StarCraft madness - Blizzard announces StarCraft II
By David Cassel
Blizzard shocked the world Saturday, announcing their newest game title would be Starcraft 2. “The epic interplanetary battle between the Protoss, Terran, and Zerg will take on new dimensions,” Blizzard promised on their web page, adding a new slogan at the bottom of its StarCraft page.
“Hell, It’s About Time.”
The same message appeared on Blizzard’s online gaming service Battle.net, as the company also promised an overhaul for its millions of users. Details are scarce, but Blizzard hinted that “security is one of our top priorities as we redesign and overhaul Battle.net, and we will take every precaution to ensure fairness…”
Blizzard says their new StarCraft game “recaptures and improves on the magic of the original 1998 game” with “a number of new units” for each of the game’s races — the Protoss, the Terrans, and the Zerg — along with “new tricks” for the original units.
When’s it coming out? Blizzard says “it’s too early to provide an initial estimate on the release date.” But they’ll launch it globally on the same day — in multiple languages, and for both Mac and PC. “As with all Blizzard games, we will take as much time as needed to ensure the game is as fun, balanced, and polished as possible.
In South Korea, lucky fans got a preview, with a demonstration by the development team at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Seoul — plus a peek at the new game’s trailer. StarCraft II will include a full-featured a map editor, plus both multi- and single-player gaming with much greater detail.
“Our goal is to ensure that all the factions in the game play even more distinctly from one another than in the original StarCraft,” Blizzard announced, “while still maintaining the fine balance that helped make StarCraft such a classic.”
A StarCraft II web page is already online with video of some of the new units.
- Immortal - After the Zerg overran their Dragoon shrine, the last Protoss in Dragoon exoskeletons have become the immortals — “refitted with twin phase disruptors and hardened energy shields that can shrug off the most powerful weapon strikes”
- Stalker - “The stalker is a machine controlled by the shadow-essence of a dark templar warrior, willingly fused into its metal body to protect his people.” Its mounted particle disruptors “are equally adept at crippling targets on the ground or in the air.”Ambushes by groups of stalkers have brought fiery doom upon many attack wings that thought themselves safe from retribution.”
- Phase Prism - A Protoss machine using a warp gate to transport Protoss forces onto the field, allowing quick reinforcements. It can also take the place of a damaged Pylon, powering Protoss structures
“With StarCraft II, we’ll be able to do everything we wanted to do with the original StarCraft,” announced Blizzard’s president and cofounder Mike Morhaime — “and more.” He also assured the press that “We recognize expectations are high…”
That’s an understatement. The original StarCraft has sold 9.5 million copies since its launch in 1998 — an average of 2,600 copies every day for ten years. Fans were clearly excited when Blizzard unveiled their in-game preview footage.
Online, one fan even jokingly called the game “The reason I won’t have sex until 2015.”
The game will be compatible with Windows Vista and XP (though Blizzard has no plans for a console version). Blizzard is stoking their fans’ excitement, calling StarCraft 2 “the ultimate competitive real-time strategy game.” But since Blizzard hasn’t announced a release date, they’ve left their excited StarCraft fans with only one thing to do.
Wait.
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