Legit Reviews

IRVINE, Calif., Feb 17, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Blizzard Entertainment announced today that the closed beta test for its highly anticipated real-time strategy game, StarCraft(R) II: Wings of Liberty(TM), has begun. Thousands of gamers around the world have started to receive invitations from the company to participate in the first phase of the beta test. In addition to providing feedback on the multiplayer balance of StarCraft II, testers are also getting a first look at Blizzard Entertainment's revamped Battle.net(R) service, which will be the online platform for StarCraft II, World of Warcraft(R), and future Blizzard Entertainment(R) games.

"Gathering concentrated feedback from our players is an important step for us as we head into the final stretch of development for StarCraft II and the new Battle.net service," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We look forward to having our players' help in polishing the overall experience and preparing for launch."

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is the sequel to Blizzard Entertainment's 1998 hit StarCraft, which has been hailed by players and critics worldwide as one of the top real-time strategy games of all time. Sporting a vibrant new 3D-graphics engine, StarCraft II will once again center on the clash between the protoss, terrans, and zerg, with each side deploying legions of veteran, upgraded, and brand-new unit types. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is currently slated to ship in the first half of 2010.

In addition, Blizzard Entertainment will again offer unparalleled online play through Battle.net, the company's world-renowned gaming service. A new version of Battle.net will be launched alongside StarCraft II with several enhancements and new features to establish it as the premier online gaming destination for Blizzard gamers.

For more information on StarCraft II and the beta test, please visit the official StarCraft II website at http://www.starcraft2.com. To set up a Battle.net account and sign up for a chance to participate in the StarCraft II beta test, please visit the official Battle.net website at http://www.battle.net.


About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft(R) and the Warcraft(R), StarCraft(R), and Diablo(R) series, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (http://www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment's track record includes eleven #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's online-gaming service, Battle.net(R), is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active users.

KnightRid wrote:I think you will have to be someone in the industry or else molesting one of the developers to get a key for this one.

Most closed betas seem to never pick John Doe for testing or Mike's for that matter :p

Mike

Digital Puppy wrote:

KnightRid wrote:I think you will have to be someone in the industry or else molesting one of the developers to get a key for this one.

Most closed betas seem to never pick John Doe for testing or Mike's for that matter :p

Mike

Well, you never know who is lurking on our boards...

Do you have your Battle.Net account set up?

KnightRid wrote:

Digital Puppy wrote:

KnightRid wrote:I think you will have to be someone in the industry or else molesting one of the developers to get a key for this one.

Most closed betas seem to never pick John Doe for testing or Mike's for that matter :p

Mike

Well, you never know who is lurking on our boards...

Do you have your Battle.Net account set up?

Yep - for some reason I had to re-sign up though, kinda goofy. Ran the windows file and submitted the info. Kinda sux you can only submit 1 computers infor though. I did it for this one, the Q6700 with the 8800gt in it. Maybe I should have done the corei7 with the gtx260, dunno.

Mike

KnightRid wrote:can I just say, you suck

djpinc19 wrote:ill be honest, im not looking forward to Starcraft 2, but the mods that will be created. i took a preview at my friend playing beta today and to me it looks like an updated version of the first. unfortunately, there is nothing groundbreaking the rts genre anymore

djpinc19 wrote:ill be honest, im not looking forward to Starcraft 2, but the mods that will be created. i took a preview at my friend playing beta today and to me it looks like an updated version of the first. unfortunately, there is nothing groundbreaking the rts genre anymore

Krab wrote:

djpinc19 wrote:ill be honest, im not looking forward to Starcraft 2, but the mods that will be created. i took a preview at my friend playing beta today and to me it looks like an updated version of the first. unfortunately, there is nothing groundbreaking the rts genre anymore

Yup, hopefully they can recreate popular maps like DotA and ORPG's from WC3. Wish I had a beta key

SC2Beta_Patch.jpg (42.32 KiB) Viewed 10573 times

Balance Changes

•Terran
-Banshee
=Cloak: This ability no longer requires Fusion Core to research.
-Barracks
=The build time for this building has decreased from 65 to 60.
-Factory
=The build time for this building has decreased from 65 to 60.
-Reactor
=The build time for this building has decreased from 40 to 25.
-Reaper
=The build time for this unit has increased from 30 to 40.
=Nitro Boost: The build time for this upgrade has increased from 90 to 100.
-Starport
=The build time for this building has decreased from 55 to 50.
-Tech Lab
=The build time for this building has decreased from 30 to 25.

•Protoss
-Mothership
=The build time for this unit has increased from 120 to 160.
=The food cost of this unit has increased from 6 to 8.
=The number of shots fired by this unit has decreased from 8 to 6.
=The shield of this unit has decreased from 400 to 350.
=The health of this unit has decreased from 400 to 350.
=The acceleration of this unit has decreased from 1.3125 to 0.3125.
=The deceleration of this unit has increased from 0 to 1.
-Nexus
=Chrono Boost: The duration of this ability has decreased from 30 to 20.
-Zerg
=Corruptor
=The damage done by this unit has increased from 12 (+8 massive) to 12 (+10 massive).