Anyone who has played the original StarCraft will feel right at home, as most, if not all, of the game's shortcut keys and unit selection methods remain the same. It's very easy to settle into a game of StarCraft II as the controls and interface are so similar to the first. The game's HUD has thankfully evolved to add better control over your units and provides helpful information on upgrades, build times, skills and unit attributes.

The early game also feels comfortably similar, as each match started off with a handful of workers and infantry units, with base structures already pre-built. Strategically, things began to deviate from the original shortly after the early game. Obviously, you'll notice StarCraft II's gorgeous graphics and stunning effects right away, all of which ran at a smooth clip on the Intel sponsored PCs, so it won't feel too familiar.

The most noticeable changes to the early Terran game are Supply Depots that can be lowered into the terrain and the Command Center upgrades—you'll have the option to choose from the radar scanner or Planetary Fortress for self-defense from the get-go. You'll also see add-ons available for structures like the Factory, Barracks, and Star Port.

Other than those initial changes, tech tree strategies can typically be adapted quickly from the original. You can choose to load up on Marines and Medics (sorry, no Firebats... yet), or develop Siege Tank technology, adding a handful of Vikings for as needed ground or air support. (For the record, the Vikings will say "Let's transform and roll out!" when you issue them move commands. The pop culture sci-fi references aren't in short supply.)

As for the rest of the Terran army, many of the units initially felt like remodeled, renamed iterations of their ancestors. The Cobra, for example, appears to be little more than a speedier Vulture minus mines, plus ground-to-air attacks. Nomads impress upon the player that they're simply less-ugly Science Vessels. As Blizzard has made clear in the past, units and their abilities should be expected to change over time, but I assume the intricacies of each of these units will become more clear with more play time. As demonstrated in a live demo at BlizzCon, Cobras can out-turn a Thor, making them deadly counter-units.

The Reaper, however, is the most strikingly different infantry unit in the game. From the way its built—rallying from what appears to be a futuristic bar/strip joint—to its cheap production cost and minimal build time. Four Reapers will spawn in easily under ten seconds, with a cool-down time slowing production down for a bit after that. The Reaper's lobbed grenades, quick movement speed and ability to rocket over terrain open up a totally new infantry tactic. It's just a shame they're so damn easy to kill.

If anything, the Terran army has become more complicated with its technology tree. What was the most "meat and potatoes" race in the original is clearly more strategically complex. The number of units that one can build at a Star Port, for example, is great in number. On top of that, some units feature deeper specialization after they've been built.

During my time with the Terrans, I eliminated the Protoss threat (which actually wasn't much of a threat on Normal difficulty) in a number of ways. I wiped them out with a wall of Siege Tanks and one giant Thor, then with a full infantry push, including a couple of Ghost controlled nuclear strikes, and finally with a full aerial assault, sending Battlecruisers, Banshees and Vikings directly into the trio of Protoss bases.

But how did it play? Fantastic, obviously. StarCraft II feels very much at times like a sexier version of the original, with a laudable series of improvements.

It's clear that Blizzard still has more work to do on StarCraft II, as many of the game's sound effects are ripped straight from the original. Plenty of unit portraits were placeholder, but the amount of work already done indicates there's a comforting level of completion here.

As Blizzard reiterated at its fan gathering, the sequel is looking to reinvent StarCraft, not remake it. Some aspects feel very familiar, while others are very welcome additions. There's little to complain about with StarCraft II so far, outside of the at-times awkward transition to 3D and a very tight camera. Deploying a Thor or sending in a fleet of Battlecruisers is a whole mess of strategic fun and units already feel well balanced. From my 4-plus hours with the game, Blizzard seems to have only improved on an already tight real-time strategy game.

Check back tomorrow for more impressions from the Protoss single player level.

While the rules are far too complicated to grasp at BlizzCon, the board game, which is scheduled to ship in September, looks like a solid investment for strategic tabletop gaming fans. At the very least, it will give StarCraft diehards who aren't blessed with the finger speed of professional Korean gamers something to do when the electricity goes out. I know I'm getting a copy for my fallout shelter.

According to Fantasy Flight reps, attendees of GenCon will have an opportunity to get their hands on a copy of the game a bit earlier than the rest of the gaming public. And, yes, a sequel is already planned to include units from StarCraft II.

