"Hell, it’s about time." Blizzard’s tagline for StarCraft 2 certainly echoes the sentiments of countless gamers who have been clamoring for a sequel since 1998 (and were granted an announcement of one this past weekend in Korea). But let’s be honest: Blizzard hasn’t been resting on its laurels. It’s released three games -- Diablo II, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, World of Warcraft -- and three expansions -- Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, and World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade -- over the past nine years. Seven years passed before Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne followed Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. Blizzard, more so than most any other game developer, works at its own pace, so it’s not a shock it has taken so long to turn rumor into reality.
StarCraft 2 takes place four years after the events in StarCraft: Brood War. At the end of the expansion, the former-Ghost-turned-Zerg Infested Kerrigan (also known as "The Queen of Blades") became the "Queen Bitch of the Universe." It’s the kind of title you can give yourself when you’ve neutralized the Protoss threat and left the Terran forces, Dominion and United Earth Directorate, in a state of major disrepair. While StarCraft 2’s overarching story is still a mystery, according to Blizzard the morally just Jim Raynor, the Dark Templar Zeratul and Zerg-chic Kerrigan will all be involved.
A new character, Tychus Findaly, will potentially be a major player in the game, given his prominence in the announcement trailer (and due to Blizzard making a commemorative statue of him). Known as Inmate 626, Findaly’s got an impressive rap sheet that involves countless egregious offenses -- theft, jailbreak, gross insubordination, piracy, grand larceny, murder, narcotics possession -- and he’s also suspect of being a narcotics trafficker as well as killing two other people. His death sentence has been commuted as Findaly is now indentured into the Terran Marine Corp.; he’s certainly not a fellow you’d want to take home to mom, but the perfect man for dispatching Hydralisks without remorse.
Whether or not Blizzard would add new races to a StarCraft sequel was always a major point of discussion for fans prior to this past weekend. However, those who worried that a fourth or fifth race would ruin the essence of StarCraft can now sleep easy. Blizzard has confirmed that this is a three-race sequel, and it’s the Zerg, Protoss, and Terrans occupying those spots. However, this isn’t to say that they are going to be exactly the same as you remember them. The goal with StarCraft 2, according to Blizzard’s official site, is distinguishing the factions from one another while "maintaining the fine balance that made StarCraft such a classic."
While we haven’t seen many of the new Terran or Zerg units, the announcement in Korea featured plenty of new information on the Protoss. Returning to the game will be the Psionic Blades-wielding Zealots, whose role is now classified as an "Assault Warrior." It doesn’t seem like many changes have been made to this particular unit, though they apparently "seethe with shame at this dishonor [being forced from their homeworld]," according to the official site. The only notable difference is a new charge ability that allows the Zealots to rush their foe, similar to the Rogue’s dash ability in WoW.
One of the new units introduced for the Protoss is the Immortal. The lovable, spider-like Dragoons are but a fleeting memory, since the Zerg overran and infested the shrine where crippled warriors could be given another chance to battle. Now, in 2007, the Immortal is the new Dragoon. However, the Immortals seem to be packing a little bit more heat than their predecessors, thanks to twin phase disruptors and enhanced energy shields. In fact, the Immortals’ shields can take a pounding from normally destructive attacks, such as a Siege Tank’s barrage, like it’s nothing. However, send some weaker units its way and the Immortals’ shields won’t be there to help.
The Stakler is another new Protoss unit, one that serves as the Dark Templar’s version of the Dragoon. The shadow-essence of a Dark Templar controls the Stalker, a unit with the ability to "blink," much like a Mage in World of Warcraft. Have a foe running away thinking the Stalker isn’t going to catch up with him? Well, using Blink, Stalkers are able to cover that gap and continue their particle disruptor assault on both foes in the air and on the ground.
Oh, but the Protoss aren’t done yet. They also have a new portable Pylon/transport unit in the Phase Prism, a "crystal computer." This puppy is able to transport organic and non-organic units (the distinction is probably made to clarify that units such as Stalkers and Immortals can be transported in addition to Zealots) across the map. The secondary ability, being able to power Protoss buildings, should make for some wonderful bits of strategy. You can have a couple of Plasma Cannons at a choke point without a pylon, luring the enemy into a false sense of security, and once they appear, you can flank them with units and pop a Phase Prism in range to power the Cannons.
