And moving over to the other side of the Con-populated week, Blizzard Entertainment has just announced the unveiling of the first-ever hands-on demonstration of StarCraft II (PC, Mac) while still on its early stages of development. And new to the real-time strategy game's development track was the introduction of the Terran race, now improved with revamped units.

 

First offs, the Terran race has also adapted to the space conflict, gathering new technologies and upgrades to combat the Zerg infestation and the zealous Protoss. New units such as the Banshee aircraft, the Cobra hover tank, and a super unit called Thor now join the rank of battle hardware spec'ed for decisive victory.

Additionally, coinciding with the gameplay demonstration provided at BlizzCon 2007, Blizzard also provided the early levels of the single-player campaign. The campaign hinted at the game's storyline and plot struggles while familiarizing gamers with some of the series' characters. Mike Morhaime, president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, had this to say in the official announcement via press wire:

Since announcing StarCraft II at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in May, we've been hard at work bringing our ideas for the game's Terran race and single-player campaign to life. WeÂ?re excited to be sharing these new features and gameplay experiences with our players and seeing their reactions.

And just to share the excitement with those unfortunate to be at the event, Blizzard has also released a collection of Terran-focused screenshots and more concept art on the game.

StarCraft II screenshots: introducing the spankin' new Terrans

 

Compiled visuals right at the full article after the jump!

When Blizzard made a ruckus back in the Seoul World Wide Invitational, they also introduced a whole line of new units as rumored by the StarCraft-savvy locals. And after an introductory video covering most of the new arsenal in the Protoss and Terran camps, Blizzard notably stepped up the Xel'Naga-created race for StarCraft II.

One such unit that shoves the odds towards the Protoss' favor is the Colossus. The four slender-legged behemoth packs what is called "thermal lances" - a pair of them. Aided with complex focusing technology, the thermal lances can be concentrated on a single target for optimum effect (bright flashes, pretty lights, and gut-wrenching screams).

The Colossus stands tall over units, creating a immense field of vision and range for the robot. Using its height, it can climb up and down cliffs with ease, while offering a fair amount of mobility for the player. Although it may seem new to the series, Blizzard claims that it was designed as far back as conflicts during the Kalath Incession in Protoss history.

And not only limited for the Windows gamer, Blizzard will also be offering StarCraft II for the avid Mac fan. Another string of panic can be heard across the StarCraft community, after much speculation has arisen following the wake of an as yet unconfirmed rumor of a Beta by the holiday season of 2007 and its alleged link to the Beta key giveaway coming at BlizzCon 2007.