Further details at the official site.

You can see some of the other contest entrants here and here.

[via Wonderland]

Fresh from the BlizzCon floor comes this (kinda shaky) video of a presentation on Starcraft 2 outlining the details of multiplayer mode. After a nice look at the back a bald guy's head the camera man finally manages to focus in on the screen and we get a fairly decent look at how all this is going to play out. Looks pretty cool and the audience sure seems to think so. Especially when it comes to explosions. everyone loves explosions.

Actually, Blizzard doesn't quite know to which game the beta key applies. Therefore, if it's for Wrath of the Lich King, it's all yours, lucky Kotaku reader.

Sams, Metzen and Jashni made it a regular point to express their wishes to "not... create another video game movie" but to "create an epic." And while some fans may have taken pause at Jashni's reasoning that "we can't just make a movie for the 9 million World of Warcraft subscribers", it was clear that all four were passionate about bringing the mythology of Warcraft to the big screen as faithfully as possible.

The panel invoked the name of Legendary Pictures' recent hits Batman Begins and 300 as indicative of the quality of the $100 million-plus feature film. They also dropped names like Braveheart and the Lord of the Rings trilogy when discussing their vision for the Warcraft movie's action scenes.

For how intense those scenes will be, and what rating they're shooting for, Metzen said "It's hard for us to predict what happens. You want to not compromise and you want to have the intensity." Addressing concerns over a Nerfed fantasy war movie, he explained, "The story and the director's vision will ultimately decide that. We're definitely not going to make a G or a PG version of this. It's not PillowfightCraft."

Warcraft is still in the scripting process, but Metzen reported that they have something that they're happy with. The plot was kept under wraps but Metzen told the crowd it would take place about a year before the events of World of Warcraft.

The storyline is "principally told from the Alliance perspective." After revealing that detail, and waiting for the Horde aligned players to finish their booing, Metzen explained "While my heart lies with the Horde and Thrall's an interesting character, from a movie making standpoint, a blockbuster movie its a little rough to try and tell it from the perspective of this green looking dude."

"What about Shrek?!" a Blizzconner yelled. A busted Metzen quipped "Shrek's a good example. For a kids comedy."

According to Jashni, no director has been attached. "We are starting those conversations. We're going to be looking for someone of [300 director Zak Snyder or Batman Begins director Chris Nolan's] caliber," said Metzen. They snickered at a crowd member's suggestion for Uwe Boll, commenting only on the infamous director's recent boxing match.

With no director comes no casting news. That process hasn't been started yet, but when asked about whether they'd be looking for "big name Hollywood actors" or "fresher faces", Jashni played coy, only saying that "because there's a lot of interest in Warcraft, we've gotten a lot of interesting phone calls."

Following another fan suggestion, Metzen says they haven't yet contacted Chuck Norris for a role or cameo.

Jashni then recounted a story that involved Superman Returns star Brandon Routh accosting him upon hearing of his involvement with Blizzard, with Routh asking "Do you know the Warcraft guys?! Can you get me a tour of [their office]?"

By the end of the panel, we hadn't learned much in the way of concrete details, as much of the film is simply too early in production to talk about. As a sort of apology for being so vague, panel speakers showed one of the first pieces of concept artwork for the film.

Anyone recognize it?

Using the in-game engine, a cinematic rolled, panning across a yellow planet, through a window and into the bridge of the Battlecruiser Hyperion. On the bridge were Terran Vulture pilot Jim Raynor, star of the original StarCraft and StarCraft: Brood War campaigns, his second in command Matt Warner and marine Tychus Findlay, featured in the StarCraft II cinematic teaser.

The fully 3D bridge has a number of interactive areas on screen, allowing you to speak to other bridge and crew members, check out display panels for further information, or view the Star Map. More on that later.

Raynor, in command of the Hyperion, interacted with the ship's crew, rubbing shoulders with a surly engineer, revealing one of the game's subplots. It seems the crew hasn't been paid in months, an issue Raynor says will be resolved once he's collected the bounty on the Protoss artifact he recently recovered (presumably in the mission prior). Part of the campaign in StarCraft II will be focused on Raynor's efforts to make money but taking jobs like this one, missions that ultimately tie into a larger plot.

