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.

No drama

A lot of games tend to showcase the best of what they offer in the demo. Although that’s understandable from a marketing point of view, I wouldn’t want to spoil one of the best missions in the game on the Starcraft 2 demo. Just give me an appetizer to work with coz I don’t want the main course just yet.

New units

Well releasing the Starcraft 2 demo and only allowing us to play with the old (possibly revamped, but still old) units would be pretty lame. I don’t want the whole pack of new units to tinker with, but one tripod would be nice please. Thank you!

Cinematics

Usually, demos simply throw you in the middle of the game and there’s not a lot of emphasis on the story, the what, the who and the where. That’s understandable, because after all, you’ve got the demo to test out the gameplay and you’re not expecting it to be too immersive. Still, for old time’s sake, a Blizzard quality cinematic would make me drool so hard…

All 3 races

I don’t see why this couldn’t be implemented in the Demo, so it’s on my wishlist. I just want one map, one mission but playable with all 3 races. Is that too much to ask?

Surprise, surprise

Did you see the initial gameplay trailer they unveiled when Starcraft 2 was first mentioned? The one with the massive fight ended by a couple of nukes and those cute zerglings forming a “GG” sign. Well that’s what I call a pleasant surprise and I was actually impressed by it. If Blizzard wants the Starcraft 2 demo to stand out and market itself virally, in my opinion the best way to do so is by providing us with another one of those little funny stunts.

A final release date!

Although it’s not a demo’s job to provide this kind of info, it would be nice if they could give us a fixed date for when the full game is bound to hit the market. This would make the Starcraft 2 demo much more entertaining knowing the full-game was just around the corner.

Complete control over the engine

Don’t you just hate it when you grab a demo of a new shooter and your graphic options are limited to what the developers believed would be enough for a simple demo? Hopefully the Starcraft 2 demo will be completely scalable, so we can configure our PCs for maximum eye-candy prior to the game hitting the stores.

Critters

I haven’t really seen any critters in the gameplay movies nor have I heard a Blizzard official mentioning them, but I sure hope they’re still in the game. I miss fun-killing one on my way to the enemy’s base :).

Polished AI

I am not too fussed about whether the graphics will be as sharp in the Starcraft 2 demo as they’re going to be in the final version of the game. However, I do hope the AI is brought to a relatively high standard in the demo. Otherwise, if the units act stupidly, the new base of players that didn’t go through the original Starcraft and Broodwar Expansion will be turned away from the game (surprisingly, I found that newer gamers tend to get turned off more by technical details as opposed to graphical ones).