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Starcraft

Review

All Hail The Queen: Kerrigan Returns With A Vengeance In StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm

by Becky Chambers | 2:00 pm, March 22nd, 2013

(Minor spoilers ahead.)

Sarah Kerrigan sits in a high-security research lab, obediently following Prince Valerian’s instructions. To assess how much of the Zerg mutagen is left in her system, he asks her to psionically control a drone in a chamber nearby. This is, of course, the tutorial mission, but there’s more going on here than a lesson in unit control. Kerrigan does as she’s told, but her tone is dangerously apathetic. “You know this is going to end badly, right?” she says. There’s a hint of laughter in her words, condescending and bored. Valerian is not the one in control here.

When will these people ever learn that underestimating Kerrigan is a very stupid idea?

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Review

StarCraft II: Flashpoint Sets The Stage For Sarah Kerrigan’s Comeback Tour

by Becky Chambers | 12:33 pm, February 22nd, 2013

There are few video game characters from my formative years that I regard as highly as Kerrigan. She was complex and unforgettable, the sort of villain who makes you forget that you’re supposed to root for the good guys. To this day, I can’t help but feel awe when remembering the emergence of the Queen of Blades.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, on the other hand, left me unimpressed. Naturally, the Zerg were going to get stomped, but to see that brilliant character stripped of her power, both literally and figuratively, then carried off into the sunset by her former boyfriend — come on. Kerrigan deserves better than that. The trailers for SCII’s upcoming expansion, Heart of the Swarm, seem to agree, pointing toward a vengeful reclamation of the leaderless broods. While the expansion’s release is still a few weeks out, tie-in novel StarCraft II: Flashpoint, written by Christie Golden, raises some interesting questions about how Kerrigan’s next chapter will unfold (minor spoilers ahead).

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Essay

Stay Awhile and Listen: Diablo III’s Female Character Models Are A Step In The Right Direction

by Becky Chambers | 12:30 pm, April 2nd, 2012

After twelve years since the Lord of Terror was unleashed, it’s finally official: Diablo III will be raising hell on May 15. All I’ve ever really wanted in life is a co-op hack-and-slash dungeon crawler, so I was excited for this game from the get-go. But after spending a little time poking around on Diablo III’s official website, I’m really excited. Like, super excited. I am downright stoked. And it’s for a very simple reason:

All of the female characters look like someone I’d like to play.

As I mentioned back in January, Diablo III will be the first game in the series to offer full gender customization for player characters. This on its own is a welcome addition, but the fact that the female character models are so good has earned Blizzard a stamp of approval in my book. To help explain why, I’m going to put these new ladies into the greater context of how Blizzard has portrayed women throughout their games.

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And I'll Form the Head!

Spawn More Overlords by Sewing Your Own Adorable Overlord Plushie

by Susana Polo | 10:15 am, December 29th, 2011

Speaking as a person who has never managed to finish the Star Craft single-player campaign because I would inevitably get really tired of the suite of squelching, sucking, squealing noises that every Zerg unit made with each click; arixystix’s Overlord plush creation is super appealing.

And if you think that little fanged face is cute, you should see what it looks like floating.

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Essay

All About Eve: The Story of StarCraft 2′s First Female Pro

by Becky Chambers | 12:28 pm, August 17th, 2011

Meet Kim Shee-Yoon. You can call her Eve, as that’s what she’s called in game. She’s been playing StarCraft since grade school (Terran, if you’re interested). She’ll be turning twenty-two this year. As of last month, she holds the distinction of being the first woman to join a pro StarCraft 2 team. Naturally, this news was greeted with cheers, accolades, and parades in her honor. And by that, I of course mean a massive facepalming dramafest like only the internet can provide.

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Things We Saw Today

Things We Saw Today: Princess Batgirl

by Jamie Frevele | 5:29 pm, April 3rd, 2011

Some girls want to be princesses. And some want to be heroes. (At DC Women Kicking Ass)

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