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New StarCraft 2 gameplay footage: This is not a drill ...
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/New_StarCraft_2_Gameplay_Footage_This_is_not_a_drill'; It's a Laser Drill! Check out the awesome power of this anti–Zerg Rush weapon, featured in this new footage from the most eagerly awaited "Adults Only" game in South Korea. Don't worry -- it's just StarCraft 2 and the video's totally Safe For Work. We'll have our hands-on impressions of three new single-player missions posted later today. In the meantime, enjoy the gameplay video above and the new screenshots in the gallery below. %Gallery-91324%
StarCraft 2 beta invite with GameStop pre-order [update: Amazon too]
If you've yet to snag an invitation to the StarCraft 2 beta, then this news post is for you! A tipster has alerted us to the StarCraft 2 product page on GameStop, which notes that pre-ordering the game will net players their own invitations to join the Zerg-stomping fun. The offer applies to both the $60 regular edition and the $100 collector's edition and can be redeemed either in-store or online. One quick note to the sneaky types out there: The product page states that orders cannot be canceled once your beta code has been received. But hey, you were going to buy it anyway, and It's not like anyone would game the system just for a free beta ticket, right? Of course not. Update: According to tipster Aaron and one of our commenters, Amazon pre-orders are now receiving StarCraft 2 beta invitations as well. We've contacted Amazon to confirm but, in the meantime, have any other Amazon customers out there received their beta key already? Update 2: Amazon has confirmed that its StarCraft 2 pre-orders do come with beta access. The first wave of invitations was sent out today. Future pre-orders should receive their beta invitation "within a few days." [Thanks, Chris]
Blizzard bans 320,000 WarCraft III and Diablo II players
Blizzard appears to be cleaning house in preparation for its StarCraft II release as well as its Battle.net revamp. In a recent announcement on the service's forums, Blizzard rep Bashiok revealed that over 300,000 accounts were punished for violations of the terms of service for Warcraft III and Diablo II for using hacks and illegal third-party tools (which are essentially hacks). For those of you who have had past experience with Battle.net, these numbers probably don't surprise you. The network has had a long reputation of being fairly easy on people using hacks as Blizzard tends to save up over a long period of time in order to do a massive batch of bans at once. This means that those who are using hacks have a long period of time to abuse the system before anything is done about it. The hacks for some games were rampant enough that other players began using hacks that detect other hacks. Regardless of the reason behind using a hack, it is still against the terms of service and means if you get caught, you're out.
Map editor coming to StarCraft 2 beta this week, Mac beta a few days later
Tired of all that free StarCraft 2 beta you've been playing lately? Blizzard's upcoming patch should help to stir you from your pit of doldrums, adding the "Galaxy Editor" (read: map editor) for beta users. According to a report at Shacknews, we could be seeing the release by as early as today and as late as this Friday. Three or four days after the patch's release, lead producer Chris Sagaty says, the Mac Beta client will become available. Unlike in the retail release of SC2, beta users won't be able to upload their maps/scenarios to Battle.net 2.0 for sharing with other users. However, maps created during the beta will presumably be sharable when the game arrives on PCs and Macs sometime in the first half of 2010. [Via BigDownload]
StarCraft 2 given 'Adults Only' rating in South Korea
According to a report by the Korea Times, Blizzard's upcoming StarCraft sequel has been given an Adults Only rating by the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, effectively relegating the game to those 18 years old or older. Given the game's enormous popularity in the country -- and the previous "over-15" rating Blizzard received from the same board for SC2 earlier this year with an older build of the game -- the decision comes as a bit of a surprise. Apparently, the company was seeking an "over-12" in the country, and thusly resubmitted the most recent build of the game for rating. The ratings board says of the decision, "Considering that the RC version of the game is closer to what will be sold on the shelves compared to the beta versions, we looked more carefully at the content," allowing that, "this rating is not final, as Blizzard will get the chance to object to it." digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/South_Korea_slaps_new_StarCraft_2_with_Adults_Only_rating'; For its part, Blizzard's South Korea reps told the paper that an immediate course of action has yet to be decided. "We have nothing to say at this point. We are discussing our official position on the matter as well as what would be the right reaction." We've reached out to Blizzard's US representatives and will update this post if we hear back. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
