Ĭo-op has never been a strong suit for StarCraft. While the new units will probably get most of the press, they may not be the most important addition to StarCraft II. It takes a bit to learn the ins and outs of the strategy, but once you do, there's little better than breaking through an opposing army and walking straight into their headquarters with heat ray-firing deathbots. Much has been of its decline amid the rise of MOBAs, not the least because real-time strategy is a style of game that requires a great deal of commitment and practice to learn, but it remains enticing in its own way. As for the Terrans, they're doing what they always do, which is roll around in an infrantry-heavy ball of death with Vikings serving as aerial support.Īll in all, StarCraft remains much as it always has - a highly competitive game that is in some ways the video game equivalent of speed chess. Zerg players seem to be pretty happy to have the Lurker back, a stalwart from the days of Brood War who got lost in the transition to StarCraft. The Terran Cycloneīeing primarily a Protoss player, I've yet to find a good use for the Adept, the commando unit capable of using a shadow to teleport into an enemy base, but the Disruptor aerial unit and its area of effect attack is quite common. As with Heart of the Swarm, the last expansion, Blizzard has once again shaken up the unit mix by giving every race two new units - a tank and an aerial unit for the Terrans, a stealth unit and a siege unit for the Zerg, and an aerial unit and a commando-style infantry unit for the Protoss. To tell you the truth, it's too early to say whether it's in a good place - everyone seems to be kind of figuring things out right now - but Blizzard seems to have gotten all three races back to a place where they are well-rounded and have distinct identities. I'm not quite there yet.Įlsewhere, the StarCraft II metagame has reached its final form, give or take a few tweeks here or there. It's not just the need to get used to a new set of opening movies, it's the need to adjust to a much more unforgiving pace. It requires a change to a mindset that has become ingrained in 15 years of experience. I'll admit, the new structure has really thrown me for a loop. Additionally, resource patches seem to run out much more quickly, necessitating multiple expansions to stay ahead of the resource curve. The net effect of these changes is that builds come out much more quickly, lessening the room for error. The traditional six workers has been upped to 12, and command center structures have had their supply increased as well. The most obvious change is in the pacing. And for the most part, the changes seem to work.
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It's risky of Blizzard to mess with the formula that helped make the original StarCraft the best real-time strategy game ever made, but with the series having slowly slid of relevance since 2010, there's no denying that some tinkering is warranted. It brings with it a number of interesting structural changes, some of which are designed to widen its appeal beyond its hardcore base, and some of which are meant to streamline it and heighten its appeal as an eSport. Gaming has changed so unbelievably in even just the past five years that Legacy of the Void in some ways feels like an anachronism, as if it has sprung straight out of 1999.Īnd yet, this is not the StarCraft of years past. In one way or another, I've been waiting for this moment for more than 15 years and now that it's here, I'm not sure how I feel. It's hard to believe that StarCraft II is finally finished.
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