Starcraft 2 - A Sneak Preview

Almost every year, Blizzard Entertainment, A very large gaming production and development company, Holds an event called BlizzCon. At BlizzCon gamers are introduced to the new years up and coming games and are given a chance to meet with some of the creators and even get a chance to demo some of the up and coming games. This year one of the most anticipated games at BlizzCon was the sequel to the multi-million dollar industry breaking game, StarCraft 2.

In PC gaming star craft has been around for nearly a decade, but continues to still have a very large audience of fans that still continue to logon Battle.net ( Which is Blizzards online gaming service ) to play others in multiplayer battles and scenarios. The unique thing about the Starcraft franchise is that has never seemed to decline in game play over the years. Although the graphics may be dated, The game still has a very large fun factor and appeals to young and old audiences alike.

Now with all of that gibber gabber about the original game, lets begin to unfold the features of the new Starcraft and how it will compare to its predecessor. While attending the BlizzCon convention, Blizzard entertainment answered many questions from the press and their loyal fans who have been with them since the beginning. From what we can tell so far, Blizzard has announced that the three original races will be used in Starcraft 2. These races being the Terran, Protoss, and Zerg. Blizzard also announced many new units, vehicles, and buildings that are going to be featured in Starcraft 2. To break it all down for you, here is a list of what we now know will be featured in Starcraft 2 as far as units and buildings are concerned.

Protoss Buildings:

Gateway / Warp Gate - Used to create many units for combat, and also has the ability to upgrade to create units such as the Phase Prism.
Stargate - As far as we know, the stargate is used to create primarily air assault units.

Protoss Units:

Zealot - Builds from the Gateway and acts as an Assault Warrior, Its Weapon includes Psionic Blades.
Immortal - Builds from the Gateway and acts as Ranged Assault support, Its Weapon includes Twin Phase Disruptors.
Stalker - Builds from the Gateway and acts as a High Mobility Scout and Ambusher, Its Weapon includes a Chronal Web.
Phase Prism - Builds from the Robitcs Facility and acts as a Tactical Transport vehicle, This unit contains no weaponry as far as we know.
Phoenix - Builds from the Stargate and acts as an Air Combat Unit, This unit contains Twin Ion Cannons for its weaponry.

The Protoss race is heavily built on psionic capability. This means that the protoss use more of a "mystical and magical" type of energy to combat against other races in the game.

The Terran race is based around human capability and uses more "brute force" tactics while in combat. Here is a list of the buildings and units we know so far that the Terran race will hold in Starcraft 2.

Terran Buildings:

Command Center - The Command Center is the most basic building for the Terran race, It is used to spawn SCV's and serve as a returning point for vehicles when mining and gathering resources.

Terran Units:

Marine - Created from the Barracks, The Marine serves as the most simple combat unit for the Terran Race. The Marine is equipped with an 8-mm C-14 Impaler Gauss Rifle.
Reaper - Created from the Barracks, The Reaper is a very fast unit which is used for ambushes and close combat. The Reaper is equipped with a P-45 Scythe Gauss Pistols and D-8 Mine Charges.
Ghost - Created from the Barracks, The Ghost is used as a stealth unit which has the ability to go invisible and assasinate the other players units individually. The Ghost is equipped with a 25mm C-10 Canister Rifle.
Viking - Created from the Factory, The Viking is an Air unit that can also be used as ground support when needed. The Viking comes equipped with Twin Gatling Cannon's while in Assault mode and MT50 Lanzer Torpedoes while in Fighter Mode.

Information for the Zerg race as far as units and buildings go has not yet been released by blizzard, but if you keep an eye out on the official Starcraft 2 website im sure that they will be updating their information as the release date of the game comes closer. Another amazing feature that blizzard has shown in all of its gaming titles is their ability to create great cinematic intros and cut-scenes during game play. Blizzard has stated that they will be providing this as well in Starcraft 2. Along with stunning cinematic ability, The graphics engine of Starcraft 2 has been completely redesigned and will defiantly show the difference between Starcraft 2 and its predecessor, the original Starcraft.

As far as we know, The system requirements for starcraft 2 have not yet to be determined. Although, Blizzard has stated that the game will be playable and enjoyable by a very wide range of computer systems. So you wont need to have "The Ultimate Gaming Machine" to enjoy the game. Blizzard has also stated that Starcraft 2 will be 100% compatible for users using Windows Vista. With the release of Starcraft 2, Battle.net ( The online service for Blizzard games ) will also provide many new features once the game is finally released.

I honestly believe that Blizzard has done a great job and from what I have seen so far Starcraft 2 is going to be a huge success for blizzard and all of their fans. Once gamers have seen the videos and screenshots of what Starcraft 2 is going to offer, We will be counting down the days until we will finally be able to play Starcraft 2 and begin competing online.