Beta Test Aiur Chef, StarJeweled, and Left 2 Die!
Aiur
Chef, StarJeweled, and Left 2 Die, three new Blizzard-made custom games
for StarCraft II, are now available for beta testing on Battle.net.
While these custom games are still under development and we don't yet
have a release date to share, we wanted to give everyone the opportunity
to test them out and give feedback before they're officially released.
To help get you started, here's a quick summary of each custom game as well as some basic instructions on how to play.
Aiur Chef
Category: Collection/Cooking
Mode: Free For All
Players: Up to 8
Each round of Aiur Chef features a theme ingredient and three succulent
recipes that play upon its unique flavor. Before you can master these
themed dishes, though, you'll first need to scout across the map and
collect a variety of tasty ingredients (including the theme ingredient).
Each recipe has its own set of required ingredients, listed in the
recipe menu in the upper-left of your screen, which can be picked up off
the ground or acquired by killing specific creatures. Don't get too
greedy when loading up on ingredients, though -- inventory space is
limited, so you'll want to focus on collecting ingredients for one
recipe at a time.
Once you've collected the proper ingredients, you'll need to return
to the kitchen in the center of the map and use the Beacon to prepare
your dish. Each dish created using the theme ingredient will award you
points based on the complexity of the recipe. Some dishes even award
special one-time use abilities like Hearthstove, which allows you to
quickly port back to the Beacon, and Decoy, which places a fake theme
ingredient on the ground for other players to scavenge. Take advantage
of these abilities whenever possible, as they could provide the
competitive edge you need to outcook your opponents.
The player with the most points at the end of three rounds will be named
Executor Chef, culinary guru of the entire Koprulu Sector. With such a
prestigious title on the line, expect some fierce competition... and get
those psi blades ready!
StarJeweled
Category: Puzzle/Strategy
Mode: Solo vs. A.I., Co-op vs. A.I., Player vs. Player
Players: Up to 4 (1v1, 1v1 A.I., 1v2 A.I., 1v2, 2v2, 2v2 A.I., etc.)
StarJeweled focuses on matching groups of jewels according to color and
strategically selecting StarCraft II units to overcome an opponent's
forces and destroy their base. StarJeweled can be played several ways,
including cooperatively against the A.I. or competitively against other
players.
Each successfully matched jewel
combination provides a burst of energy; the larger the jewel combo, the
bigger the energy burst. This energy can be spent to train a variety of
StarCraft II units, including zealots, banshees, and ultralisks, which
will help you eliminate your opponent's defenses. You can also use
energy to cast spells that heal friendly targets and do damage to enemy
units. To activate a unit or spell once you've gained enough energy,
simply click on the corresponding icon located beneath the jewel board.
Since the goal of StarJeweled is to destroy your opponent's base while
protecting your own, you'll want to choose which units you purchase
carefully. StarJeweled is not just about matching as many jewels as
possible, but also managing your energy efficiently and understanding
how the units in the game counter each other. If you're unfamiliar with
all the units' strengths and weaknesses, each unit's tooltip (which
you'll see by hovering over its icon) includes a list of what it's
strong against and what it's weak against. Use this knowledge to use
your advantage, and pay attention to what units your opponent is
building.
A game of StarJeweled consists of five rounds. Each round will continue
until one player's or team's base is destroyed. Take out your
opponent's base in three out of the five rounds and you win!
Left 2 Die
Category: Survival and Siege
Mode: Co-op, Endless Night
Players: Up to 2
Left 2 Die is a cooperative take on the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
campaign mission Outbreak that shifts between two phases: a night phase
and a day phase.
At night, you and a teammate are tasked with protecting your base
against waves of infested terrans. In order to survive, you'll need to
use defensive structures like bunkers and coordinate your defenses
against the invading zerg armies. You'll also want to watch out for
special zerg units such as the Kaboomer and Stank that can perform
unique and powerful abilities capable of overwhelming even the strongest
front lines.
During the day, the attacks on your team's base will cease, giving you
and your teammate time to train additional units and take them out to
destroy infested terran settlements scattered across the map. It’s also a
good idea to continue building up defenses during the daytime so you
can survive the merciless onslaught of zerg that swarm your base at
night.
While the struggle to survive in Left 2 Die can be daunting, you and
your teammate will have some help along the way. You can earn zerg
Biomass by killing special zerg units and destroying infested buildings,
and then use the collected Biomass at the Science Facility in your base
to research new units and structures like medics, firebats, and
perdition turrets. Both you and your teammate will receive these
upgrades, which will aid you in your struggle against the zerg strain.
In order to achieve victory in Left 2 Die, you'll need to eradicate all
traces of the zerg virus. Work together to survive at night, assault and
rebuild during the day, and use Biomass wisely for epic upgrades to
win!
Endless Night: If you're looking for a different kind
of challenge, be sure to try out Left 2 Die's Endless Night mode,
essentially a "survival" mode in which infested structures are
invulnerable and daybreak never comes. You'll have to fend off wave
after wave of the infested, with each wave becoming increasingly more
powerful. While defeat is inevitable, the challenge comes in seeing how
long you can endure in the dark.
To play the beta versions of Aiur Chef, StarJeweled, or Left 2 Die,
simply go to the Multiplayer tab in StarCraft II and look for the custom
games window. A few of these games have more than one difficulty
setting, so select the level of challenge that's best for you. We hope
you enjoy them, and we're looking forward to hearing what you think.
See you on Battle.net!
