From what Blizzard tells us, Starcraft 2 will try to maintain the original feel of the game, without messing up too much with the gameplay mechanics. However, that didn’t stop the developers in including a set of new units for each of the three races, as well as revamping some old ones and giving them some cool new abilities. Let’s take a look at the new Starcraft 2 units from what we know so far (please note that when I’m writing this the Zerg units are still not released to the public eye, so I’ll focus only on Terran and Protoss units for now).

New Terran Starcraft 2 Units

Reaper

These guys are bad news, as reapers are only recruited out of the most violent prisoners in Terran society. The unit is slightly tougher than a normal marine but the reaper also has a jetpack that allow him to pass unhindered over cliffs or obstacles. It seems that they work best in packs, since their firepower isn’t all that solid.

Viking

The Viking is a combination between the original Starcraft’s Terran Wraith units and the bipedal mechs. This should prove to be one of the most versatile Starcraft 2 units, as it can be used to counter both ground and air units effectively.

Banshee

The Banshee will be your main air-to-ground unit if you’re playing the Terrans and a group of Banshees will probably make a great flight companion for heavier battle cruisers.

Thor

The Thor is one of my favorite new units in the entire game so far, as it is basically a huge behemoth of steel and guns that can rip through anything standing in front of it. However, its massive frame is also its greatest weakness. Being that the target needs to stay in front of the Thor, otherwise it could run circles around the heavy-turning mech.

Nomad

A nomad is the equivalent of the Surveyor in Command and Conquer Tiberium Wars: a construction vehicle with limited capabilities that can travel fast (actually the Nomad flies) around the map and establish new bases, perimeter defense and the like. The Nomad should prove to be an extremely useful unit in Starcraft 2 as it will give the rather static (in comparison to the Protoss and Zerg) Terrans a new means of expansion.

Find out more in our Overview of the Terran.

New Protoss Starcraft 2 Units

Phase Prism

The warp-other-units-in-the-middle-of-the-battlefield type of unit may not be unique, but the way Starcraft 2 utilizes this concept with the help of the phase prism is definitely worth a pat on the back. In addition to being an instant warp gate, a phase prism can also be used to power up buildings that are cut off from the Protoss pylon/juice grid.

Colossus

War of the Worlds anyone? The tripod has perhaps been overly used these last few years in movies and computer games alike… but Starcraft 2 gives the tripod a new twist. The unit’s long legs allow it to pass over obstacles and cliffs, just like a Terran reaper would, which is extremely useful for ambushes.

Warp Ray

It’s about time Starcraft received laser beam ships to play with. The warp ray reminds me of the capital ships in Descent Freespace or other shooter spaceship games. The damage caused by the warp ray gets more and more devastating as it gradually overcomes the enemy unit’s defenses. From the looks of it, it seems to be a great base assault unit.

Mothership

Saving the best for last… So far, the mothership is the most impressive unit to be publicly released by Blizzard. The mothership is actually a super weapon that can only move and turn slowly (similar to the Thor), but deals massive damage to anyone or anything at the receiving end of its onslaught. In addition to the powerful attack, the mothership also possesses some extremely impressive abilities, such as having the ability to shoot a black hole that will suck in anything caught in its range.

Find out more in our Overview of the Protoss.

New Zerg Starcraft 2 Units

At the time of writing this, Blizzard has not released zerg information yet. Nevertheless, here is an overview of what we know about the Zerg Race.