StarCraft II officially announced

[Corizzle]

http://www.blizzard.com/

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/starcr...;om_clk=topslot

Starcraft II warps into Seoul

Blizzard Entertainment unveils long-awaited sequel to PC real-time strategy game at worldwide invitational event.

By Andrew Park, GameSpot

Posted May 18, 2007 11:02 pm PT

SEOUL--Crowds of fans and press file continuously into the Olympic Gymnastic Stadium in the Gangnam province of Seoul, South Korea to await the announcement of Blizzard's new game title. The big-screen monitors onstage, which previously showed looped footage of tournaments held at last year's Blizzard Worldwide Invitational, now show only the logo for this year's event, which takes place today and tomorrow. The anticipation and excitement in the air from the crowds of fans and international press are palpable.

The announcement session is underway, and the lights are up. The Korean emcees are making announcements about the tournaments and music concerts that will also be held at the event. Blizzard Korea managing director Jungwan Han has taken the stage to deliver the opening remarks, greeting and thanking Blizzard fans worldwide for their support. He takes his seat, and the emcees briefly introduce Blizzard's top brass, including Mike Morhaime, Rob Pardo, and Chris Metzen.

Next up are the introductions for the professional gamers, who are greeted with great fanfare by the audience as they're announced individually and step onstage. First are the Starcraft players, introduced by their name, faction played (protoss, zerg, or terran), and country of origin. These are followed by the Warcraft III professional players, also introduced by their name, played faction (humans, orcs, undead, or night elves), and country of origin. After the players are brought onstage, they are brought forward individually to take an "oath" of fair play.

Press from around the world arrives at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational event.

Once the players are ushered away, Blizzard president Mike Morhaime takes the stage to make the big announcement, noting first that this year's event will host more tournaments than any previous event (including competitions for Starcraft, Warcraft III, and World of Warcraft), then introducing a video montage with footage from Blizzard's previous games (such as the original Warcraft, Diablo, and Starcraft) and previous tournament events. Morhaime is finally getting closer to the announcement...the crowd cheers in anticipation. Says Morhaime, "When it came time to make this announcement, it was easy to decide where it should take place." The president praises the enthusiasm and support of Korean game players, then introduces a video trailer for the new game.

The pro gamers took the stage to tremendous fanfare.

The trailer begins with a spaceship, lowering a coffinlike object. The camera cuts to a chamber, then to a gigantic metal gate that cranks open, and finally cuts to a man with a cigar in his mouth, wearing shackles on his ankles. The man steps into mechanical restraints that lock around his ankles and the platform around him rises. The cofflinlike object sprouts metal pincers that brace his wrists while the champers reveal whirring turbines that sprout metallic drills and rivets which fit metallic armor on his body. The figure is a Terran soldier, and the camera pans up his body, cutting to scenes of Protoss and Zerg warriors rushing to battle. The new game, as rumored, is Starcraft II.

Morhaime then introduces the lead designer of the project to discuss it--none other than former EALA designer Dustin Browder (who worked previously on The Battle for Middle-earth and Command & Conquer series). The video screen cuts to a demonstration that shows a fleet of Protoss ships that disembark several zealot infantry units, then cuts to a scene showing Terran transports touching down and becoming base structures, spouting infantry and vehicle units. Browder points out that this demonstration is in a very early stage of code. As we see in the demonstration, the new game will add abilities to existing units--the Protoss zealot, for instance, will now be able to charge into battle to quickly close the distance against Terran gunners. The Terrans retaliate by bringing in siege tanks to shell the Protoss from a distance. The Protoss respond by commissioning "Immortals"--heavy-duty tanks with powerful energy shields.

Blizzard's Mike Morhaime can't help but grin as Starcraft II is revealed.

The Terrans then commission reapers, medium infantry with jetpacks that can jump barriers to raid enemy bases more effectively. The reapers leap into action against the Protoss base to attack the pylons, but have a new series of structures that help the Protoss be much more resilient when attacked at their base, such as phase prisms, which let you quickly move units from place to place. The Protoss stalker unit has a "blink" ability that lets them jump anywhere they can see, and makes them excellent pursuers.

The Zerg have arrived, sending Zerglings to overwhelm the Protoss stalkers--a huge swarm of them charges the Protoss. Browder points out that Starcraft II will still be a game about large armies against large armies. The Zerg then run into a few Protoss colossus--gigantic walkers with cutting lasers that specialize in liquifying Zerglings. The Zerg have mutated into a new kind of suicide unit that explodes in a burst of acid. The colossus also uses inverse kinematic animation to walk up and down cliffs. The colossus unit is vulnerable to air attacks, such as mutalisks, which slaughter it. In response, the Protoss have a new unit, the phoenix, which can "overload" to eliminate squads of nearby airborne enemies but leave them helpless and immobile briefly afterwards. The new game will also have new texture work and deep space background environments. The phoenix can't hold its own against Terran battlecruisers, which crush them--in response, the Protoss commission the "warpray," a laser-firing ship that deals more damage the longer it focuses its fire on an enemy.

