It’s taken half a decade, but at long last, Starcraft II‘s final installment, Legacy of the Void is upon us, and at Blizzcon today developer Blizzard gave us a fancy trailer and gameplay details.
The all-CGI trailer gives us more of Blizzard’s signature CGI and depicts a brooding Zeratul taking of prophecies, doom and gloom, and war. There’s even the series’s own cheesy Independence Day speech in case it wasn’t made clear enough that this final chapter of Starcraft II was a pretty big deal.
The plot unites the forces of the Terrans, Zerg, and everyone’s favorite mouthless aliens, the Protoss, in a last stand to retake their homeworld Aiur and repel the approaching Xel’Naga, Starcraft‘s version of the Protheans from Mass Effect who are returning to annihilate everything that moves. Along the way you can expect familiar faces to return to the fray, such as Jim Raynor, Sarah Kerrigan, Artanis, and Zeratul,
In addition to the obligatory single and multiplayer, Legacy of the Void will include Archon Mode, a cooperative experience which reintroduces a long lost but much cherished feature from the original Starcraft. Two players share one base and army, as well as their economy, and must compete with an opposing team of players under identical circumstances. This will allow for a very different experience for both players, as, for example, one can concentrate on offensive duties while the other works on base and resource management.
Another new cooperative mode will be Allied Commanders, in which players select from a variety of notable commanders from the Starcraft universe, each with armies that have different abilities and upgrades, and work together in “a series of special scenarios” that allows for leveling up along the way.
Multiplayer will introduce new units and changes to the three factions. An oldie but goldie from Starcraft: Brood War, the Lurker, will be returning to the Zerg faction, along with its subterranean spike attack. The Terrans gain the Tactical Jump ability, which allows for Battlecruisers to be teleported anywhere. The Protoss get the Disruptor, a weapon that apparently causes massive energy spikes among enemy forces that are probably very inconvenient. They also get The Spear of Adun, a gigantic ship hovering on orbit that can rain all kinds of ordinance on enemies below.
Blizzard didn’t announce a specific release date, but it’s pretty safe to say that it’ll be sometime in 2015. This will be a standalone game that won’t require any other Starcraft II game to play.