Last night I spent finishing up most of Heart of the Swarm. I’m either at the final or next to final campaign, having done all the sub-missions and only missing one objective thus far (at least from what I’m aware of). I ended up switching after getting frustrated from World of Warcraft’s inexplicable lagginess that caused me a few unnecessary deaths. I felt it would be a good temporary break.
Anyway, having already seen the ending, it’s mostly a matter of seeing all the details leading to that point. I always enact the dialogue whenever a new conversation comes up. The good thing in doing this is to get more back story on the Zerg and how it originated. Pretty much this game does a good job in delving into the lore…i mean evolution/history of the zerg.
Despite providing this background, the way it goes about doing it demonstrates that Chris Metzen really has no creativity as a writer whatsoever. As Kerrigan re-integrates herself with the swarm, she ends up going to the original planet from where the zerg first evolved. Here’s where things get really goofy. Essentially, the planet and creatures resembles stuff from the movie Avatar. Unlike Avatar, you pretty much overpower the primitive planet with the more evolved zerg, until Kerrigan herself can absorb one of the main primals. In turn, she takes the opportunity to mutate into a far more advanced version of the Queen of Blades.
This is where the story really has me shaking my head. Essentially, everything that Raynor had striven for has gone to waste and we’re back to where we started. I think Metzen was pretty aware of this too as Raynor formally ends his “relationship” with Kerrigan. Despite this awareness, I’m wondering what the point of all that was in the first place. About the only thing different than what happened before is that Kerrigan’s swarm has a new purpose with her behind it.
About the only plot point that has been resolved in this situation is with Mengsk. But we still are left with Amon and the Protoss. If anything, Kerrigan’s swarm seems like will have an uneasy distance with the Terran. Considering this is Metzen we’re talking about, I’m seeing nothing more than a futuristic version of the Horde vs Alliance storyline, except that the genders are reversed. Or perhaps instead of having Thrall, we have the Banshee Queen in a more prominent role. Or maybe if Jaina Proudmoore had a darker personality and Thrall were slightly prettier, then it’s just the same thing.
Something else came to mind as I was playing Starcraft. The zerg reminded me a great deal of the Klaxxi and Mantid in Mist of Pandaria. With the whole hybrid zerg/protoss construct, I’m seeing a definitive link back to the Mantid/Klaxxi with the whole psionic power thing. Also, the ultralisk reminded me quite a bit of the Kovok mission (not to mention looking a little like him). And the Protoss resemble far more advanced versions of the Draeni.
As this is Blizzard’s franchise, I wouldn’t be surprised to some day see a real tie in. The writer in me would cringe but the fanboy in me would love to see both series coming together. I think both titles could easily explain bits of the other side. I’m still waiting to see Tauren Terran marines. The mysterious “your gods are not your gods” line that the Klaxxi fills us is the perfect tie in to bring both worlds together. Perhaps, it could be the merging of technology and magic that leads to a new franchise.
For myself, I would connect the Lady Sylvanas to Kerrigan. I see them as being similar in having tragic ends and re-births. In Sylvanas’ case, she hails from a magical world, thus explaining the natural rise to power as the Banshee Queen. However, Kerrigan’s rise to the head of the Swarm isn’t as clear. What exactly made her DNA/genetic material perfect as the head? She was a psionic as a ghost, but could any other person rise equally as well? Or was it destiny?
From a story perspective, I would say that Kerrigan is Lady Sylvanas reincarnated. If I were pushing the franchise tie-in theory, I would even say that this latest iteration of Diablo 3 could link these female characters to Diablo himself. Perhaps, the person in question is a cursed soul, bound by some destiny to be reincarnated over and over to serve nefarious demons and devils for eternity. The demon spawns of the multiverse are what causes the chaos and strife between all races.
The cut scene in Mist of Pandaria where Lorewalker Cho sees the unveiling of the Sha as a result of this conflict to me is the key aspect in all of this. But it’s not that the conflict is created by the warring of the races. Instead, it’s the crafty manipulation that goes around them. However, how can you fight an invisible foe?
Perhaps, in my ever so clever interweaving of story lines, the only person capable of understanding how to slay demons is Deckard Cain. It was instrumental for Diablo to have Deckard eliminated since he’s a scholar of demonology and can aid in putting a stop to this conflict. While in World of Warcraft and Diablo, people are capable of being resurrected, certain types of deaths are permanent or at least require a great deal of effort to reverse. So it might be quest of the heroes in this new multiverse to determine how to bring him back to life.
Taking a few steps back, I was thinking about how the Abathur mentioned how some cases he was unable to understand all genetic evolution. This leads me to believe that there’s more in store to explain how the Zerg came into existence. We only are given that their home world was a primitive place in terms of how they evolved. But what about splinter colonies? Could that explain the mantid’s existence?
Regardless, I think these questions can lead to an interesting segue into Blizzard’s next gaming franchise. Imagine one day if/when Kerrigan and Raynor are planning their assault against a rogue Terran colony, when some Tauren Terran marines stop by. The leader might be Baine Bloodhoof, who explains that they are part of a super secret project and that the universe is now ready for them and what’s to come.
If this game came into existence, what would it be? ARPG? MMORPG? RTS? What about all of the above? Why not have the most epic gaming experience in existence by combining all the things we love about each franchise into a single gaming experience? Have all the various classes with new ones that combine sci-fi with fantasy. Your heroes are literally heroic units that command their factions armies and your goal is to save this multiverse.