As you earn money, those funds will be put into purchasing technology—upgrades for units and units themselves. Pardo purchased (read: unlocked) the Viking ship for his next mission. This has been done to give players control over the tech progression of the game, instead of following a locked down set of upgrades.

Hiking back up to the bridge, Raynor checks out the Star Map. This is where you'll choose your missions. They're much more open ended than in the previous StarCraft campaigns. You'll be able to pick the planet or system you want to tackle next, progressing the story in your own way. Mission briefings provide the summary, objectives, bonus objectives, mission bounty, and recommended technology, so you'll have to choose which best suits your current needs and matches your current level of tech.

Following a trip to Sar Mara, in which Pardo cheated, adding extra Thor mechs and Battlecruisers to his compliment to secure the next artifact, it was back to the Hyperion. And since Jim Raynor's had a rough go of it lately, he heads down to the ships canteen, only to run into an old friend, Zeratul, who warns of something rather dire.

The real-time cinema showed the engine's impressive graphical tricks, with real time shadows, bump mapping and realistic lighting painting a believable ship corridor.

The single-player presentation ended there, promising a glimpse at the future of the storyline, including a return from the Queen of Blades, Kerrigan and hinting at unraveling the mystery of the Xel'Naga.

The free form, open ended progressive storyline planned for StarCraft II looks like it could be a refreshing change of pace for fans of the Blizzard RTS formula.

You'll recognize many of them from the recently released preview trailer shown today, but considering you'll spend a considerable chunk of your life in this virtual land next year, a few extra minutes of gazing won't be that noticeable on your death bed.

These two got lucky with the lighting—shockingly dim for a convention hall—using their glowing eyes, amulets and orbs to great dramatic effect. I've only been at BlizzCon a few hours and I've seen some amazing handmade outfits, ones that hide tummies discretely. And these get-ups aren't easy to navigate a crowd in, so bonus points for that, my beloved, behooved cosplayers.

Here it is, in all of its glory the first official trailer for the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion pack Wrath of the Lich King.

Warth of the Lich King [Blizzard]

The Games For Windows folks have posted some more details up about the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King that was verified earlier today during BlizzCon 2007.

The September issue of Games for Windows will have a blow-out on World of Warcraft expansion pack, but here are some interesting details:

The Story
Having cleaned up Outland (or at least having set things in decent enough order for now), the Alliance and Horde turn their heads northward to the continent of Northrend, where a terrible threat has gone unchecked for far too long: that of Lich King and his undead army, the Scourge. On the day Wrath of the Lich King launches, players will be able to set sail from various points in old Azeroth and join the fight against Arthas Menethil.

New Continent: Northrend
Having learned a valuable lesson about funneling 8.5 million players into once single starting zone with The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King lets players pick a zone on either side of the continent to start from: Borean Tundra in the west or Howling Fjord in the east. Each zone has level-equivalent quests (appropriate for approximately level 68 through 72) and one Hellfire Peninsula-style instance hub with multiple dungeon wings for level 70 characters, level 80 characters, and raiders. While Northrend immediately calls to mind ice and snow, Blizzard doesn't want to make those themes dominate Northrend completely-expect as much variety as ever, only not quite as weird and wild as Outland.

Northrend's indigenous inhabitants include a Viking-like race called the Vrykul: 15-foot-tall humanoids with a strong Norse influence. Most Vrykul you encounter will be your enemies, as they've been in Northrend so long that the Lich King holds a lot of sway over them. Another friendly race — the walrus-like Tuskarr — will serve as a cute little counterpoint to the lumbering undead-loving oafs.

New Zone Type: Outdoor PVP
One of Northrend's 10 new zones (final count still tentative) is an outdoor PVP zone that introduces the concept of siege weapons (Meat Wagons, Steam Tanks, etc.) and destructible buildings. Blizzard describes the outdoor zone as basically a "non-instanced Battleground" where completing objectives earns world-wide bonuses for your side (Think Spirit Shard buff in Auchindoun instances). The PVP zone is entirely avoidable (if you're the carebear type), and seige weapons won't be useable outside their designated PVP area.

