StarCraft II

StarCraft II is a trilogy of military science fiction real-time strategy video games currently under development by Blizzard Entertainment as a sequel to the award-winning 1998 video game StarCraft. StarCraft II, originally envisioned as a single game, was announced to be a trilogy at BlizzCon 2008, consisting of one game followed up later by two stand-alone "expansion packs," provisionally entitled Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void respectively.Unlike the original series, where each game had three 8-10 mission campaigns, one for each race, each game in the StarCraft II trilogy will have only one 26-30 mission campaign centered around a single race. The Terrans will be the focus of the first campaign, followed up by Zerg and Protoss races in the expansions. Every game in the trilogy will have all races available to play during the skirmish or multiplayer and online modes. Blizzard claims that each part will have enough content to feel like a full game in its own right. No release dates have been announced for the trilogy.

StarCraft II is being developed for concurrent release on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X. According to Mike Morhaime, the president of Blizzard Entertainment, the game is scheduled for release at the end of 2009, although a specific release date has not yet been given. The release date is subject to change based upon the game meeting the company's quality standards.

Gameplay
According to its creators, StarCraft II is designed to be the "ultimate competitive real-time strategy game", building on the successes enjoyed by its predecessor, StarCraft. It features the return of the three races from the original game—Protoss, Terran, and Zerg; Blizzard states these are the only playable races in the game. StarCraft II is also designed to focus more heavily on the multiplayer aspect, when compared to the original StarCraft. The changes include overall improvement in Battle.net, a new competitive "ladder" system for ranked games and new matchmaking mechanics—designed to "match-up" players of equal skill levels. In addition, the replay function, which allows players to record and review past games, is being improved. Blizzard has also stated they have made some changes to the game that were suggested by fans.

StarCraft II continues its predecessor's use of pre-rendered cinematic cut scenes to advance the plot while also improving the quality of in-game cut scenes within the levels themselves, which are rendered on-the-fly using the same game engine as the graphics in the game proper. Blizzard states that with the new graphics engine that StarCraft II uses to render the gameplay, they "can actually create in-game cut-scenes of near-cinematic quality".

Most Protoss and Terran units, and some Zerg units, have been shown on the StarCraft II official website, and in several video demonstrations held by Blizzard. Improvements include advanced scenery allocation and more detailed space terrain, such as floating space platforms with planets and asteroids in the background. Small cliffs, extensions, and even advertising signs were also shown to have been improved and refined.
The new Terran briefing system allows the player to explore the inside of the battlecruiser, Hyperion.

The single-player aspect of StarCraft II has also been altered substantially from the original game. The Terran campaign shown at BlizzCon 2007 replaced the original StarCraft briefing room with an interactive version of the battlecruiser Hyperion, with Jim Raynor, now a bitter and hard-drinking mercenary captain, as the central character. In a departure from previous Blizzard games, the campaign is non-linear, with Raynor taking jobs for money and using that money to buy additional units and upgrades. Although each playthrough will vary, the end result will remain consistent keeping the storyline linear. Vice president Rob Pardo has stressed that each campaign will function very differently. The Terran campaign, Wings of Liberty, will place players in a mercenary style campaign, as Terran rebel Jim Raynor performs missions for cash. The second release, the Zerg campaign Heart of the Swarm, will have RPG elements. The player will level up the Queen of Blades, Kerrigan throughout the missions. The last expansion, the Protoss campaign Legacy of the Void, the dark templar Zeratul will have to employ diplomacy between Protoss tribes to acquire units and technologies for each mission. Each campaign should span 26-30 missions.

Scumedit, StarCraft II's campaign editor, will be more sophisticated than StarCraft's StarEdit and Warcraft III's World Editor for creating custom maps and mods. Units from the original StarCraft not in the multiplayer version of StarCraft II, along with units and abilities that were scrapped during the development process, will be available in the editor.

Units
tarCraft II features approximately the same number of units as the original game. Some units from the original game are returning, some featuring new upgrades and abilities. For example, the Protoss zealot, a melee unit from the original game, now has the ability to dash forward and quickly reach nearby enemies. Other units have been replaced or removed entirely. Other changes to unit design have been inspired by story events in StarCraft and its expansion, Brood War, replacing old units with new, or renamed, versions which sport different attributes and abilities.

Units in Starcraft II have new abilities, compared to the original, that encourage more complex interaction with the game environment. Among these are the inclusion of units that can traverse varying levels of terrain, or have the ability to teleport short distances. Some Protoss units can be warped in to pylon-powered areas using a new building, the Warp Gate.

Characters and setting
The campaign storyline of StarCraft II takes place four years after StarCraft: Brood War, and features the return of a number of characters from the original series; including Zeratul, Arcturus Mengsk, Artanis, Sarah Kerrigan, and Jim Raynor. Players will also revisit original series' worlds, like Char, Mar Sara, and Braxis; as well as new worlds, such as the jungle planet Bel'Shir. It has been confirmed that the Xel'Naga, the ancient space-faring race responsible for creating the Protoss and the Zerg, play a major role in the story.

Backstory
At the conclusion of Brood War, Kerrigan and her Zerg forces became the dominant faction in the Koprulu Sector, having annihilated the United Earth Directorate's Expeditionary Force, defeated the Terran Dominion, and invaded the Protoss homeworld of Aiur. However, after the conclusion of Brood War, Kerrigan retreats to Char, despite having more than enough power to crush all remaining resistance in the Koprulu Sector. In the four years leading up to the events of StarCraft II, she has not been seen or heard from by any of the other characters; although her ultimate attack may come at any moment.

Arcturus Mengsk has been left to rebuild the Dominion, and is consolidating his power while fending off harassment from rival Terran groups. Valerian Mengsk, a character introduced in the novel Firstborn, will play an important role in Dominion politics, due to his position as heir apparent to the throne. Meanwhile, Jim Raynor, whose role in the events of StarCraft and Brood War has been marginalized by the media under the Dominion's control, has been reduced to mercenary status, and has been shown to be doing business with the "Moebius Foundation", a new faction which is interested in ancient Xel'Naga artifacts. Chris Metzen, Vice President of Creative Development at Blizzard, has emphasized that by the events of StarCraft II, Raynor has become jaded and embittered by the way he was used and betrayed by Arcturus Mengsk. Other new characters to the series include Tychus Findlay, first introduced in the StarCraft II teaser cinematic, a marine who will be a member of Raynor's crew, and Matt Horner, Raynor's second in command, a character originally featured in the novel Queen of Blades.

Following the fall of Aiur and the death of their matriarch Raszagal, the Protoss have retreated to the dark templar homeworld of Shakuras. There, Artanis, a former student of Tassadar, is trying to unify the Khalai Protoss and the dark templar, who have nearly separated into a tribal mindset as a result of centuries of distrust. Zeratul, tormented over the murder of his matriarch, has disappeared to search for clues to the meaning of Samir Duran's cryptic statements regarding the Protoss/Zerg hybrids in Brood War's secret mission "Dark Origin".

Controversy
Blizzard Executive Vice President Rob Pardo indicated in an interview that LAN support would not be included in Starcraft 2. This decision ignited outcries from fans who viewed LAN support as a staple game mode of the original Starcraft, especially for LAN parties. It remains unclear if the decision was made to limit piracy or to require players to use Activision-Blizzard's Battle.net service.