tag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:/games/22783Cheerful Ghost: StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm2024-03-28T19:42:17+00:002015-03-14T16:49:53Ztag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:Post/24452015-03-14T16:49:53Z2015-03-14T16:49:53Z/jdodson/posts/2445/what-happened-to-replayability-in-the-infinite-library-ageWhat Happened To Replayability In The Infinite Library Age?<div class='youtube-player' data-id='MVbeoSPqRs4'></div> <br/>Recently I completed the single player campaign for Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm again. When I was a young pup I used to replay games constantly. I'd speed run the original Mario Brothers (before I knew that was a thing) try and figure out how to complete the Legend of Zelda Link to the Past dark world dungeons in strange orders. When your video game library consisted of a handful of Super Nintendo and Nintendo titles, if you wanted to play games you played what you had. If I simply played games in Steam I haven't installed yet i'd be playing for years. Still, I love to head back and play games again. Last year I replayed Portal 2. I also reinstalled the original Dungeon Siege and really enjoyed the experience. Roller Coaster Tycoon was just as much fun as I remember playing years ago.<br><br>In age of seemingly infinite game libraries do you head back and replay titles or it always on to the new?<br><br>As an aside, here are a few titles I would love to replay this year. Romance of the Three Kingdoms 2, Portal 2 & Command and Conqueror Red Alert.2015-03-14T16:49:53Zjdodsontag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:Post/20272014-05-11T18:54:27Z2014-05-12T23:48:36Z/jdodson/posts/2027/diablo-mortal-shroud-comes-to-starcraft-iiDiablo: Mortal Shroud Comes to Starcraft II<div class='youtube-player' data-id='sUugzb05bZU'></div> <br/>Blizzard gave Starcraft II a great map editor. That editor has spawned many awesome Arcade maps and in the case of the Warcraft III editor, it even created the whole MOBA game genre with DoTA. Not to be undone by the past, someone has taken it upon themselves to recreate the original Diablo in Starcraft II and call it "Diablo: Mortal Shroud."<br><br>Playing it is pretty simple, you just open Starcraft II, go to the Arcade section and search for "mortal" and select Diablo: Mortal Shroud. The game is already pretty darn great and has the feel of the original Diablo. The mod author is using the original game voice acting, art and play style as the original. The game looks a bit Starcrafty as it is built with the SCII toolset, but there is no mistaking that Diablo feel.<br><br>Currently Mortal Shroud supports single and multiplayer. I didn't notice the ability to save your game, but perhaps that will be added to a later version.2014-05-12T23:48:36Zjdodsontag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:Post/19702014-04-07T21:47:09Z2019-11-16T10:03:41Z/Azurephile/posts/1970/i-am-the-swarmStarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Review<div class='youtube-player' data-id='m9zLOv76U6U'></div> <br/><strong>Quick Review<ul>
<br><li>Recommended <img alt="+1" src="/images/emoji/unicode/1f44d.png" style="vertical-align:middle" height="20" width="20" title=":+1:" /></li>
<br><li>Seems short</li>
<br><li>Different playable characters with unique abilities</li>
<br><li>Not too difficult</li>
<br><li>Level up Kerrigan and the swarm</li>
<br><li>New units</li>
<br><li>Replay-ability and achievements</li>
<br><li>Multiplayer available</li>
</ul></strong>Last night, I finished the expansion to StarCraft II, Heart of the Swarm. It didn't seem to last as long as the campaign, Wings of Liberty, but it was still a lot of fun. <br><br><strong>Synopsis:</strong> In Heart of the Swarm, you are Kerrigan, pretty much, and are working on getting the swarm back together to get revenge on Mengsk. There are a few different characters you get to control instead of just Kerrigan. Each character has their own unique abilities and roles to play. However, Kerrigan is the only character that you work towards leveling up by completing certain objectives in missions. These objectives weren't very difficult to achieve and I was able to level her up to the max by the time I was at the end of the expansion.<br><br><strong>Kerrigan and swarm evolution:</strong> When leveling up, Kerrigan gains HP and special abilities. Not only do you work on evolving Kerrigan, but you also work on evolving the swarm, your army, by completing missions in the Evolution Pit. This was a fun part of the game where you learn about a creature that acts a certain way and, as a Zerg, you must destroy it and adapt its essence into the swarm. <br><br><strong>New and old units:</strong> Familiar Zerg units have returned, but they have various mutations that you can choose. There are also new Zerg units, but that applies to the Terrans (in Wings of Liberty) as well. As for the Protoss, what little of them I got to play in the Wings of Liberty campaign, they had some new changes as well. As for the Protoss, we have to wait for their expansion to be released, which, at the time of this writing, has no release date.