South Korea rocked by StarCraft gambling scandal
An ongoing investigation has made headlines in South Korean media over the past few days, thanks to an alarming scandal involving StarCraft. Overseas, Blizzard's RTS is played professionally and broadcast on national television. And, like most sports leagues, the competitions have drawn a following from the illegal gambling market. The growing controversy surrounds a number of professional gamers, including some famous and top-ranked players, accused of intentionally throwing matches to exploit the illegal gambling operations. The Korean police are currently investigating the accusations. However, considering the underground nature of the scandal, it's clear that it will take a long time before all potential suspects are apprehended. For further coverage, Team Liquid offers a recently updated and extensive overview of the scandal. [Via BigDownload]
StarCraft II Collector's Edition to include WoW vanity pet
Blizzard has just recently announced StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty's collector's edition. Normally this isn't something we would talk about here on WoW.com, but the contents make it worth mentioning. Specifically, WoW players will receive a Thor mini-pet, seen to the right. For those of you who don't follow StarCraft at all, the Thor is a new ubermech unit for the Terran faction. It's not only voice acted by Chris Metzen, but the pilot of the unit is based directly off him. One of his old aliases is Thundergod, after all. The Thor is big and it's bad-ass, and that's about all that you need to know. I wonder if it will interact with Grunty and the Zergling? BigDownload has the full scoop on the contents of the collector's edition. There's great value there, even for people who don't play WoW. The collector's edition also includes a 2GB flash drive made to resemble Jimmy Raynor's dog tags, a 172-page art book, a behind the scenes DVD and more.
Blizzard 'hoping' to release StarCraft 2 Mac beta client in April
This month, it's finally good to be a Mac-based gamer. In addition to the reveal that Valve will be moving Steam (and the Source Engine) over to Apple's OS, we discovered this morning that Blizzard is hard at work on a StarCraft 2 beta client for Mac. According to recent Twitter Q&A with the game's devs (catalogued here), the studio is "currently working on a Mac version of the beta and hope to release it sometime in April." Unfortunately, it seems that if you didn't register many moons ago, you still might not be eligible for inclusion, as the developers also reveal that "We have no plans to make an open beta at this time." Considering the game is still planned for release in the first half of this year, though, it would seem that even without a beta invite you'll be playing the game fairly soon. %Gallery-66757%[Via BigDownload]
StarCraft 2 release still targeted for first half of 2010
The StarCraft II beta is currently underway and already has us pining for the full release. As for exactly when that will happen, all we've known is that Blizzard plans to release the game in the first half of 2010. According to the latest BlizzCast, that's still the plan. During the podcast, production director Chris Sigaty stated that the beta should last "three to five months" and added that Blizzard is "still targeting the first half of this year." With a three to five month beta window, that puts the end of the test somewhere between May and July. Of course, there's no telling how soon the game will release after the close of the beta, but hopefully it won't take too long. The universe won't save itself, after all. Finally, for those out there lucky enough to be in the beta, you should know that the first patch is now available. You can check out the list of changes on the Battle.net forums. [Via Big Download]
StarCraft 2 beta keys being auctioned for around $300
We've received a ton of emails asking how one might get up on the StarCraft 2 beta if they didn't apply for access last year. Kotaku recently turned our attention to a possible solution, though ... well, you're not going to like it. More than 50 beta keys, most of which came in the form of coupons handed out at BlizzCon 2008, are now being auctioned off on eBay. The prices range from around $120 on the low end, averaging out at about $300, and reaching as high as $450. If you're as independently wealthy as you are impatient, this may be your only channel for instant gratification. Of course, keep a watchful eye out for scammers, and keep in mind that purchasing Battle.Net accounts linked to World of Warcraft accounts is against Blizzard's Terms of Use. We'd also advise you to take a good look into that deep, dark, truthful mirror, and think about all the other things $300 can buy. (Hint: It can buy a lot of things.)
