StarCraft II Hyperion Review

http://us.starcraft2.com/features/gameplay/hyperion.xml

Looks like we get a nice little peak into the gameplay of Wings of Liberty along with our beta. Still not sure I get how mercs work, however.

 

Only 18 more days to go! Mercs sound a bit expensive so i'll prolly just get the upgrades.

 

Automated refineries? Count me in

 

Automated refineries and strike turrets = WIN

 

Automated refineries sound pretty legit. I wonder if im going to get zerg or protoss tech when the game comes out

 

Cant you get both

 

i wonder if you can go back and redo missions for more money, or if you'll just have to replay the entire campaign to try out different upgrade/research combinations.

 

I think the latter. Also notice; there are more upgrades than upgrade slots; getting them all makes a playthrough mandatory, I believe.

 

Is it just me? Or is anyone else gettin this tingly sensation in their stomache?

 

hey there handsome juggernaut plating. Now that you mention it, I do need a light.

 

LOL. I am too.

 

you might want to see a doctor about that.

 

"Turn your head and cough."

Mercs sound like groups of units you call down via drop pod that are CPU controlled. I was hoping for hero units that advance the sub-story/universe. I guess it'll still achieve that goal by giving us the back story of these factions... doesn't seem quite as cool as giving them names and faces though. OFC, I could be very, very wrong.

 

I don't think the merc's are CPU controlled.

More like purchasable heroes for a mission.

 

The Merc's are definitely controlled by the CPU. Whether or not you do all of the movement or the AI does is another thing

 

They're like tavern-bought heroes in Warcraft III. They cost money but are powerful, and you control them.

No, they have no plot role; after all, the point of using mercs is it doesn't matter if they die. Plot-role heroes like Jim Raynor are (last we heard) not supposed to die during missions.

 

although there is a branching storyline, maybe some mercs will be a requirement for one of the branches?

 

I can imagine a side mission where you save some mercs and then you can hire the mercs in the rest of the campaign.

 

I have no idea what made me think that they are CPU controlled before. Was I drunk the first time I read through? Survey says.... yup.

@Dec- LMAO

"Squad Size: Mercenaries deploy in preset squad sizes; there's a limit to how many squads can be called down during each mission."

The fact that you call down squads and not individual units makes me think these are campaign only units, but not heroes. They said call down so it doesn't sound like buying heroes from taverns in War3. More like the old ghost drop pod ability. Then again, what else would they do with the bar building reapers trained from waaaaaay back?

@Kim (lol, sorry for that dude. Couldn't help myself)- I expect the units to be generic soldiers; expendable. But, clearly, the groups they represent will have at least minor roles in the SC universe.

@asdf- Yeah, that's what I was hoping for. Or at least mission dialog changes a bit if they are present.
"Thanks for the gig! We are gonna sit here quietly now while you big kids set the future of the sector we live in... No, no, go ahead. It's fine. Sure your choices may allow the Zerg to swarm all of Terran space or lead to a Protoss annihilation of my home world; I just need that check. Thanks so much, It's good to be a hired gun with no human emotion or motivation."

Sounds silly huh? Even without the hyperbole it's pretty ridiculous.

 

Actually at least one of the groups 'the war pigs' is fully represented in that small 5-man squad.