Since I don’t play the game as much as I did when it first game out, I have no business trying to analyze the flaws of the original compared to what Blizzard has done and is doing with the sequel. Therefore, I will stick to enumerating the new additions found in this latest gameplay trailer.

Highlights

1. The Terran Command Center now doubles as an scv transport. This gives Terrans unprecedented mobility when trying to rebuild.
2. Terran buildings now have modular addons. Each addon, provides special functionality. In particular, the Reactor allows buildings such as barracks to double their output capacity.
3. The new detector, the Sensor Tower, upgrades into a radar tower which has a much larger range and allows players to detect enemies in the fog of war.
4. Battlecruisers (and possibly all major units) are upgraded individually. This means you must spend resources per Battlecruiser to give them your choice between the old Yammator Canon and the new Plasma array.
5. The Viking is the new Valkyrie. It deals area of effect (AOE) damage to capital airships, but thats not all. It can also transform into a ground assault unit.
6. The Banshee is the new Wraith. It is an air unit with the ability to cloak, but unlike the Wraith, it is armed with AOE missiles (This seems a bit too much considering the new Viking, so I wonder if it is only an Air to Ground attack unit).
7. As was seen in the original gameplay trailer, the Reaper is a new light ground unit with the ability to traverse terrain obstacles. However, this new trailer highlights the Reaper’s new armament: demolition charges. These demolition charges are basically land mines with timers.
8. The Terran Command Center now has the ability to transform into a planetary fortress, giving it a heavy artillery canon for defending against enemies.
9. The Thor is the new Terran heavy siege unit. It looks like a cross between a Battlecruiser and a Siege Tank as it has both, powerful laser canons and a siege mode.
10. Replacing the Vulture is the Cobra, a fast ground attack vehicle armed with a rail gun.
11. Last, but not least, are the Ghosts. However, Ghosts are no longer weak attack units. They come with a new “sniper” attack that is a slow and high damage (one shot against marines). In addition to the traditional nukes, Ghosts can call down drop pods which are basically paratroopers. This should make base raids and sieges particularly interesting.

Since this is the third time I have seen the gameplay trailer, I must admit, I am impressed with the direction of Starcraft 2. Although it stays true to the original in terms of gameplay, this sequel adds many new dynamics to the game. Each race we have seen so far looks like they will have many more options for building effective armies. Micromanagement will again most likely separate good players from great players, and as I said in my last post, terrain will probably be a big part of the game. All we need now, is the Zerg’s gameplay trailer so that we can marvel in what will be Starcraft 2.

Trailer Download

Blizzard’s Starcraft 2 movie page

Regarding the 3D environment, I am still a little disappointed that we won’t get to truly utilize the Zth plane. I understand that there are many practical and logistical usability concerns about this, but let’s face it, being able to fly your units in at different altitudes would be a really cool addition to the game. At least Blizzard has made the use of terrain much more important; both Terran and Protoss have some type of unit that will be able to use terrain obstacles to their advantage. Hopefully, and I am sure they do, Zerg will have some type of unit that can do the same, making the game much more dynamic.

While I am excited for this sequel, the rumors of a Starcraft MMORPG really had me drooling; as much as I love playing World of Warcraft (WoW) and the rest of the Warcraft series, I was always a much bigger fan of Starcraft and would love to see the Starcraft world become an RPG. Since this rumor has been discounted, the question still remains what Blizzard might be planning since they did list several new jobs opportunities on their site for a “Next-Gen MMO”. Maybe they are preparing for a Starcraft MMO after all.

So, what am I hoping for with Starcraft 2? Well, lets see… First, I hope that blizzard gets the whole 3D portion of the game right this time. I don’t just want to be able to zoom in and pan around. I want to be able to move my flying units around as freely as possibly in the Zth, plane. Second, I hope the unit limit is significantly higher than it was in Warcraft III because where’s the fun in picking Zerg if you cant even “Zerg” (I believe it is an accepted verb in the gaming community now, thanks to Starcraft). Finally, at the very least, I hope the game play is as fast paced as Starcraft originally was. I don’t like how Warcraft III used the notion of Heroes as an excuse to slow down the game-play.

While all the rumors are still fairly new, I have found at least one preview , from capricasix.com, of what the new Starcraft may look like, and here it is. Unfortunately, as we can see, it looks like the 3D panning, introduced in Warcraft III, has been added here as well. On the bright side, this doesn’t tell us anything about the actual game-play, so I will keep my hopes up as Blizzard is generally very good about listening to the community and producing quality games