Hands-on: StarCraft II beta
Here's the thing about the StarCraft II beta: you've played this game before. In the time I've spent with the beta over the past 24-plus hours, I've been Zerg rushed, I've had my buildings annihilated by a group of Reapers that snuck through the back of my fortified area, and I've had Protoss ships lay waste to countless heavy Thor units -- which looked like they could have taken on anything and survived. And here's the other thing: I absolutely loved every minute of it, as familiar as it was. The StarCraft II beta is hopefully indicative of what the final multiplayer product will be like: fast, pick-up-and-play games where resource management down to the millisecond can spell your doom or provide you that one squad of units that brings you back from the brink of annihilation. It's an incredibly polished experience, helped along through a clean and efficient UI that doesn't clutter the screen and by a simple matchmaking system that only requires a few clicks to get into a match or join a group of players. %Gallery-3311%
PSA: Beware of StarCraft 2 beta scammers
As you may have heard, the StarCraft II beta is now officially underway. Right now, beta invites are streaming to email inboxes everywhere. As a result, scammers are out in full force as well, hoping to phish some account details from unsuspecting Blizzard fans. In order to help you avoid this potential trick, our friends at WoW.com have provided a simple guide for determining if a beta invite is legitimate (the one shown above is a gag made by us, incidentally). Simply follow the steps below to see if your beta invite is the real deal: Type battle.net into your browser (no typos) and it will go to the secure battle.net site appropriate to your region. Enter your account info. Under Manage My Games, choose Add or Upgrade a Game. Enter the Beta Key provided in the email where it says Enter Game Key. Press Add Game. If the beta is properly added to your account, you're good to go. If the beta key doesn't work, or if the email directs you somewhere else to obtain a key, it's not a real invite. WoW.com advises users to forward any fake invites to hacks@blizzard.com.
StarCraft II beta is live. Beware of scams!
People are getting actual StarCraft II beta invites, but that doesn't mean that all beta invites (or any other emails that look like they are from Blizzard) are real. If you got an email saying that you have been invited to StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, don't click anything in that email. Instead take the following steps: Type battle.net into your browser (no typos) and it will go to the secure battle.net site appropriate to your region. Enter your account info. Under Manage My Games, choose Add or Upgrade a Game. Enter the Beta Key provided in the email where it says Enter Game Key. Press Add Game. If you are able to successfully add the game to your library, then you received a real beta invite. If the email tells you to go someplace else for the beta key or the key provided did not work, then you received a phishing email.
Blizzard: StarCraft II beta due this month
Though we put little stock in any date relating to pretty much any Blizzard game (except for "later",) Blizzard CEO Michael Morhaime just announced in an investor conference call that a beta of StarCraft II will be out this month! The game is currently on track for "mid-2010." "The beta test will be conducted on a global scale," he said, specifying that the beta will operate in North America, Europe, Korea, Taiwan, New Zealand and Australia. We suggest you zerg rush to the beta and get all the enjoyment you can out of it, because what Blizzard learns from the test will no doubt result in several more years of work on the game.
Battle.net preview: Real ID
There is a Battle.net preview up at the official StarCraft II site. While much of it talks of the integration of the StarCraft with the new Battle.net, including new mod functionality and better matchmaking, it also discusses something that affects WoW players: Real ID. Blizzard mentioned this new cross-game social aspect of Bnet at last year's BlizzCon. Real ID is an optional system for chatting with and keeping track of "real life" friends in any Battle.net game. You invite friends with your Real ID. If they accept, you can find out what game they are playing and on what realm and character. You can also chat across realms or games. You won't have to remember the usernames of your Real ID friends and family, because you will see their real names on the interface. And you will also be able to broadcast messages to all on your Real ID friends list, rather than just chatting one at a time. I cannot wait for this to be implemented for WoW accounts. I would love to be able to chat with my friends who are scattered across many realms and who defect to play StarCraft. I really think this is great for more hardcore players (I'll be on my Alliance alt until you Hordies can get your act together for the raid) or very casual, chatty altoholics. Will you use the Real ID system?
Will Blizzard show their next MMO at BlizzCon 2010?
WoW.com's Zach Yonzon takes a speculative look at BlizzCon 2010 and all the possibilities that lie ahead. The article predicts that Blizzard will officially announce their sophomore MMO effort this year, which seems likely given StarCraft II's impending release and Diablo III being a known quantity. To top it off, the developer probably wouldn't mind stifling some of the substantial buzz building up around Star Wars: The Old Republic. We'd love to see the cyberpunk MMO described in the article, but who wouldn't want a sci-fi MMO that's like Diablo's dark fantasy to Warcraft's light-heartedness? Nobody (well, except for Blizzard) really knows what the future holds, although for now you can read about it and share your thoughts if that helps out -- at least, it helps us feel slightly less helpless when pondering our MMO gaming future.
Protoss 'mini-campaign' invades StarCraft 2's 'Wings of Liberty'
Although it still intends to release three versions of StarCraft 2 -- each featuring on a single-player campaign for the Terran, Protoss or Zerg races -- Blizzard has revealed that the first, the Terran-specific Wings of Liberty, will also feature "a Protoss mini-campaign that lets you control Protoss units," this according to an employee post on the game's official forums. Not wanting to get anyone's hopes up too high, Blizzard says that the component is "way shorter than the Terran part," adding that it "will not prepare you for the multiplayer as Protoss, you won't be using all units or getting to know buildings and upgrades." The multiplayer component of StarCraft 2 will let players control all three races when Wings of Liberty hits this year someday. [Via Big Download]
Best of the Rest: Kevin's Picks of 2009
Halo Wars Yeah, that's right, Halo Wars. I've already caught enough flak for putting this on my best-of list for 2009 (it's hard to even remember that it came out way back in February), but it deserves to be recognized ... so pay attention once your laughter has died down. Ensemble Studios (RIP) proved that you could bring a real-time strategy game to a console, and still make it enjoyable. Sure, you'll never have 1:1 parity mapping everything a full-sized keyboard offers onto a controller, but this game came close. It's a pity Ensemble closed, since we'll never see any expansion packs or a sequel. The good news is that, since it wasn't received with blaring trumpets and the sounds of cash registers ringing, you can pick this up for under 20 bucks for some good fun.
Blizzard to return to console development 'at some point'
Speaking to Gamasutra, Blizzard's J. Allen Brack said the company will "definitely" return to console game development ... "at some point." Brack dismissed criticism that Blizzard is "anti-console," assuring that the developer simply wants to make "the right game for the right platform." He elaborated that StarCraft II will be "a better game" on PC than it would on consoles -- something StarCraft 64 players can probably attest to. Still, Brack noted that Blizzard is "a company of gamers." "We will definitely work on a console game at some point. I have no doubt about that." This is a statement we've heard from Blizzard before, previously from COO Paul Sams and specifically in regard to Diablo III. Of all the known games coming down the pipe from the studio, Diablo III certainly seems to fit the console mold the closest. Then again, StarCraft: Ghost was never officially canceled, right? Right?! [Via The Escapist]
Blizzard orders up a dessert contest
Neth has posted an announcement for Blizzard's annual dessert contest, and... wait, dessert contest? I don't remember them doing that one before, but sure enough, they have. I guess it follows after the pumpkin carving contest. Anyway, yes, your task, should you choose to accept it, is to make a confectionary creation based on one of Blizzard's big franchises, and submit a picture of it to them over on the site. Each of ten winners will get seven different Warcraft books, including the popular Rise of the Horde and Arthas novels. You have until December 21st at midnight, so get cooking! And if you do make a nice Warcraft cake, be sure to send us a copy (if the rules allow), so we can add it to our gallery below. Good luck to everyone who enters the contest, we can't wait to see what kind of sweets you cook up. %Gallery-31459%