StarCraft 2 Announced! Hell, It’s About Time.
22 05 2007It’s official!
Call me a nerd if you want. But if you don’t know this game, and if you don’t know me, then you sure as hell better not judge me.
A week ago Blizzard.com started teasing its audience with spash screens showing a countdown of all its major titles from 1994 to the present. On May 19th, 2007, gamers around the world stood still as Blizzard made their humongous announcement in their Worldwide Invitational event in Seoul, South Korea.
Yes the game StarCraft 2 has been officially announced. And damn right it’s about time…
For those poor uninformed souls, StarCraft is a real-time strategy (RTS) game released by Blizzard Entertainment back in 1998. The game’s expansion pack - StarCraft: BroodWar was also released the same year. The storyline follows a war among 3 species, etc.
The main feature is its multiplayer capability, not to mention the great graphics, sound, music, etc.
StarCraft to date, is arguably the best RTS game ever created. It has changed the world’s view of the gaming industry and even converted gaming to a sport.
Even after so many years, StarCraft is played worldwide and still is the no. 1 game in Korea. Many gosus (experts) compete against one another (on national TV!) and earn millions of dollars and they are often idolized too.
What makes StarCraft so unique and so amusing is its matchup and balance, the satisfaction, and the surprises it gives you. With 3 races to choose from, there will always be another unit to counter your strengths and powers. The thrill you get during the real-time battles, the unit controls (macro & micro), the practice, the speed… the new findings that come up even up till this very date. StarCraft is an amazing game that you’d have to try it to believe it. And most say that even the game developers themselves did not think it would be such a success, and that probably the whole game’s uniqueness was a fluke.
That aside, gamers have been waiting too long for this sequel to be released. There were some fake releases of course throughout the years, which turned out to be poor modifications. I think I remember various rumors about the game’s development, but they were all dismissed and some of Blizzard’s main developers left the company.
Anyway, StarCraft 2 will come in a 3D world as expected (there was much debate by fans as to whether it should stick to 2D). Many familiar units from the original game as well as new units and upgrades will be seen. An upgraded version of Battle.net (official servers for multiplayer activity) will also be available.
No release date has been announced yet, but that is actually good news. We want the game to be perfectly polished. We don’t want slow loading and lags (especially when it’s going to be 3D) and we sure as hell want it bug-free. If Blizzard can make this sequel half as good (if not just as good) as the original StarCraft, then it’ll be a miracle.
Now all enthusiasm aside, lets hope this long-awaited sequel will be good…
Official StarCraft 2 website: STARCRAFT2.COM
Screenshots: http://www.starcraft2.com/screenshots.xml
Videos: http://www.starcraft2.com/movies.xml
FAQ: http://www.starcraft2.com/faq.xml
IGN live report page where announcement was made:
http://pc.ign.com/articles/788/788627p1.html
Read on for new unit descriptions and videos.
New and updated Protoss units:
Zealot (announced in starcraft2.com) - Has a new charge ability that help them run quickly to a close range when attacking enemies.
Immortal (announced in starcraft2.com) - The updated versions of dragoons. They have powerful shields that wield a strong defense against powerful attacks but weaker attacks do not activate their shields.
Stalker (announced in starcraft2.com) - A ranged unit inspired by dragoons and includes within it the essence of dark templars. They teleport quickly over short distances.
Phase Prism (announced in starcraft2.com) - A transportation unit that can teleport armies anywhere on the battlefield.
Colossus - A large four legged vehicle that fires strong dual lasers and is mobile through uneven terrain.
Mothership - A powerful hovering unit that utilizes a great amount of resources. It can attack multiple units at a time and has three abilities - Time Bomb which slows enemy missile attacks, Planet Cracker which is a large laser that fires from below the Mothership and obliterates anything in its field, and Black Hole which creates a void that absorbs and destroys enemy air units. Only one of these can be active at a time.
Phoenix - An air unit that can overcharge guns for multiple projectile blasts. After the initial blast, the ship is unable to move or attack for a short period of time.
Warp Ray - An air unit that attacks with a blue laser and dteals mroe damage as it focuses on the same target. It is powerful against tough units and buildings but wastes damage on small units.
We are still pretty much in the dark regarding Zerg and Terran units.
New and updated Zerg Units:
Nydus Worm - A transportation unit similar to the nydus canal which transports small units such as zerglings from underground.
Baneling - Zerglings can mutate into suicide bombers similar to infested terrans. They fill with explosive and acidic chemicals and can roll across terrain and explode on impact.
A unit that has an “infect” ability which allows takeover of hostile organics for a limited amount of time, ending in target unit exploding and damaging units around it.
New and updated Terran Units:
Reaper - Similar to a marine, this unit can fire strong dual lasers and can traverse differences in terrain height.
Youtube clip of first video seen of StarCraft 2 gameplay
Youtube clip of gameplay showcasing protoss and terran units
Youtube clip of gameplay showcasing protoss and zerg units
Higher Quality Trailer and Gameplay Videos on YouTube/Google:
Cinematic Trailer - US Version(Source: Blizzard): www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxybAA326-c
Cinematic Trailer - Korean Version(Source: Blizzard Korea): www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWs8dz1NYzM
Artwork Trailer(Source: Blizzard): www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX7fQUY01nw
Gameplay Video (Source: OGN / Not Splitted): http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6287387257388853221
Blizzard Worldwide Invitational - Official Announcement Scene of SC2 (Source: OGN): http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7244020136130218996
hey ))
its very unconventional point of view.
Nice post.
realy gj
thx