On one hand, I like the idea of going back to Zerus. Zerus is a microcosm for how I feel about HotS. So while Loomings is a tight, well done story, its status as a mini-campaign prevents it from being any higher up the list for me. Disclaimer that I did novelize this story, so it has a soft spot for me there, but, well, yeah. Apart from the ending monologue, there isn't really any standout moments. I mean, they work, but neither of them develop over the course of the story. I mean, there's only really two characters of note, and they're both your stock Confederate commander types at that. That said, I won't rank Precursor too highly, because while it doesn't have any glaring flaws, it doesn't reach the same highs as other installments. It's a much simpler plot, but I feel it works better. It's also half the length, but feels tighter. I think that might be why I rank Precursor higher. Precursor feels to SC1 what NCO feels to SC2 - a side story to the main story, except Precursor exists before the main story as a prequel, while NCO takes place after its main story as an.well, not really an epilogue, but.huh. Popcorn can be nice, but you're not going to remember it once you've left the theatre. It's a side story that comes after a main story that, in my mind, ended excellently. Way more than, say, Heart of the Swarm, but NCO, all this time on, left virtually no impression on me. I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but if SC2 is the epic trilogy of WoL-HotS-LotV, NCO is the direct to DVD sequel.Īdmittedly, NCO is arguably the tightest plot of SC2. Characters like Arcturus Mengsk and Amon carry out actions that change the overall framework of the setting, whereas Davis doesn't. Davis is a decent villain, sure, but the problem is her actions don't have any real lasting effect. The game lacks a story mode space, and it feels far more empty for it. I've always liked Nova as a character, but NCO doesn't do anything for me in regards to her character, and if anything, arguably damages it since she decides to leave the Dominion because.reasons. Neither of these are crippling flaws, but they lead into why NCO is so unmemorable to me. It feels like a rehash of Rebel Yell, only with the perspectives reversed.Īnd.that's it.The story reverts back to the status quo by its end, with the exception of Nova leaving the Dominion.So much for that "golden age" the Dominion entered. The whole thing feels unnecessary, in light of how LotV ends.Treating its story by itself, there's three immediate flaws that come to mind: Okay, thing is, I don't dislike NCO per se, and I gave it a net positive review on the blog posts I did earlier, but that was elevated by its gameplay. Precursor I treat as being separate here however as it has definitive prequel status, separate from SC1 in my eyes.Īlso, this isn't going to be that in-depth, because I've already waxed lyrical about my thoughts on these campaigns over the last seven years, and I'm so done on much of that debate, but hey, I'll encourage it here, as long as it's civil. Also, I'm ignoring the Enslavers campaigns, because I more or less consider them to be part of the StarCraft/ Brood War packages - side stories, but not separate, if that makes sense. Note that I won't be covering Insurrection or Retribution, as while I've read their scripts, I haven't played them, so it seems unfair to rank them. So, when I say campaigns, the candidates are: SC2 is an argument that's been done to death, it's not an argument that I have much interest in pursuing. Not by gameplay, because while you could do that, really, there's only two gameplay styles to compare across the whole series, and while SC1 vs. I've already updated my Star Wars film rankings with the release of The Last Jedi, so I figured I'd have some fun and rank the StarCraft story. Been toying with this idea for awhile, but, well, hey, something to do.