<br><br><strong>Achievements:</strong> I can still replay some missions and get achievements that I missed, but I think I've pretty much gotten most of them. Some of them require meeting a certain objective on Hard mode, something I'm not really interested in. I haven't looked up specifics in what you get with the various achievements, but I'm sure I've gotten all the ones that I really wanted. I replayed some of Kerrigan's missions so that I could level her up all the way. <strong>There are also multiplayer options for the game,</strong> but I'm not really interested in that.<br><br>I'm kind of sad to be done with StarCraft II, as I am when finishing a game that I really enjoyed. What's next? Well, I think I'm going to give this Diablo III demo a try.<br><br>Anyway, in summary, <strong>if you liked StarCraft, you'll probably like StarCraft II and the expansion, Heart of the Swarm.</strong> I'm really impressed with Blizzard for the games I've played (Warcraft I & II, StarCraft I & II). I'm also really impressed that after all of these years, StarCraft got a sequel and it was done with excellence.2019-11-16T10:03:41ZAzurephiletag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:Post/18432014-01-24T02:17:17Z2014-05-12T23:48:33Z/jdodson/posts/1843/starcraft-2-1-free-arcade-mode-extension-mods-and-moreStarcraft 2.1: Free Arcade Mode, Extension Mods and More.<div class='youtube-player' data-id='j9S3K8kDSgM#t=41'></div> <br/>Starcraft 2 will soon launch the 2.1 patch globally and like I mentioned in the Cheerful Ghost Roundtable s2 e1, much of the game is now going free to play. What else is included in this patch? Free arcade, Clans and Groups with scheduled meet ups, Extension Mods(similar to UT mods), League Boundaries, Increased the level cap with new rewards & a remastered score. That's right, they remastered the original Starcraft and Starcraft 2 scores and made them all available while you play the game.<br><br>2.1 Information:<br><br><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/12346797/starcraft-ii-patch-21-round-up-1-21-2014">http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/12346797/starcraft-ii-patch-21-round-up-1-21-2014</a><br><br>How to configure the new Starcraft music:<br><br><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/11941668/">http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/11941668/</a><br><br>Full set of patch notes:<br><br><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/12346798/">http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/12346798/</a><br><br>Now they just need to release more details about Legacy of the Void!2014-05-12T23:48:33Zjdodsontag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:Post/17942013-12-24T17:19:28Z2014-05-12T23:48:33Z/jdodson/posts/1794/12-days-of-starcraft12 Days of Starcraft<div class='youtube-player' data-id='CMt6eoe8i6s#t=49'></div> <br/>Happy Holidays and Merry Starcraft!2014-05-12T23:48:33Zjdodsontag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:Post/16362013-09-26T02:59:18Z2014-05-12T23:48:29Z/jdodson/posts/1636/starcraft-ii-back-to-schoolStarcraft II: Back to School<div class='youtube-player' data-id='YTXCfMrFfdU#t=40'></div> <br/>To celebrate Back to School Blizzard is dropping the price on Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty for 50% off and Heart of the Swarm for 50% off on Battle.net. So yeah, celebrating starting school back up with one of the greatest time sinks around!<br><br>Additionally this week you will be able to earn some exclusive badges as well, so if you are into that, check it out!<br><br>If you are interested, check out my thoughts on Heart of the Swarm.<br><br><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/1100">http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/1100</a>2014-05-12T23:48:29Zjdodsontag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:Post/15562013-08-24T18:27:52Z2014-05-12T23:48:28Z/jdodson/posts/1556/starcrafts-season-2-episode-15-unstoppableStarCrafts Season 2 Episode 15: Unstoppable<div class='youtube-player' data-id='KA7uzxHh-cQ#t=103'></div> <br/>New Starcrafts video highlighting the Zerg Larva being somewhat OP. At least, on the creep. :D2014-05-12T23:48:28Zjdodsontag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:Post/15142013-08-06T01:51:50Z2014-05-12T23:48:27Z/jdodson/posts/1514/starcrafts-season-2-ep-13-thunder-and-lightningStarCrafts Season 2 Ep. 13 Thunder and Lightning<div class='youtube-player' data-id='4VRtRnWoFo0'></div> <br/>I haven't seen the Thor used a lot in the games i've played. A cool unit for sure but does anyone use this typically as Terran?2014-05-12T23:48:27Zjdodsontag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:Post/14772013-07-20T22:22:43Z2014-05-12T23:48:26Z/jdodson/posts/1477/starcrafts-s2-ep-11-power-overwhelmingStarCrafts S2 Ep 11: Power Overwhelming<div class='youtube-player' data-id='uWfdyT-OHO0'></div> <br/>Sometimes the right counter can take down some very over powered units.2014-05-12T23:48:26Zjdodsontag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:Post/14452013-07-06T19:07:12Z2014-05-12T23:48:26Z/jdodson/posts/1445/starcrafts-s2-episode-9-undermine-the-overmindStarCrafts S2 Episode 9 Undermine the Overmind<div class='youtube-player' data-id='69_VjbZznds'></div> <br/>Latest StarCrafts animation featuring an aspect of Protoss being pretty dominating. All it takes is a detector... you don't lose.2014-05-12T23:48:26Zjdodson