Starcraft 2: Evolution or Revolution?

So, as the gaming world now knows Starcraft 2 has been announced. It's going to be awfully hard for Blizzard to follow up on the game that was Starcraft, and the stir that it caused in the gaming world. Though nowadays, everyone expects Blizzard's games to rock the world once they're released. The polish and development that goes into Blizzard's games is what has earned Blizzard their place as the game-making kings in the genres they delve into.

So, the question I'll naturally ask is: what will be new about Starcraft 2 and what will stay from Starcraft? What are some of the new elements of strategy in Starcraft 2 that will distinguish it form other RTS's? Homeworld was a ground-breaking title, but Homeworld 2 only really built on and polished the concepts that were established before; it didn't actually add that much new material to the game. With Blizzard, Warcraft 2 was definitely a step up from Warcraft, and Warcraft 3 was a big step up and away from Warcraft 2. There were still grunts and footmen, but the character of the game had changed drastically from one incarnation to the next. Will Starcraft 2 involve careful management of individual unit abilities, as was requisite in Warcraft 3, or is it more a matter of unit choice and production?

About all we have to go on right now is the gameplay video that blizzard has released. So, I'll analyze that in-depth according to my meager faculties!

First off, we do see some of the "signature" old units in play: Terran Marines and Siege Tanks, Zerglings, and Protoss Zealots. Though, even these units have a few new spins on them: the Protoss can charge into battle, the zerglings have a transformation into something akin to a ground-based scourge.

One of the first strategic divisions we see in Starcraft 2 is the difference between "heavy" and "light" units. Some units are bigger or smaller, and some units are more effective against one of those types. This strategic division was already somewhat present in Warcraft 3 with all of the armor types and weapon types, but it doesn't seem as pronounced as it does in Starcraft 2. I personally like this division because it makes early game units viable even in the late game as the enemy rolls out bigger units, as exemplified by the Terran Marines taking down late game Protoss air units.

Another interesting strategic division takes the form of terrain negotiation by ground units. The usefulness of units with this ability seems at least partially contingent on the map being presented: a map with lots of difficult-to-traverse terrain would make these units shine. It also seems that the ability to negate terrain in this manner makes turtling/choke points a less viable means of defending one's base.

The other interesting part of the video in my opinion revolved around unit deployment. It seems that the Protoss ability to warp units into their pylon power grids (and deployable pylon power grids on their transports) adds a unit aspect of battlefield mobility. Likewise, it seems that the Nidus tunnels of the Zerg bring in some interesting new surprise-attack possibilities, along the lines of the GLA holes of CnC Generals repute.

So: we see some new twists on some old features, and some features that other games have pioneered a bit. The newest feature so far that I have experienced takes the form of the terrain negotiation.

So we're looking at more of an evolutionary title than a revolutionary one. But I can see the reasoning behind this: if it isn't broke, don't fix it. The game also has to keep with it's current tournament-competition role and not alter the formula too much. Who knows, maybe there will be some new twists in the weeks to come as Blizzard releases more about the game!