Another technological advancement for the Protoss comes in the form of the Mothership. Only one of these can exist at a time, and you’ll definitely be paying a king’s ransom for it, but its destructive capabilities are currently unparalleled by any other announced unit. Its attacks include a Time Bomb (which slows enemy fire), the Planet Cracker (a laser that distributes pain in an Independence Day fashion), and a Black Hole generator (effective for destroying ships as big as a Battlecruiser).
Other units that have been announced for the Protoss include the flying Warp Ray, whose attack does more damage the longer it focuses on a target, and the anti-air Phoenix, which can perform overcharged attacks that’ll leave its batteries drained for a short period. Its possible players will want to use these units in tandem with the Colossus, a ground unit that uses dual lasers to lay waste to waves of enemy combatants, but unfortunately has no protection from air units. The final announced change to the Protoss is the ability to turn the Gateway, the Protoss’s barracks, into a Warp Gate for transporting troops around the map with ease.
While little has been announced about changes to the Zerg and Terran forces, Blizzard has dished on a couple of changes. Two new Zerg units are the Nydus Worm, an underground transport system, and Succubus, which can "Infect" other organic beings before exploding them. Zerglings have the ability to mutate into Banelings, turning them from dispensable cannon fodder into rolling bombs on a one-way trip to damage town. The only new Terran unit announced is the Repear, which serves a valuable role in being able to damage the Immortals since its low-damage dual pistols don’t trigger the strong shield. The Repear also gets a jetpack for traversing treacherous terrain.
Though you might expect Blizzard to be working on a Terran and Zerg version of the Mothership and other impressive Protoss units, that’s not the case. A main point of contention is that the sequel will work to both enhance and differentiate the three races. It’s unlikely that either of the two factions will have units similar to the Stalkers, Immortals and Warp Rays; it’s more likely they will instead be equipped with the necessary "rock" to beat the Protoss’s "scissors." This means Terrans and Zerg forces will have a more cohesive theme existing throughout all their units. With the Protoss’ theme being technological creations and the ability to warp, it’s likely their forces will continue to be the most expensive to produce.
If they’re working on enhancing previous themes, it’s quite possible the Zerg will expand out to be more of a cheap swarm, where players will need to move at breakneck speed to stand a chance -- or else they’ll be demolished in a longer game. And the Terrans, well, they’ve always been in the middle of the two other races -- less technologically advanced than the Protoss, but stronger than the Zerg. It’ll be most interesting to see how the Terrans are adapted for StarCraft 2, because they really, more so than the other two races, didn’t have any type of defined role in the original game.
With StarCraft 2, the gameplay elements that made the original game a success -- the rush to quickly collect and manage your Vespene Gas and mineral intake, the rock-paper-scissors unit match ups, and the ability to rush and cripple the opponent minutes into the game -- will all make a return. If Warcraft III’s pace put you to sleep, the speed of StarCraft 2 will definitely be more to your liking. In Korea, Blizzard’s Rob Pardo stated that he expects matches, on average, to last 20 minutes. Pro players should be finishing matches in 15 minutes, he mused.
What’s amazing is that StarCraft 2 has been in development, according to Blizzard, since it finished work on Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne back in 2003. That means it’s been working on the game for four years now and it’s still not done. Blizzard obviously understands the high expectations players have for the sequel, and will be conducting beta tests, as well as having pro players play the game to test unit and faction balance.
While there are still plenty of questions to be answered, the biggest "fog of war" obscures Blizzard’s plans for Battle.net. The online service that has powered their other games has, since its inception, been a free service for players. However, could Blizzard begin to charge players even a nominal fee to use the service? If they’re overhauling the service to include clans and other amenities such as voice chat, Blizzard would definitely have justification for charging a cheap monthly fee, but no such features have currently been announced.
With no release date yet announced, we’re left waiting for the next bits of information regarding StarCraft 2 to tickle out. Yes, just the fact the game is real is a comforting fact, but now the excruciating wait for the retail version begins. Nine years is a long time to wait -- what’s another year or so?
