You will track down and destroy three different objectives while also hunting for two or three different optional objectives on several worlds and in several different contexts, albeit with new units and powers to prevent each encounter from feeling exactly the same. Though I wouldn’t say there were any especially weak links, certain objectives get repetitive after a while. As the scale of each mission increases, there’s a real thrill to seeing a plan like this come together: the glow of dozens of protoss units warping in at once, the angry red beams of custom Void Rays strafing waves of zerglings that pop just so.Īfter over five years of StarCraft II, the new missions don’t manage to feel quite as fresh or original as Wings of Liberty’s did when it came out. I put together a tweaked variant on that, with artillery-spewing Immortal variants protecting a new kind of Sentry that lays down a power grid, allowing me to warp fresh Stalkers right to the front line. I prefer a slow siege, with Stalkers supported by forcefield-emitting Sentries and, later, Immortals and Colossi. Taken in combination, this degree of customisation allows you to tailor your approach to suit your style and skill level. They’re wildly overpowered but mitigated by cooldowns and a recharging energy meter, acting as both siege-breaking opening gambits and last-ditch survival options. These include direct attacks-orbital strikes, bombardments, a giant moveable laser, and so on-and support powers, like the ability to freeze time for enemy units or summon a Pylon along with reinforcements anywhere on the battlefield. Others are active, deployed mid-battle from a new command interface along the top of the screen. Some of these upgrades are passive, such as increased build speed, increased starting supplies, and shield regeneration. Then, the Spear of Adun itself can be upgraded by investing resources gathered by completing optional objectives within each mission. There are Templar and Dark Templar variants on the basic melee zealot, for example, with further options unlocked as additional Protoss forces are recruited. Where James Raynor had his upgrades and Kerrigan had her mutations, Protoss Hierarch Artanis picks between multiple versions of the same unit type. Your ship and the factions you pick up form the basis of the extra toys you get to play with. The final part of the trilogy tasks you with uniting the fragmented factions of the Protoss race from aboard an ancient warship, the Spear of Adun. As in Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm, Blizzard treat singleplayer as its own entity, with its own units and rules. If competitive StarCraft has become an art, then Legacy of the Void’s campaign offers a colour-by-numbers alternative for those still developing their abilities. The competitive game has been allowed to change in ways that make it deeper, but the package as a whole is broad and generous in its provision of entry points for new players. The reason Legacy of the Void comes highly recommended, however, is that it also supports the idea that you should be able to have fun regardless of how good you are. I had time to take a picture, because I was losing. It is easier than ever to lose evenings to the ladder in this way. You might get caught out by a rush strategy you didn’t see coming: you type ‘GG’, surrender, tab out to TeamLiquid, read up on your counters, tab back, and you’re playing again within a minute. Fights happen faster and, as a consequence, matches are shorter. You begin your match with more worker units than you used to, and the business of setting up your economy has been streamlined. There’s a greater emphasis on making big decisions early. It’s a suite of new units, features and balance changes that will define the character of the game for the next couple of years.įrom my position of limited skill, I can tell you that Legacy of the Void’s changes make the competitive game faster, more skill-intensive, and less fiddly. For the long-term fans who know StarCraft primarily in this regard, Legacy of the Void marks the start of the game’s new era. That makes sense: it’s the original stadium-filling esport and one of the most skill-intensive games ever made. StarCraft’s competitive element has become the thing it is best known for over the course of the series’ long life.
0 kommentar(er)
