Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm- Preview

Today,  the NDA finally lifted for a recent Heart of the Swarm Press event; at the event, Dustin Browder presented some of the new aspects of the campaign and multiplayer. The attendees were also treated to the opening cinematic for HotS:

According to TeamLiquid’s Preview ( by Shindigs & GHOSTCLAW)- In the campaign it is shown that Kerrigan is out to gain her old powers and her control over the Zerg so she gain vengeance against Mengsk.
In multiplayer, more information was released about several new features such as Global Play, multi-language support, resume from reply and Groups/Clans- With a demo showcasing some additional features that have not yet been introduced into the HotS beta.

For some people, going from campaign to multiplayer can be daunting. Because of this, Blizzard is adding 2 more modes that allow players to practice for laddering.  The first is Training mode which provides a series of training missions and tutorials to help people understand the basics for competitive online play. This mode gives tips on how to utilize a race to the best of its ability.
The other mode is “Matchmaking” with the AI. Although similar to the normal ladder experience, players face a computer opponent; one that matches their skill level and allows players to train whilst also providing a more enjoyable and challenging experience then a player would get against the ‘medium difficulty AI’.

Finally, new Customizable observer UI was also revealed and attendees were shown a video demo on how it works. This allows casters, observers and admins to have the details of the match that they want on the screen at all times.

Team Liquid’s interview with Dustin Browder covers several of these new features:

Heart of the Swarm goes live on March 12, 2013.