Starcraft expansion Heart of the Swarm released
Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm is about human expansion into alien territory in the year 2500 and the pacts, alliances and betrayals that happen between the humans (Terrans), bug aliens (Zerg) and robotic, futuristic aliens (Protoss) as a result. The newest game focuses on what happens to Sarah Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades, after she is transformed back into a human by the only man who still believes in her, James Raynor.
Starcraft is a real-time strategy (RTS) game that combines chess and Starship Troopers. Players start each game as one of the three aforementioned races with several workers. From there, players have to out-mine, outproduce and outmaneuver their opponents in order to conquer enemies' armies and ultimately win the game.
Heart of the Swarm, with its great storyline and even better multiplayer experience, raises the bar for competitive gaming set by its predecessor, Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty.
Starcraft II is more than just a game that people play at home and quickly tire of. It is also an e-sport, meaning there are professional Starcraft teams that train with coaches and fitness trainers to make sure they are eating healthy, practicing the optimal strategy and pushing the boundary of what is possible in the game. These teams compete in tournaments with huge prize pools and lots of people watching.
Last year, the player who won the Starcraft championships received a $100,000 check, and second place won $40,000. More than 125,000 people watched. On March 11, just before the game was released, a 24-hour event was streamed live that approximately 60,000 people watched at any given time.
The competitive scene and community surrounding Starcraft II is huge and extremely active. The first tournament of Heart of the Swarm will take place this weekend, March 15-17, in Dallas and live on www.majorleaguegaming.com. The winner will take home $50,000.
Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm:
- Released March 12, 2013 as an expansion of Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty, released July 27, 2010.
Main Differences between Heart of the Swarm and Wings of Liberty
- new campaign
- multiplayer unites hat fundamentally alter gameplay
- different multiplayer skins and portraits
- a leveling system with unlockable achievements that lets you track your progress against others online
Price: $39.99
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