SC2 Ongoing Review #4: "The Shit Never Ends"

This is my final thought collection on the Starcraft II single player.  It covers from mission 19 through the end of the game.  Spoilers ahead.

Once upon a time, a marshal on a backwater planet found himself in the middle of an alien war.  In order for his people to survive, he joined forces with a loose cannon revolutionary hellbent on taking out the leading faction of his race in the area in order to control it himself.  The marshal fought alongside the madman until he found his allies to be betrayed, and genocide against his own species committed.

To all who read this review and whine that I’ve been too harsh on “SC2″ as it is only the first third of the game’s single player because of the split nature of the release, allow me to remind you the above story took all of a dozen missions to tell, and was the first third of “StarCraft”.  It was more engaging, original, and iconic than anything found on display in the missions of “Wings of Liberty”; a sequel I never could have imagined being so dull and lifeless– I truly had to play it to believe it.

The final arc of “Wings of Liberty” moves back to the planet of Char and is filled with slow-motion cutscenes, operatic music, and quickly forgotten characters.  Speaking of forgotten characters– all of the ships’ crew save Tychus have absolutely nothing to do once the decision to hit the Zerg with the Xel’Naga weapon comes to play.  No more hero units, no more Tosh (weren’t we supposed to “watch out” for the spectres?), and generally no semblance of rational thought are on display.  While the battles themselves are overall well executed, and contain interesting concepts of engagement, they are fairly easy and lack the scope of the predecessor.  Never once did I feel like I was engaged in a tacitcal battle against my computer enemy– instead I was calculating gimmicks per the instructions given to me.  To my recollection, there wasn’t a single straight up fight on a complex map in the game.  Areas where it would be best to send ground or air troops are literally pointed out to you and strategies are handed over like candy.  There would be no need for any sort of cheat codes in “StarCraft II”– the game doesn’t wish to promote any sort of calculating warfare.  This isn’t to say the missions are without enjoyment– but they ARE without tension. In fact, one of the final missions asks you to go save the downed Battlecruiser of an uneasy ally– simply screaming for comparison to a similar setup in the original.  The chasm between the two games couldn’t be put on better display– the original’s quest was harder, more emotionally investing, and more memorable.  SC2’s mission was simply derivative of something the first game had done better.

The writing on display honestly feels more like “Gears of War” than what I came to the table expecting.  And I don’t mean to say I hate Gears, but instead to say that SC2 feels like manufactured drama for drama’s sake.  There is so little genuine ingenuity on display, and so few compelling characters or choices.  This resounding “meh” factor goes so far as to infect Raynor himself.  As we creep towards the ending he gets in arguments with those around him over taking Dominion help, but we see no resolution for any of it.  Everyone eventually changes their mind because he’s Jim Raynor, disappears, or gets shot.  I previously understood and identified with Jim’s trails and tribulations, but I can’t say I was able to comprehend much of what he was seeking to do, or why those around him acted as they did either.  The best example is Mengsk’s son who wants to prove he’ll make a good emperor.  To what end?  What motivated him to do that?  Why does giving Raynor the chance to save Kerrigan accomplish that?   

The game’s final mission plays like dressed up leftovers.  Led into with a dramatic cutscene of Jim rallying the troops and ending with Findlay’s long-coming betrayal, it’s hard to feel like much of anything has taken place in the sequel at all.  As for how Mengsk knew that Raynor would end up next to Kerrigan… well, that’s far beyond me.  As for why a ship that at one point had a medic who was “close” to “curing” the Zerg infestation couldn’t just un-hook Tychus’ organs from his suit is beyond me.  Why all the damned characters we got introduced to in this half-finished game don’t show up in the ending is beyond me.  And why in God’s name we’re suddenly able to save Kerrigan is so utterly beyond me, I find myself at a loss for words.  I sat there, frustrated and impotent, listening to the insipid chanting music and just wishing something could happen that would right any of the wrongs I’d seen perpatrated in front of me.  And that will be my memory of this game.  An overall vague feeling of head-shaking and moderate disgust.  I can’t say I despise the game.  I love “StarCraft” too much to hate a bland sequel.  But I won’t remember the new music.  Or the new unit phrases.  Or any of the dialog for that matter.  I won’t remember the weak plot “twists”, the unsympathetic supporting cast, or much of anything but a feeling that as Jim Raynor walked out into the sun carrying the fugly reborn girl he once had a crush on and then later vowed to kill he must feel as absolutely undecided and confused as I do.