Why the long wait?

Are you reading this Blizzard? Please Blizz, help us out. We’re not asking for much. We’re not asking for an exact hour or day. We’re not even asking for the month you’re planning to release Starcraft 2. But can you please give us an approximate range? Something like “around December” works a lot better for fans than “we’ll let you know when it’s ready”.

Everything is under wraps

Ok message sent, now let me get back to you guys. If you took the time to read the Frequently Asked Questions on the Starcraft 2 official website, you probably noticed that most of the questions end in “we cannot give you any details on this, since the stuff you’re asking about can only be answered closer to the game’s release date”. My question for them is…why add those questions and answer pairs in the FAQ if all you’re telling us is that you can’t tell us squat?

What's it like under a Rock?

If you played the original Starcraft and its expansion, Starcraft Broodwar, there’s almost no chance in hell that you weren’t impressed by the games’ story. Playing Starcraft was close to the experience of reading a novel, if not better: you had an intriguing plot, heroic characters, and dastardly villains (c’mon, Zerg Queen Bitch? What other game gave you that) a lot of turnovers, dramatic conflicts and of course, breathtaking cinematics for its time, which took the story one step further.

Its about time!

Tuck away the kids, kiss the wife good night, close the blinds and kick the cat out, because Starcraft II is hastily approaching store shelves and you’ll want to have your peace and quiet for a couple of weeks (months?), as the game is already on its way to becoming a must-have for any serious gamer (not to mention fans of the original Starcraft and Broodwar).

When will it be out?

Details are still unclear as to when the Starcraft II release date is set, since Blizzard, following their self imposed tradition of slow progress, recently let us know that the game “will hit the stores when it’s done”. Thanks Blizz, that’s a lot of information to use! All we’re left to do is assume and speculate on top of the short clusters of information about the game that can be found throughout the gameplay videos, press releases and community buzz.

Yes, yes, I know I’m getting a bit ahead of time with this and although Blizzard didn’t mention anything about an upcoming Starcraft 2 demo, they didn’t specify they WON’T be releasing one either! So let’s hope that we’ll be getting a small slice of the action through a Starcraft 2 demo a few months before the actual game releases, because I know that you’re dying to get your grubby little hands on those new units (like me and any other sane Starcraft fan, obviously). And while we’re hoping for stuff, here’s what I’d like to see in the Starcraft 2 demo, if one is ever going to be released:

Old pals

I’m actually quite curious to see how the main characters from Starcraft evolved in the sequel, so controlling Kerrigan, Raynor or Zeratul in the demo mission would be lovely.

Blizzard has just released a biography on Jim Raynor. For those of you who don't know who this is, this guy is somewhat the underdog of Starcraft 2.

In the original story, Jim suffered being arrested, released and subsequently betrayed. Oh yea I forgot to mention he also survived a massacre of his comrades. Given his tough past, its no surprise that he has some issues to deal with in Starcraft 2 and some serious scores to settle. He has 2 main problems though:

1. He has become the alcoholic leader behind a small ragtag resistance force.
2. His nemesis Arcturus Mengsk on the other hand has a growing control over Terran Infrastructure.

Ultimately, our hero Jim needs to overcome Arcturus's stronghold and at the same time attempt to defeat Kerrigan and her vast Zerg forces. Interesting news Blizzard!

Starcraft 2 Zerg – Introduction

As I’m writing this, Blizzard is still short of giving us any information on how the Starcraft 2 Zerg race will look. All we can do is take assumptions, based on what we see in the official Starcraft 2 trailer, gameplay movies and from the short breadcrumb trail of hints that Blizzard officials left for us to follow.

Starcraft 2 Terran – Introduction

The Terrans were the first race that the original Starcraft recommended you to start with, because they had the most familiar units and structures to play with. For example, it was a lot easier to understand how a marine “works” than a Protoss zealot. Following the same trend, Blizzard launched the Starcraft 2 pre-sell campaign with the Terrans as a center piece.

The Story

After the unsuccessful attempt to annihilate the Zerg infestation, Terran forces retreated back to their shells, licking their wounds. Arcturus Mengsk was left alone to rebuild the Terran Dominion, which he eventually does in Starcraft 2 from what we know so far.