Browder caps the demonstration with one last new unit, the Protoss mothership, the ultimate weapon in the Protoss army. It's an incredibly expensive unit with a "time bomb" ability that distorts time within an energy field, making enemy fire too slow to actually reach and hit the mothership. Once the time field collapses, enemy shells clatter uselessly to the ground. The mothership also possesses the "planet cracker," a stream of multiple lasers that devastate anything beneath it. Finally, the mothership can create a black hole--an extremely damaging ability that wrecks flying enemies. The glowing black hole simply sucks in the Terran warships, which warp in appearance before disappearing utterly into oblivion.

Blizzard's presentation literally turned heads.

The demonstration ends with a battle between the Protoss and the Terrans, who wail on each other mercilessly. As you might expect from the successor to Starcraft, it seems clear that the key to success in the sequel will be combined force of arms, as both armies pummel each other to a standstill, racking up casualties on each side as they grind away at each other. The battle ends with an orbital strike that wipes out both sides utterly, so that both sides are left with only one infantry unit. Both get mobbed by Zerg units that crawl out of the ground and butcher them, then mutate into their new form and crawl into formation to spell out the letters "GG" (an abbreviation many online players use to say "good game").

After the Starcraft II demonsration, another video montage is shown, this time featuring a series of concept art drawings that gives way to another gameplay demo that highlights various units new and old, such s the Protoss colossus, the Zergling, and others, ending with two portraits that appear to be Jim Raynor and Kerrigan.

That's it for the presentation. Be sure to check back soon for more coverage of Starcraft II.

[Skummy]

The chances of being able to play it on my PC are slim, but damn it, it's been so many years, I'm really stoked about this. I was just bigging up the original Starcraft a couple of days ago, awesome.

[Mr Evil Guy]

My computers too poor for this though.

This game took over my life awhile ago, played it a good 3 hours a day and fucked up my sleeping schedule. I used to obsess.

[thuganomic]

What the fuck....Protoss sounds freaking unbeatable with that. Hopefully they'll give the other two races some sweet units too. But yeah, I'm very excited for this.

[Skummy]

I don't think it'll be so much a case of giving the other races corresponding units, but more relying on different strategies...I can see the Protoss having more big all-destroying units (like the flying thing they had in Starcraft, can't remember what's it called, or these new units), while the Zerg will rely on swarms and swarms of weaker units, and the Terran fall somewhere in the middle ground.

[Fanku Kaibutsu]

I wonder how many Koreans this game will kill...

Seriously, I hope in this game, the races are at least vaguely balanced, unlike in the first Star Craft.

[KevinStorm]

I always thought the races were very well-balanced in the first SC. That was one of the main reasons I used to play it so much.

The I realized I utterly sucked.

I've been hoping for this sequel for years. They better not screw it up.

[MalaCloudy Black]

The cinematic trailer is badass. Watched it earlier, wondering who the marine in the trailer is.

[Guest clintcasey]

Yeah, I remember my basic terran stratgy from the the first game of joining a big game and winning by turtling until I could get 5 Nuclear silos and wipping out everyone with ghosts... I must really suck

[Robsturgh]

If the ZERG RUSH~! tactic isn't achieveable, this game is fail.

[Herr Matzat]

So yeah, the game get´s released next week and i am tempted to get it "for free". The German Gamespot is offering a 40€ buyback on Final Fantasy 13 so this would mean i´ed have to pay 10-20€... and there is a 20€ Gamespot vouche if you boy Starcraft 2 this month.

You might want to check with your local Gamespot stores, it´s a great offer if you are not planing on playing FF13 again anytime soon (it´s not that it will not get far cheaper anyway) ot you are trying to get rid of red dead redemtions or battlefield (the two other games in the 40€ promotion) this might be a very cheap way to get your hands on SC2.

As for the game, i don´t know about the battlenet 2.0 stuff everyone is bitching about, let´s have a onlinegame anyway?

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

+10 points for bringing back a three year old thread rather than starting a new one.

[MalaCloudy Black]

I'm going to the midnight release despite the fact that I'm piss broke. Gonna go, caress a few of the boxes, maybe cry a little..

[Mongrel]

I remember nothing about how to play the first game or any characters or story in it except "Goliath Online"!

[LUKIE]

Supposedly they are already ringing around people who pre-ordered it, and letting them take it home early. My workmate got the call Saturday, but wasn't able to make it to the place he pre-ordered it at.

Anywho, I'll be picking it up Tuesday, regardless.

[Herr Matzat]

+10 points for bringing back a three year old thread rather than starting a new one.

Haha, i dident even notice... search function FTW!

[KevinStorm]

I have to wait until I get paid Friday, but I am very, very excited for this. I've been wanting a Starcraft 2 for years. Fucking Blizzard becoming obsessed with Warcraft.

[rocksta]

I want Diablo III more

[Herr Matzat]

I want Diablo III more

Play Throchlight and Deathspank!

[Noah]

I still haven't finished the first Starcraft.