StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm Box

Sean Gibson / Mar 8th, 2013 No Comments

Blizzard Entertainment is releasing StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm on March 12, 12:01am PDT and the anticipation for the second installment of the widly popular Real Time Strategy (RTS) game couldn’t be higher. Gaming Illustrated has received the box a few days early and do as many fans request of us, check out the always impressive artwork done by the StarCraft 2 team and post it for all of you to enjoy.

For a refresher, be sure to check out our StarCraft 2 review.

The front of the box features Kerrigan, who is the central character at the heart of the new StarCraft 2 expansion storyline. The Queen of Blades looks intense to say the least, with her stare looking directly ahead with focused intent. Her lips have the slight hint of a smile and the colors are highlighted by purple, which seems to be the central anchor color of the expansion set. At the top of the box there’s the headline “Expansion Set” with the official StarCraft 2 Heart of the Swarm logo underneath Kerrigan’s face. Below that we have the Blizzard Entertainment logo and the “T for Teen” ESRB rating. There’s a disclaimer notice at the bottom right that informs potential owners that Heart of the Swarm requires the full version of Star Craft 2: Wings of Liberty and an internet connection to play.

StarCraft 2 HotS Box

Opening the front cover reveals a two-cover interior with the words “Tyrants Will Fall” and “Worlds Will Burn” adorning the scene. Clearly, things are about to go rather poorly for the Mengsk family in Heart of the Swarm. A giant statue of Acrturs Mengsk is falling to the ground, smoking, while a couple of marines do their best to hold off an invading Zerg swarm. On the right side a marine has even fallen to a winged Zergling, while two others fight for survival. Their bravery might be moot, because it looks like the city they are fighting in is being destroyed and lost beyond all hope.

SC2 Heart of the Swarm Box

Opening the front cover further features two new pages to the scene, with a giant Hydralisk screaming in fury taking center stage. Within, there’s four different scenes from the game. In the middle, there’s an active battle between Protoss and Zerg. At the top left of that scene, we see the new “Mothership Core” Protoss unit along with the text, “A powerful battle station capable of recalling entire armies to safety.” At the bottom there’s a “Swarm Host” along with the explanation that these are, “Lumbering quadrupeds that hatch Locusts to swarm the front lines.” Finally there’s also the new Viper unit for the Zerg, which are “winged horrors that pull unsuspecting foes into the advancing swarm” as well as the Oracle, a Protoss unit that “specializes in reconnaissance designed to raid enemy supply lines.” The other scenes are on the right, starting at the top with a space battle between Terran and Human ships. Below that is a picture of human-form Kerrigan who appears to be controlling or touching some sort of alien artifact. Finally at the bottom is a land battle between Terran and Protoss units.

Heart of the Swarm Box

The back of the box features the copy “Welcome to the Hive Mind” explaining that players will take on the role of Sarah Kerrigan, the former Queen of Blades. She was once the most feared creature in the galaxy and now waits in the depths of a laboratory cell. Kerrigan is going to have to plot an escape and reclaim her place at the Heart of the Swarm. Below that there’s three gameplay screenshots, the first explains that there are new units across all three armies. The second explains that gamers will get to lead Sarah Kerrigan as she goes on a rampage for vengeance. Finally, there’s information about joining up with Blizzard’s healthy online Battle.net community to play the game online.

StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm releases on March 12, 2013. Stay tuned to Gaming Illustrated for an exclusive interview with legendary Blizzard lead artist Sam “Samwise” Didier and the full review of of the new expansion pack.

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Sean Gibson

Founder, Featured Contributor at Gaming Illustrated

Sean Gibson has been the owner and Executive Editor of Gaming Illustrated for over eleven years. His roles include acting as CEO and President of Gaming Illustrated, LLC and also includes being a reviewer, previewer and interviewer. Sean's opinions on this site do not reflect those of his full-time employer.