Dead Heart

Recently I sat down and watched a compilation of the cutscenes to StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swam. Yes I know it’s not sitting down and actually playing the game but I’m a busy man and I’ve things to do. Besides previously I wrote about being unimpressed with the plot to StarCraft so what do I think of this new iteration?

Let me start off by telling you all some thoughts I have about Game of Thrones. Like every man and his dog, I’ve seen the TV series and I’ve been hooked. I have not read the books but, much like the actors in the TV show, I’m not about to start due out of fear as to what is going to happen to certain characters (although a lot of character death would be a likely outcome).  However, as it pays to keep an ear to the ground, I am aware that many people are unhappy with the more recent books, Feast of Crows and Dance of Dragons, only citing little to no plot developments and the flow slowing down to glacial pace. It is as of George RR Martin has written himself in a corner with no clear direction of where he’s going with the text.  True he managed to top the  beheading of Eddard Stark  with the now notorious Red Wedding but what can George RR Martin do now?

The reason I am bringing this up is that I kind of feel the same about StarCraft: The first game may have inspired a lot of rage in me but it was an emotional reaction – and certainly not the kind that will deter me from playing StarCraft in future. This in turn raises a question: What is there left to do in the StarCraft universe?

Let’s remind ourselves of the ending of StarCraft Brood War: Through Kerrigan’s machinations, the Zerg have triumphed over all their adversaries. The Protoss civilization is on it’s knees, Arcturus’ empire is similarly ruined and the UED is obliterated. In addition, Kerrigan’s actions indicated that she made an irreversible decision to discard her humanity completely. And it is well and truly clear that she was doing what she did for…well…… the pure pleasure of it.

I’ve never understood why people rally around Kerrigan with such passion: She is a sadist, a narcissist, a cold-blooded murderess and beyond any sort of redemption. Therefore, to try and provoke any sympathy for a genocidal monster is indeed strange and baffling.  And to go back to the Game of Thrones analogy, Joffrey is widely despised and has absolutely no moments of sympathy – which in turn makes it much easier to hate the little prick.

Therefore, coming into Heart of the Swarm, I can’t escape the thought that Blizzard have this character but no idea what to do with her.

I’m not sure if Kerrigan has a purpose in Heart of the Swarm beyond ‘Hey it’s me! Kerrigan! Yeah you know me, the psychotic bitch from the first game…’. Yes having her kick arse may please her fans but at the same time, she’s is presented in a sympathetic manner. Which comes across as undoing the ruthlessness that made her character so unforgettable in the previous game. Indeed it is strange to see Kerrigan, the self-proclaimed Queen Bitch of the Universe, worry for Raynor and lay all the blame for the atrocities she committed on Arcturus. This is the same character right?
Whilst the idea of revenge against Arcturus is an understandable motivation, Kerrigan however adapts a tunnel-vision approach to it. She’s so determined, I found myself questioning the sincerity of such an undertaking. This is, after all, the same character who, in Brood War, did what she did out of her own choice – I think we’re well past the point where justification for Kerrigan’s actions is no longer required.
It is also puzzling for Kerrigan to be placed in a underdog position when, again at the end of Brood War, she was lording over a massive army of Zerg. Thus Kerrigan being worried of Arcturus’ forces is baffling and absurd – she shouldn’t be afraid of what Arcturus can muster. And she pretty much proved it by destroying his forces completely.
If anything, Kerrigan’s mission seems awfully one-sided and thus difficult, for me at least, to invest any connection. But the one-sided nature is bizarre seeing as the original StarCraft presented a conflict from the perspective of all sides involved. Thus to go against the grain like this seems a regressive step for Blizzard. What, were they worried that making Arcturus anything but deplorable may lose player investment? Funny, I recall Arcturus being both charismatic and slimy, not being an evil sod just for the sake of ‘hey we need a villain here’. 

Honestly, did everyone in the Blizzard writing staff forget everything established in Brood War?

Now I can imagine Brood War Kerrigan killing Arcturus for the lols but I don’t get that impression with Heart of the Swarm Kerrigan. In fact, I really wanted either Raynor or Arcturus to call Kerrigan out on her revenge quest by asking what she would do after she succeeds but alas that never came about.

A missed opportunity if ever there was one.

In fact I think I’m seeing parallels to Kerrigan with Kratos from God of War. In the first game, Kratos had the motivation of revenge over something that was entirely his fault. Since then however he’s discarded whatever depth he had for killing anything that moves. And no one is really questioning this. Why? Well as long he keeps tearing shit up no one will complain. HOWEVER! When one has defeated anyone and everyone who opposes you, there isn’t much else left to do.

Which is exactly what the ending of Brood War proved.

From the looks of it, the storyline insofar of Starcraft 2 seems to solely be about Raynor and Kerrigan. Right off the bat this is a bad decision as the original StarCraft had many characters who each went through a character arc. So where is everyone else? The Protoss don’t seem to have done a lot during Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm and it will be their time in the spotlight in the upcoming third game.  And where the hell is Duran?
So does this fill me with hope for the third installment of StarCraft 2? No. If anything, I can imagine the plot of the third game will be resolve everything established thus far in a manner akin to a sprint to the finish line.

And chances are, that’s most likely what will happen.