Tag: II

Blizzard officially introduces the next expansion of the StarCraft II video game universe in Heart of the Swarm. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm is an upcoming expansion pack to military science-fiction real-time strategy game StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, and the second part of the StarCraft II trilogy, the third being Legacy of the Void. The expansion will include additional units and multiplayer changes from Wings of Liberty, as well as a continuing campaign focusing on the Zerg species. It will be priced as an expansion pack and based on hints from Blizzard likely to be released around April 2012, and very unlikely to ship before the end of 2011. Four years after the Brood War, Zerg leader Sarah Kerrigan – an infested Terran and Raynor’s old love interest now going under the name The Queen of Blades – has gathered the Swarm at the planet Char and has remained silent. Meanwhile, the Protoss stay passive and Jim Raynor has formed a group called Raynor’s Raiders to overthrow Emperor Mengsk and his Terran Dominion, and is revisited by his old friend Tychus Findlay, who has escaped from many years in prison and agrees to join ‘his revolution’. Tychus convinces Raynor to take additional missions of collecting mysterious Xel’Naga objects for a scientific organization called the Moebius Foundation, that promises good money in return.

But upon collecting the first object, Raynor discovers that the Queen of Blades also desires the objects, and the Zerg suddenly attack multiple fringe worlds. Soon after, Raynor is suddenly visited by the Protoss leader Zeratul, who gives him a crystal infused with his own memories. Upon viewing these memories, Raynor sees Zeratul searching for a prophecy about a half-Protoss, half-Zerg hybrid. However, Kerrigan is also looking for the prophecy and Zeratul barely manages to escape alive. Being unable to translate the prophecy, he takes it to another world to be interpreted. However, he finds that the Protoss he was looking for had been enslaved by a Hybrid. He learns that the prophecy spoke of a ‘great hungerer’, the original Zerg Overmind, and returns to Aiur to try to read the Overmind’s memories. While preparing to enter the Overmind’s corpse Zeratul encounters Tassadar, who tells him that the Overmind planned its death to protect the Zerg, and that Kerrigan was the key to saving the universe. Tassadar then shares with Zeratul the Overmind’s prophetic vision of the future, which shows a large-scale battle between the Protoss and the Zerg. The Terran have already been exterminated, and the Zerg have been enslaved by the hybrids, forced into the battle. The Protoss put up a valiant defense, but eventually fall to the never-ceasing numbers of the Swarm. The Zerg are then annihilated, leaving only the Hybrids. Zeratul tells Raynor that he must protect Kerrigan, lest the whole universe be destroyed by the ‘Fallen One’, who was actually the controlling force behind the Overmind’s actions to dominate the Protoss. After collecting the final artifact piece Raynor’s forces encounter Dominion battleships at the pre-agreed Moebius Foundation rendezvous point. The Moebius Foundation is revealed to be under the control of Valerian Mengsk, Arcturus’ son. Valerian asks Raynor to help him invade Char and use the artifact to restore Kerrigan to a human, and weaken the Zerg. To the initial dismay of the crew, Raynor agrees. As the invasion of Char begins, the Dominion and Raider fleet is caught off-guard by a preemptive strike by the Zerg. Raynor secures a foothold on Char and sets rendezvous with Dominion forces which survive the crash landings. The combined forces push towards the main Hive Cluster of the planet. The artifact eventually reaches full power and activates, destroying all Zerg within its blast radius. Raynor’s team finds Kerrigan restored to human form; however Tychus reveals that he made a deal with Mengsk, trading Kerrigan’s life for his own freedom. Raynor defends Kerrigan from Tychus’ attempt to kill her, shooting Tychus in the process. The closing scene shows Raynor carrying Sarah across the battlefield in his arms. The plot of Heart of the Swarm begins where Wings of Liberty ends. It will focus on the Zerg species and feature Sarah Kerrigan as the protagonist, but it is not known if she will be a hero or villain in the story. A teaser trailer for the game, showed Nova leading a team of Terran Ghosts and Spectres to infiltrate a Terran