At least alive! games website StarCraft II: Nova Stealth Review

The day before April Fool's Day, Blizzard released an expansion map pack for StarCraft II's main RPG, Nova's Hidden Action. Players familiar with the "Star" series will remember that around 2002, a game called "StarCraft: Ghost" began to be frequently exposed, and Blizzard even released a CG trailer for "Ghost" at one point.

Anyone who has seen the trailer will be impressed by the sexy and bold ghost costume. This third person shooter with ghost agent Nova as the protagonist, relying on the vast story background of StarCraft, launched a wonderful battle to sneak behind enemy lines.

But just as players and the gaming community were getting excited and speculating about the game's content, StarCraft: Ghost came to an abrupt end. After doing a lot of work, Blizzard suddenly announced an indefinite shelving of the project, which once led to a lot of speculation.

Although "Ghost" failed to come out successfully, but Nova in the single-player game world, always like a real ghost, looming, let people remember. In 2010, StarCraft II was released, and Nova guest-starred in one of the scenes;

In 2013, "Hero of the Storm" was launched, Nova became a hero and became one of the representative characters of Blizzard games, and her beautiful and playful design once triggered the pursuit of players.

This shadow role, which is exactly the same as Kerrigan, the first heroine of StarCraft, has become the role that Blizzard can't open the interstellar story and create the external plot. To Kerrigan, Nova does not have the shackles of "interstellar history" and has a broader space for creation.

Just a few days ago, "Nova's Secret Action" was officially released, at the moment, Nova is a more positive image, appearing in the story of "StarCraft", the beginning of the interface position, which can probably explain her status in the StarCraft world.

What a mission pack is

In terms of gaming, Covert Action appears as a mission pack in StarCraft II's main body. Blizzard's purchase strategy is that players do not need to have "Starcraft 2" and expansion pieces, can directly buy "secret action", for such DLC, Xiaobian can only say, Blizzard dad you are happy.

This sales strategy is customized, obviously see Blizzard helpless, "Starcraft 2" ontology and expansion repeatedly discounted, the total number of shipments is a lot, but the player activity has declined again and again, there is not a sufficient number of players, high-level interstellar events are not held the player base, Blizzard spent effort to create the balance of the game, a moment lost meaning.

The country pricing is 75 yuan, which is a relatively embarrassing figure, in the face of the huge discount on Steam, the sincerity of this DLC seems to be somewhat insufficient.

If Blizzard wants to use "Secret action" to explore a new profit model, this game itself is free, rely on the sale of DLC content survival strategy, how worthy of Blizzard father forced ah, unexpectedly heavy eyes Blizzard will also sell meat on the street, is really a change in the world, people feel bad about ancient ah.

The so-called task package, one is not an independent game, two also can not reach the weight of expansion, Blizzard called this DLC can not cover up it is a few stand-alone mission map illusion.

This kind of mission map produced by the StarCraft editor is essentially the same as the works uploaded by players in the game hall, but it is of higher quality.

"Covert Action" and "Yuriko's Hour of Rebellion."

The former designer of "Red Alert 2" Dustin Browder (bald brother) joined Blizzard and presided over the development of "Starcraft 2", although he has long left the EA Red Alert project team, but the two hearts have a common understanding, in the development of the game, learn from each other, so "Starcraft 2", there are a large number of deformable units, This is the same as the Mecha units of the Rising Sun Empire in Red Alert 3.

Among them, the more obvious such as the Viking fighter and the Sky dog robot in the Red Police 3 in Star 2, the Banshi bomber and the VX helicopter, the Reaper and the Allied refrigerated soldiers have an inextricably linked relationship, if these are only learning from each other, then the emergence of "Secret Action" reminds people of "Red Alert 3 Uprising Moment"!

2009 "Red Alert 3 Uprising Moment" as "Red Alert 3" expansion appeared, the game in addition to continuing the story line of Red Alert 3, but also includes a special campaign with the hero unit of the Rising Sun Empire Yiliko as the protagonist, the gameplay of this campaign, is also a strategic perspective of the RPG game, so when Xiaobian began to carry out "Secret action", The first thing that comes to mind is "Uprising Moment", I believe that players who have played two works must also have such a feeling.

Starting from the reference of game units, the game play has also begun to learn from Blizzard, but also dare to press the "Red police" claim that their "Star" is the RTS king? When "StarCraft 2" borrowed too much from the red police unit, and even the red police play "brainless flow", this is probably the real reason why the king of "Starcraft" is weakening.

Was Covert Action fun?

As far as the first chapter and three game paragraphs are concerned, the narrative in the game is smooth, the rhythm is compact, the picture is exquisite, and the atmosphere of the game is very appropriate;

Nova's skills and equipment design also have their own unique features, and the design of several levels also has a careful consideration.

On the bright side, Covert Ops is worth picking up for diehard StarCraft fans, and this serialized title can bring back the original touch of the StarCraft story.

At the worst, the design of Covert Ops is not much different from the thinking of StarCraft II, and the experience of the game campaign is still a simple level mission mode. The goals of the levels that reveal the story in advance, the instructions that guide the player through the game, in a way, diminish the playability and the appeal of the game's story.

This mode of play is suitable for StarCraft with RTS as the main gameplay, but for the single-player map with RPG as the core element, it lacks enough mystery and freshness.

The player who operates Nova has no freedom in the game, everything is brushed from the starting point to one task point after another in accordance with the written script, and all areas of the map are lit up, which is the moment when the task is completed.

It's hard to make an impression on an RPG without the joy of exploring the world. The same is Blizzard's work, in Warcraft 3 has built an official map "eternal glory warchasers", but can let people play with relish.

Players entering "Secret Action" for the first time will be attracted by the story of the game, but unfortunately, just rendered emotions, but because of the serialization of the mission package and suddenly stopped, the story left a large imagination, most players are too lazy to think about it, and eventually forgotten.

Players entering Secret Action for the second time will consider brushing achievements, but the achievement Settings in the first chapter are very problematic, the achievement requirements for each campaign are not enough, and for the achievement party, the loss of challenging achievements becomes less exciting.

The third time to enter the "Secret Action", but also just care about when the next chapter will be released, at present, there is no specific timetable! Without a specific schedule of Blizzard games, how much is the possibility of skipping tickets or being cut, I think everyone can know it.

What does Stealth mean?

Failed to get more detailed information, Xiaobian again bold guess. If "Covert Action" was not planned at the beginning of the development of "StarCraft 2", then the release of "Covert Action" at this moment indicates that the "StarCraft 2" project team crisis has reached the time to do something.

In order to prove their value to the company and shareholders, at a time when StarCraft 3 is far away, the emergence of Hidden Action is undoubtedly to prove to the world that the "Star 2" working group still has the value of existence.

If Blizzard's "Starcraft" can discover new profit points from "Hidden Action", then the resources lost in "StarCraft 2" may be won back. If Covert Ops fails, the future of the StarCraft franchise doesn't seem so bright.

Blizzard's strategy is to bet on Warcraft 4 as the next RTS blockbuster, and some of the ways Secret Ops is played are likely to become experiments for the former, if this is based on the success of Secret Ops.

At present, Blizzard's "World of Warcraft" is fading, "Heroes of the Storm" is lukewarm, the heavily built "Starcraft 2" is forced too high, the small-cost "Hearthstone" is Mired in the "retreat environment", and the "Overwatch" is expected to see no bright spot, when the "blue and better than blue" Blizzard sits on the king's position, At a glance, behind the arrogance of the small, it is the suffering and helplessness of stopping and difficult to innovate.