blizzcon-2000 posts

The BlizzCon 2009 panel on "StarCraft II Lore" was in fact a sneaky way to introduce the main voice cast for Blizzard's upcoming sci-fi RTS game. Members of the voice cast were introduced and brought up to the panel one at a time but it was the last reveal that will certainly get the fanboys talking. Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer (yep, Number Six herself) will be portraying the key role of Sarah Kerrigan in the game.

As previously announced, Robert Clotworthy will return to voice the role of Jim Raynor in StarCraft II. In addition, the voice work is being directed by Andrea Romano. She is best known for the work she has done directing the voice cast for a ton of Warner Bros. animated TV shows and movies including Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League and the recent DC Comics direct-to-DVD movies. Stay tuned for more info on the panel later today.

It's been a long time in coming but today at BlizzCon 2009, Blizzard finally revealed more about the new features of their upcoming update to their Battle.net multiplayer matchmaking service. Blizzard feels there are still some good features in the current Battle.net including great matchmaking a large mod community and more. However, Blizzard feels that the chat system is disorganized, new players get killed too easily, and it was hard to find a custom game.

For the next version of Battle.net, which will launch around the same time as StarCraft II, the service will also allow friends to connect more easily and get news, info and more about the StarCraft II community.

Even while you are playing StarCraft II, you have access to your friends list. You can keep track of your stats and achievements and let your friends know how well you are doing in the game. Unlocking new achievements will also unlock things you can use like new avatars, decals and more.

Check out more info after the jump. Update: We have added some Battle.net 2.0 screenshots for you to enjoy