If you're a Blizzard follower, you know exactly who is responsible for all these problems (as well as the "Diablo III" story problems). We are told she is a great leader, but what we see suggests that she is not. But the story has so many other problems, mostly led by Kerrigan: this supposedly brilliant tactician spends most of her time telling her minions to shut up and not to question her. Kerrigan's return to her Queen of Blades form doesn't make sense in story terms it's not even justified or commented on by the silly prophecy about Amon. This is too bad: the story would have worked much better if Raynor actually did let Arcturus use the artifact and turn Kerrigan back one more time. He activates it, but Raynor bursts in and stops him before anything actually happens. In the closing cinematic, Arcturus reveals that he has had the Xel'Naga artifact that purified Kerrigan installed in his office. The final twist in the "Heart of the Swarm" campaign that almost happened, but didn't, would actually have redeemed it - by rendering the campaign itself inconsequential. And his eventual turnaround - his decision to help her kill Arcturus, a goal they've shared since the Brood War - is suitably convincing. His disgust and lack of understanding make complete sense, because Kerrigan's actions are both disgusting and incomprehensible. The best part of the "Heart of the Swarm" campaign is Raynor's reaction to Kerrigan's return to form. The transformation doesn't make sense or have a clear purpose, and Kerrigan's continuing irrationality only serves to weaken the player's emotional connection with her. She just does it because she feels like it, and because it's a good excuse to introduce Swarm Hosts. This invalidates the entire "Wings of Liberty" campaign - which Blizzard would probably argue is the point. I'm proud to say in this "Heart of the Swarm" campaign review that the biggest twist in the game, Kerrigan's transformation back into the Queen of Blades (a dumb name retconned from "Infested Kerrigan" in "Wings of Liberty"), a human-Zerg hybrid, is really, really stupid. She just decides to become Queen of the Zerg again. It comes out of nowhere, and she doesn't for a second think to actually investigate the truth. The story goes downhill at the end of Umoja, the tutorial planet, with Jim Raynor's "death," an obvious and transparent ploy apparent to absolutely everyone except Kerrigan. It starts out strong, but campy (which is just fine - "StarCraft" was campy too. The "Heart of the Swarm" campaign significantly expands on that unfortunate element. But "StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty" made it more of a space opera. The problem is that "StarCraft" was a gritty, naturalistic science fiction universe. Stories get recycled that's not the problem. The return of the Fallen One and his control over the Zerg are essentially identical to the return of the Burning Legion and their attempted control over the Orcs. More problematically, the overarching plot developed in the Zeratul missions in particular was lame and a carbon copy of the "WarCraft III" plotline. Raynor's sudden romantic obsession with Kerrigan certainly didn't come out of nowhere, but it was a bit saccharine-sweet. Let's start our "Heart of the Swarm" campaign review with the worst elements: the story and characters, which we've covered on a planet-by-planet basis (see Umoja, Kaldir, Char, Zerus, and the rest to come). The Queen of Blades, as a name, is stupid. Kerrigan becoming the Queen of Blades again is stupid.