Buzz the Swarm as Kerrigan’s quest to exact revenge on Arcturus Mengsk continues on the latest expansion of StarCraft II, Heart of the Swarm. Blizzard announced that the first expansion to StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty will be released on March 11, 2013 in the Philippines.
Heart of the Swarm features a new campaign that picks up on the story where Wings of Liberty left off. You’ll also see new units and features that will completely change, for better or for worse, StarCraft II’s online experience.
It will be available on DVD-ROM for Windows XP/Windows Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8 and Macintosh at an SRP of Php1,795.00, it will also be available on Blizzard’s website for around USD $39.99.
Blizzard will also be offering a Collector’s Edition of Heart of the Swarm packed with digital and real-life goodies, available exclusively at select retail stores, most probably Datablitz, at a retail price of Php4,995.00.
They will also be offering the Digital Deluxe version with all the goodies from the Collector’s Edition minus the real-life ones. It’ll be available on the website for around USD $59.99. Don’t worry if you don’t have the money yet for a Digital Deluxe as Blizzard offers players who bought the standard edition, digital or retail, the option to upgrade to Digital Deluxe for an additional USD $20.00.
If you can’t wait for next year, presales for the standard digital and Digital Deluxe copies are now available. You wouldn’t be able to play it until the servers are ready for it, but if you can’t sleep for fear of not getting stocks by the time the servers are up, go ahead and pre-order one now by visiting http://www.starcraft2.com.
The Digital Deluxe version includes a full digital copy of the expansion along with the following in-game bonus items:
- StarCraft II Torrasque: Crush the enemies of the Swarm with the indomitable Torrasque, a fearsome new look for your zerg Ultralisks.
- World of Warcraft In-Game Pet: The Baneling companion pet is bursting with entusiasm and ready to explode onto the Pet Battles scene.
- StarCraft II Battle.net Portraits and Decals: New Swarm-infested Battle.net portraits and decals help you customize the look of your online profile and in- game army.
- Diablo III Blade Wings and Banner Sigil: Grow zerg-like wings in honor of the Queen of Blades, and unfurl an exclusive banner sigil to mark your allegiance to the Swarm in the Sanctuary.
Hooray for crossovers. Not only do you get goodies for SC2, you also get bonus items for WoW and D3 too.
The Collector’s Edition includes the full version on a DVD and contains the following exclusive bonus items, in addition to the items above.
- Behind-the-Scenes DVD and Blu-ray: Immerse yourself in the StarCraft universe with developer commentary, interviews with voice actors, and an in-depth historical retrospective on StarCraft’s eSports legacy narrated by key members of the community.
- Collector’s Edition Soundtrack CD: Enhance your Heart of the Swarm musical experience with this collection of more than a dozen tracks from the game.
- Heart of the Swarm Hardcover Art Book: This 144-page tome feature never-before-seen art from the expansion, including early concept sketches and meticulous 3D renderings.
- Zerg Rush Mousepad: This Collector’s Edition mousepad depicts the Terran Dominion holding out desperately under the onslaught of the Swarm.
Heart of the Swarm brings new features to Wings of Liberty’s campaign and multiplayer experience. Over the course of 20 campaign missions, you’ll be able to follow Kerrigan along her new powerful abilities, as well as evolve various zerg strains into fearsome new subspecies to suit your playstyle.
New units include Terran Hellbats, Zerg Swarm Hosts, and Protoss Tempests. Other units will be updated with new capabilities. Heart of the Swarm introduces the group and clan systems and unranked matchmaking for “stress-free” online battles; Global Play, enabling players to battle others in different regions around the world; advanced stat tracking; an improved chat system; UI improvements; a physics system for more fluid battles; multiplayer replays; and the buzz around the Heart of the Swarm, the leveling system, which gives players new ways to earn customization options for their online profiles and more.
7 comments
Can’t wait for this one! SC2 fan here!
I kind of ask DataBlitz and they said that they still do not have an information about the price and the availability of pre-ordering. So I want to know the source of the local prices for Heart of the Swarm. Is the March 11 for real? I thought it will be March 12 for all countries?
Too bad i’ve got no use for the deluxe crossover goodies as i prefer GW2 and D3 was such an EPIC FAIL. Standard Edition would be just fine
Can anyone verify where we can buy this? no news from data blitz
None from their website. The replied to me thru PM that they have no idea as well.
However, their store in GB1 says that it will be released on 3/12/2013 as scheduled.
SC2 is one of the best-selling games since it was released. Though I find it weird that they are not advertising this in their website, or offering pre-order.
Guys just pre ordered from Lazada Philippines via FB at a discounted price…
Does this expansion set include the full game? I mean, it worths more than the WoL right? So does that two comes together in this set? Tnx 🙂