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New Details For StarCraft 2's Zerg

Blizzard had a playable demo of StarCraft 2 running at Leipzig, and Kotaku's Michael McWhertor had a chance to sit down and spend some time playing the Zerg. The Zerg weren't available in previous demos; the Protoss and Terran campaigns were showcased earlier. GameSpy took the opportunity to interview two Blizzard employees about what people can expect from the game. Gameplay footage is also available which shows a Terran vs. Zerg battle. Blizzard PR rep Bob Colayco had this to say: "One thing that's new, as you go through the campaign... you know, normally in RTS games how they start you off with a couple of units and then it's like, 'Okay, two missions later we're going to give you tanks...' One of the things we're looking at doing with StarCraft II's campaign is putting the choice more in the players' hands. So maybe you like dealing more with infantry? You can purchase those upgrades and make your marines and other infantry stronger. Or else you'll save up the credits you get from the missions to get tanks sooner than you normally could."

16 of 163 comments (clear)

  1. I will never forgive the Zerg by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    For what they did to Kerrigan.

    1. Re:I will never forgive the Zerg by PC+and+Sony+Fanboy · · Score: 4, Funny

      Me neither. I mean, what were they thinking, making her so freakin' awesome and all. Now, I can't stop thinking about her, and all other female video game protagonists have lost their appeal.

      Those damn zerg. *dreamy siiiiiigh*

    2. Re:I will never forgive the Zerg by FuturePastNow · · Score: 4, Funny

      But, can you forgive the Klingons for what they did to your boy?

      --
      Give a man fire, and you warm him for the night. Set a man on fire, and you warm him for the rest of his life.
    3. Re:I will never forgive the Zerg by Travis+Mansbridge · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Interestingly, the character was given the name "Kerrigan," because the badass chick from competing RTS Red Alert was named "Tanya"

    4. Re:I will never forgive the Zerg by Bedouin+X · · Score: 5, Informative

      (There's a joke in there somewhere)

      Perhaps the fact that the same person voiced both characters?

      --
      Dissolve... Resolve... Evolve...
  2. Nor will figure skating fans forgive Jeff Gillooly by tepples · · Score: 4, Funny
  3. Woah, all of a sudden the Zerg are out?!? by CaptainPatent · · Score: 5, Funny

    What's the rush??!?!

    --
    Well, back to rejecting software patent applications.
  4. Linked video... by MooseMuffin · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...is in lower resolution than the actual original game, and then made worse by crappy encoding. You'd get a better idea for the game by firing up starcraft 1 than trying to watch this.

    1. Re:Linked video... by Trent05 · · Score: 4, Funny

      It always drove me up the wall playing with ppl who INSISTED on being Protoss and INSISTED on playing on a map with pretty much unlimited resources.

      Gee whiz, fighting Protoss yet again on a map that completely negates their weakness ($$). How fun.

      Hopefully they'll put in a few different balancing stats/players into this one.

      --


      --
      The Marines: The few, the proud, the not very bright. - Slashdot tagline 04/21/05
    2. Re:Linked video... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative
    3. Re:Linked video... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      http://www.gametrailers.com/player/39089.html

      Hi-Def video link

    4. Re:Linked video... by PrimalChrome · · Score: 4, Interesting

      You're missing something. Blizzard intentionally limited the original Diablo, Starcraft and Diablo II to small (even for the period) resolutions. Why? Not for optimization. To force a 'level playing field'.

      I've never understood the obsession with competitive Starcraft. It was a clickfest game with very little overall strategy. Age of Empires II and Myth: the Fallen Lords were more along the lines of games that put the Strategy in RTS.

  5. If I could change the resolution by wonkavader · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If I could change the resolution on good old StarCraft, I'd be very happy.

    I don't want a 3d look. It seems to make things harder to see and it's a waste of processor power. I just want to be able to see more of the map on the StarCraft I have.

    Howabout making a StarCraft 1.9? Blizzard could do that for almost nothing, compared to this new release, and people like me would mail in the checks to get it.

  6. Oh god find the red dot! by TheTornOne · · Score: 4, Funny

    ***Chirp*** "Nuclear Launch Detected"

  7. bullcrap by unity100 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    excuse me but age of empires and similar games dont have nothing to do with rts. they are basically "Whomever builds the baddest, fastest unit the most and sends them over, wins". there are small variation in tactics you can do, because every unit has an anti unit, but its nothing like starcraft. also the races, faction units are almost all the same, with only 2-3 different in 15 unit selections. they are basically the same.

    in starcraft you have 3 different races with TOTALLY different units all having totally different abilities.

    no unit has a clear anti unit. there are many different units that can stand against and be an anti unit of a particular unit because of their different abilities.

    and this makes the game an infinite variation of strategy. there are countless ways to win a matchup. you can go mass production, but if your opponent has good micro (management, meaning using units very effectively individually) and uses very little number of units and their abilities perfectly, you are totally screwed.

    no sir, either you dont know zit about strategy, or havent really played starcraft by giving its due.

    1. Re:bullcrap by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Any game where players' effectiveness is rated by how many actions per second they can perform is a crappy strategy game. Period. Strategy is about thinking, not how fast you can jump the screen around and send your units in 50 different directions.

      --
      "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard