Already have an excuse for March 12, 2013? If not, perhaps the opening cinematic for the first StarCraft II expansion will force your hand. The zerg-focused Heart of the Swarm expansion will unveil the Zerg-focused storyline over the course of ~20 missions, in addition to introducing new multiplayer units for all of the three races.
HotS will be priced at Blizzard’s regular expansion price, rather than a full $59.99 MSRP. Expect a Collector’s Edition to be announced soon.Nevermind.
Hit the jump to watch the trailer in all its HD glory. Continue Reading
Today marks the beginning of Season 8 of the Battle.net ladder of StarCraft II. If you played any games in season 7, you only need to play one game in that bracket in order to place into a division for Season 8.
Season 8 remains largely unchanged. A new map, Condemned Ridge, was added to the 1v1 pool, and two maps, Metalopolis and Korhal Compound LE, were removed. The map changes were made largely in response to their use in tournaments, and the new map was created in response to the types of maps that tend to be popular at tournaments. The original version of the map was set to go live with destructible rocks at the third base, but was removed by players worried about balance issues for Zerg.
Ever wonder what it might be like to see two of your favorite Blizzard games collide in an epic battle? No, we’re not talking about cosplayers from this year’s BlizzCon (though that could be interesting). Instead, check out this video by Blizzmeng of the Zerg invasion on Azeroth. They come fast, furious and dirty — who will win? Could this be one common enemy that would unite Alliance and Horde together in battle?
Who do you think would win if the Zerg initiated a full-on invasion of Azeroth? You know they’re floating out there in space somewhere — perhaps not too far from a neighboring Blizzard world. I think we have the makings of the next post-Cataclysm expansion!
Scoffing at the idea of professional gamers is a common past time for comedians, and even many of us players. The stigma around these professionals, that they are trolls living in a basement, persists despite the fact that the industry is larger than Hollywood and the music business with hundreds of success stories. The notion that a video game, a child’s toy in the eyes of many, can be played at the same level as dodgeball is mind boggling to some. If you’re that type of person, I challenge you to attend a real tournament – not some LAN party or local PC baang – one hosted by Intel, NVIDIA, etc..
Obviously, with real sponsors, these tournaments can bring in the real players. Not myself, who limps past a .500 record in Platinum league, or even Heartbourne, our resident Diamond player. The real professionals. The ones that eat, sleep and breath build orders, counters and perfectly-timed EMP blasts against my horde of protoss. The players that compete for a living. Yet, to be perfectly honest, the players will not be the draw for newcomers, as anyone two chumps can have a close game. It’s the experience, the entire atmosphere of a tournament that needs to be seen by the unbelievers. Continue Reading
Damn Blizzard’s marketing people. Even if a WoW player isn’t interested in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty at all (that would be kind of odd in the first place) they are likely to take a hard look at buying the game. Scratch that. Buying a Collector’s Edition of the game. Big Download is reporting that the $99.99 (wow!) Collector’s Edition will feature a code to unlock a mini Thor vanity pet.
Hit the jump for all the details that makes the $30 premium worth it. Continue Reading
Already have an excuse for March 12, 2013? If not, perhaps the opening cinematic for the first StarCraft II expansion will force your hand. The zerg-focused Heart of the Swarm expansion will unveil the Zerg-focused storyline over the course of ~20 missions, in addition to introducing new multiplayer units for all of the three races.