New Hero Class: Death Knight
World of WarCraft's first Hero Class is a plate-wearing tank/DPS hybrid that works a little something like this: When players hit level 80, they'll be able to embark on a quest (similar in difficulty to the Warlock's epic mount quest, back before the level cap was raised to 70) that unlocks the ability to create a Death Knight character. The Death Knight starts at a high level (somewhere around 60 or 70, though Blizzard isn't certain yet), so you won't have to grind your way back up all over again. It's intended as an alternative, advanced class for end-game use only.

Rather than using rage, energy, or mana, Death Knights have a special "rune sword" displayed beneath their health bar, onto which the player can etch six different runes (choose between Frost, Blood, and Unholy). Different abilities require different mixes of runes, and using abilities consumes the requisite runes until a cooldown timer causes them to be available again. Stuff like talents, spells, and other specifics are still being finalized. So are key questions like what races can be a Death Knight (start a Gnome petition now) and whether unlocking the Hero Class on one server means you can create a Death Knight on any server.

New Profession: Inscription
Wrath of the Lich King will introduce a new profession called Inscription that will let players customize individual spells and abilities in their spell book — to change the cooldown timer on a Fireball, for example, or alter the crit rate of a healing spell.

There's lots more in the upcoming September issue of Games for Windows: The Official Magazine, on sale in the next couple weeks, including candid insight from the developers, details on some of the new dungeons not shown at BlizzCon, and word that The Burning Crusade ain't over yet...there's more BC content coming beyond Zul'Aman.

Today and the rest of the weekend is a wee-bit convention heavy. We're simultaneously covering the 2007 QuakeCon, BlizzCon and Fan Faire. The news seems to be chugging along pretty steadily, so if you want to track just what's happening at your con of choice click the appropriate link below, or you can just catch them as they hit the main page.

BlizzCon
QuakeCon
Fan Faire

Mike Morhaime is on stage, laying out the weekend plans for BlizzCon, including StarCraft, World of Warcraft trading card game tournaments, costume contests and much more. Cocktails and costumes at 7 PM tonight. Be there and be square. Apparently, Jay Mohr is tonight's emcee. He was hilarious at GDC, so it's sure to be a fun night.

Oh and don't forget Level 70 Elite Tauren Cheiftan! And Video Games Live! It's an orgy of video game themed music.

We'll also get a look at Dell's "ultimate World of Warcraft gaming system." Oh, goodie!

Mike's summarizing the Korean Blizzard World Wide Invitational, the announcement of StarCraft II, the game I've just spent the last two hours playing. Footage of the Korean Invitational rolls. Lots of Korean girls in convention appropriate outfits (read: short shorts).

The Korean crowd is much leaner than the one in Anaheim. We could eat them alive and still find room for a bag or two of Funyuns.

I'm feeling a little bit gipped. Apparently the Koreans were treated to loads of synchronized dance routines and fireworks.

Morhaine says "You all will be among the first in the world to play [StarCraft II]." Sadly, no Zerg gameplay is available on the show floor.

The StarCraft II cinematic trailer kicks off. We've all seen this before so I think I'm gonna catch a few Zs while it plays.

Mike starts talking about the new Terran units, including the Thor. He's discussing the single player campaign, showing lots of artwork. "Expect to see some familiar faces, as well as some new characters." More details at the StarCraft II gameplay session.

There's one more matter to attend to, before we are sent back to the floor. Frank Pearce is introduced and takes over the podium.

"Holy crap. Look at all the people. Wow."

Frank talks up integrated voice chat as a live update for World of Warcraft. "Some of you might be disappointed when you find out that hot Nigh Elf on the other end is a dude."

He drops Guild Bank features, much to the delight of the crowd.

There's a new 10 man raid instance coming.

Orcs to get even larger shoulderpads! Triple the size. I for one cannot wait.

"The dev team has been working much more special than that", he says. Frank officially announces the second expansion for World of Warcraft, Wrath of the Lich King. Surprise!

Arthus, from Northrend, is the new Lich King. Frank promises an exciting storyline. "Arthus is no chump, so you won't be able to beat him at level 70. We're raising the cap to 80." I think everyone who cares already knows about that.

