starcraft 2

Blizzard: Lack Of StarCraft Lan Is “No Big Deal”

2:30AM Mike Fahey | Kotaku sat down with Blizzard’s executive vice president of game design Rob Pardo this weekend to talk Battle.net, but we couldn’t resist touching on the subject of the lack of LAN in StarCraft II. More »

BlizzCon 2009: The View From The Show Floor

12:30PM Mike Fahey | Since you’re reading this, I am assuming you didn’t get a chance to see what the BlizzCon 2009 show floor looked like. Don’t say I never gave you anything. More »

Would You Buy A Game Art Directed By This Man?

8:20AM Mike Fahey | Sam “Samwise” Didier. StarCraft II art director. Hotter than John Romero. I’ll post his interview later, but the picture couldn’t wait. This is my new desktop wallpaper. More »

BlizzCon 2009: The Show So Far

7:20AM Mike Fahey | With BlizzCon 2009 day two in full swing, let’s take a look at what went on during day one, from start to Cataclysmic finish. More »

Upcoming Blizzard Battle.net Feature Draws From Warcraft, Life

10:00AM Mike Fahey | Blizzard executive vice president of game design Rob Pardo hosted a Battle.net and StarCraft II panel, explaining how the integration of game and game service has evolved over the years. More »

Blizzard: You May Sell Your StarCraft 2 Maps…Eventually

9:20AM Mike Fahey | At BlizzCon 2009, Blizzard’s executive vice president of game design Rob Pardo revealed plans to allow modders to sell premium StarCraft II maps via the Battle.net service. More »

Kotaku At BlizzCon 2009

4:00AM Mike Fahey | It’s time for Blizzard fans’ annual pilgrimage to Anaheim, California for BlizzCon 2009, and Kotaku will be there! More »

StarCraft II: The Unit Upgrades That Make Single-player Shine

5:01PM Michael McWhertor | While StarCraft II multiplayer may be the long-term draw of Blizzard’s highly anticipated real-time strategy sequel, the game’s single-player campaign is also packed with depth and replayability. That’s due, in part, to the game’s technology upgrade system. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty’s campaign mode features units and buildings that players won’t be able to use in multiplayer. That includes Terran forces like the Medic and Firebat, yanked from multiplayer. It also includes brand new tech and structures, like Juggernaut Plating for the Marauder and the Bunker’s mounted gun, the Shrike Turret. Read on for a list of what we saw at Blizzard, with a little hands-on impressions of these single-player only upgrades. We only made it through two of the seven columns of upgrades, which also include tweaks for Vehicles, Starships, Mid-tech, Ghost/Spectre and Dominion units. There are two upgrades per unit—with the exception of things like the flamethrowing Perdition Turret—one of the two purchasable items is simply the existence of the defense structure itself. Here are details on the Infantry and Base upgrades. Infantry Firebat Bearclaw Nozzles – Attack area +40% Viral Plasma – Damage +2, duration 4 seconds Marauder Jackhammer Concussion Grenades – Slow affects area around target Juggernaut Plating – Armor +2 Marine Stimpacks – Moves, fights faster Combat Shield – Health +10 Reaver Stimpacks – Moves, fights faster U-238 Rounds – Attack range +2 Hellion Napalm Fuel Tanks – +1 damage/sec for 3 seconds Turbo Charged Engines – Movement speed +40% Base SCV Micro-fusion Reactor – Cost -15 minerals Fusion Welder – Repair cost -25% Command Center Building Modular Construction – Building costs -10% Fire Suppression System – Damaged buildings don’t catch fire Bunker Shrike Turret – Mounted gun Neosteel Frame – Holds +2 units Missile Turret Hailstorm Missile Pods – Gain area attack, range 7, damage 4×9 Devastator Missiles – Gains single target attack, damage 50, range 8 Perdition Turret Distortion Sensors – Detects cloaked/burrowed We only got a chance to experiment with some of these upgrades. But Blizzard reps were quick to recommend the Micro-fusion Reactor for the mineral-collecting SCVs, which makes the farming units almost one-third cheaper. We opted for the Perdition Turrets and Shrike Turrets, very useful while doing much of the base defense we did during the campaign. Similarly, having permanently researched Stimpacks and health upgrades for the Marine quickly felt indispensable. But each upgrade felt good when we got it. We’re looking forward to seeing what else Blizzard has in store for tech upgrades in single-player, but feel like that information will be a long time coming.

First StarCraft II Single Player Campaign Hands-On (With Spoilers)

5:00PM Michael McWhertor | We’ve played one-third of one-third of StarCraft II’s single-player campaign recently. Blizzard gave us a full day with the most recent playable build of the game, a seven-mission long journey through the Terran’s Wings of Liberty portion of the trilogy. More »