Whispers of Oblivion Rant

So here I was going through my Reader Posts for the week. When I find this rant sent to me from Zergnator who finds everything to complain about the new Legacy of the Void missions he can possible think of. Starcraft doesn't have they best story. It never has. Even in Brood War the story had great elements that were built on, but it has always had those cheesy comedic moments along with the the obvious cliches. I have always enjoyed that type of Science Fiction which is why I think Star Wars and Doctor Who are so popular. We get it, it is science fiction but it doesn't have to be dull and serious. Anyways, I thought I would share the rant just to get it out there so here it is.

I've gotta say, I've never seen such an amazing concept butchered and bastardized like the hybrid plot. If you're reading this and not aware, the prologue missions for LOTV were leaked a couple days ago. I was too curious to wait until I could play them myself and watched them through to the end. The most obvious problem with them is the quality of the writing. Now without commenting on the GLORIOUS dialogue I want to focus on the hybrid plot. So let's go back to BW for a sec, to that secret mission where zeratul finds the hybrid for the first time. 

The setup for the hybrid plot is imo one of the best parts of BWs plot. To begin with, it's basically something that comes out of no where. Just when you think you get the lore and story entirely this twist happens. You are told by Duran that not only does he serves "a far greater power", but it has slept for countless ages, is represented by the hybrid, and plans to change the universe forever. There are apparently thousands of secret labs across the galaxy doing the impossible, creating zerg/protoss hybrids for some unknown reason. Something exists out there that is stronger than the terrans, protoss, or zerg and can break the laws of nature. 

I feel like there's a real element of lovecraftian horror there. In the hands of a genius writer, this could've become amazing in sc2. The buildup was already there in BW, and when I first played SC2 the followup on that was one the things I was most hyped for in WOL. Now, between WoL, HOTS, and LOTV it's turned into a joke. It has gone from one of the most promising to one of the most disappointing things to come with this game, and it's reduced to WoW writing level of crap (considering WoW is one of blizzard main IPs I wouldn't be surprised if that's the inspiration for SC2 story-telling). It's told in such a cheesy, unbelievable way, and in the LOTV missions I feel like i've seen the worst of it.

Just.....first off in WOL the horror of the unknown was broken entirely by having mr. exposition AKA tassadar show up (how convenient). It's such a lame way to explain it, there's no subtlety, and honestly the hybrid plot being paired up with a cliche prophecy is not just too convenient, but dumb. OK, so.......how the hell does the prophecy exist anyway? Who wrote it? When? Why? How do they know the future, and most importantly: this is not warcraft.........right? That's a straight up fantasy trope being forced into a sci-fi/war series. That makes no sense in the starcraft universe. Even if there are subtle elements of fantasy in the old games, it's not nearly as prevalent and over-the-top as it's portrayed now.

Back to LOTV, I love how that taldarim guy can talk to amon like he's freaking dr. claw. The whole thing felt like an episode of some 80s cartoon action show, like He-man or TMNT lol, it's just so bad. Chris metzen I assume you're the main writer in charge...........how did you go from SC1 to this? I mean, SC1 didn't have the best plot ever in a game, but it was so much more engaging and original, or at least in it's execution. The bastardization of the dark themes is so painful too. If this was it's own series, I wouldn't complain about it having a cheesy vibe. Thing is.....it's called starcraft, and people who grew up with SC1 and BW associate it with writing that takes itself rather seriously, and portrays a dark, warring version of the future.

You don't change the whole tone of the series in a sequel like that. That would be like if dead space 2 turned into a family comedy.

Was I right? Have a great weekend!