On the PVP front, new arenas, new battlegrounds, new siege weapons and buildings that can be destroyed with those siege weapons.

A new skill called Inscription will be added. Oh, and new hairstyles. Hopefully, they add "the Crecente."

Hundreds of new quests, items, etcetera. But even more exciting "We're adding the Death Knight hero class." Much applause.

There's a short video. Playing.... now!

The in-game clip shows characters invading Northrend, into a deep forgotten land (a forest) where "you will see wonders beyond imagining." The arctic effects in -game look pretty spectacular for WoW. Our blond haired hero ventures deep into the woods, showing the new Death Knight class. He looks pretty bad ass. New dances, new quests, new monsters, all the candies you've come to expect.

Crowd goes wild. They simply cannot wait to spend more money!

Frank talks about the rest of weekend's panels, but pumps up the crowd with the promise of a bank of PCs with playable versions of Wrath of the Lich King.

Pearce wraps up the keynote, exits the stage. That's it, kids. Check back in with us throughout the day for updates and hands-on impressions of everything new at the Con.

Looks like the the rumors are true, the next World of Warcraft expansion will indeed by Wrath of the Lich King. The expansion was confirmed in the BlizzCon Souvenir Show Guide packed into those fancy goodie bags.

The picture, taken by Highamage, shows the brief article about the new expansion which will be detailed during the show.

Some of the highlights of the article include:

*Introduction of the Death Knight as a playable dark necromatic character class.
*New zones, quests, items and monsters packed into the Northrend, an icy continent that is home to the Lich King.
*Raised level cap to 80
*New battelgrounds featuring siege engines and destructable buidlings.
*More character customization, including hair, dances and skin color.

Wrath of the Lich King [Blizzard Forums]

McMike already has his grubby paws on the splendorriffic BlizzCon Goody Bad, but he's too buys covering the actual show to post about what wonderful trinkets are inside, so I'll give you the short list. Expect a breakdown and plenty of pics of the goodies once he catches his breath.

List and description from the BlizzCon site:

You are the Murloc
Once your World of Warcraft character dons this fantastic costume, you too will know what it feels like to walk in a Murloc's shoes. Or flippers. Each BlizzCon goody bag will include a code that can be redeemed in-game for one amazing Murloc Suit for your favorite World of Warcraft character.

Beta Key
In addition to giving you the opportunity to become a terror from the deep, the goody bag you receive will also contain an access code for an upcoming Blizzard beta test. Enter the code on our website and sign up to be contacted when the upcoming beta test is ready for you to join. While beta tests give us a chance to fine-tune our work, they also allow participants to try out and give feedback on a Blizzard title before it becomes available to the general public.

StarCraft II Magnet
The towering Colossus used to dominate battlefields during the Kalath Intercession, and now it will dominate your fridge or other magnetic surface! Although the Colossus was created purely as a war machine, the StarCraft II Colossus magnet will surely find a more peaceful application in your home.

BlizzCon Souvenir Show Guide
The BlizzCon show guide you receive will contain plenty of important information, such as a layout of the show floor and an event schedule, but it will also feature colorful articles about Blizzard and some of the things you'll be seeing at the show, as well as a handy section for collecting autographs.

World of Warcraft J!NX T-Shirt
Thanks to J!NX, gamers everywhere can go out wearing their favorite game-themed clothing with style. Your goody bag will include one of J!NX's fantastic World of Warcraft shirts, so wear it proudly!

Heroes of Azeroth Starter Deck
Have you been itching to try out the new World of Warcraft Trading Card Game? Well here's your chance to enter the fray with your free Heroes of Azeroth starter deck. Each goody bag includes a ready-to-play deck for one of the nine classes, as well as two booster packs and three oversized hero cards. Bring your deck to the Upper Deck Entertainment booth to learn the game and take part in free beginner tournaments.

Other tid bits
The bags Blizzard flotsam will vary from bag to bag but include things like a Blizzard coaster, Warcraft, Diablo and Starcraft button sets and other little fun toys.

Goodie Bag [Blizzard]

I've already got my goody bag and have set up shop in the press room, over a dozen stations with two newly playable games just feet away. The temptation to play StarCraft II for the next eight hours is unbearable. Good thing every kiosk is unattended in the press area!