Without a doubt, StarCraft II is shaping up to be one of the biggest releases of 2010. Our invitation for beta testers was swamped with requests from around the globe, and a handful of passionate local players were selected to test Blizzard's latest blockbuster. Over the last month these privileged few have dug deep into the beta, playing against each other as well as countless nameless foes. Today we're publishing part one of a series of articles, based purely on their feedback. Today's feature focuses on the different species in the game - which one did they love, who did they hate, and what strategies proved effective?

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Which species in the beta proved to be your favourite?

Daniel James: I’ve been predominantly playing the Zerg (though I have a soft spot for the Protoss too...) simply because they were my favourite in the original Starcraft. To me, the Zerg represented a relentless onslaught of overwhelming forces that will grind away all opposition. What’s not to love about that? But how have they changed this time around? Will those spiny carapaces and chittering bugs still lure us in?

Of course they will!

As with the other races, the Zerg have received a magnificent visual and audio update, whilst retaining the familiar sights and sounds. The Terrans, the race I enjoy playing the least, now have a grittier redneck feel, that is well supported by the Firefly inspired music that accompanies them. Unlike the original, some unit upgrades (such as the Zergling and Hydralisk speed boosts) will now be visually depicted on your unit, reflected by anatomical changes – such as the growth of insectoid wings. And did I giggle in glee like a school-girl when I first heard the all too familiar ‘you require more Overlords!’? Maybe...

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Meet the mighty Zerg
Calum Moment: Really, this is a no-brainer – who can resist plasma swords, warp rifts, and photon cannons?! The Protoss are the most technologically developed species and graphically it shows. Their artistic style of smooth lines and predominately blue colouring just looks plain kick ass. Although we didn't get any sense of the SP storyline, I always found the Protoss the most interesting and hopefully this continues.

Tim Colwill: As you know my favourite race is the Zerg. They're just so excellently slimey and unique. My favourite units are still the Hydralisks - just so versatile. The new Banelings are excellent fun, but if I had to give an award for best new unit I'd say it went to the revamped Queen, she just changes the gameplay so much and is so powerful in that regard. Great work. The Zerg are my favourite because they're unpretentiously monstrous and they just don't even care, and they don't go around talking about how s***-hot they are when you give them orders. They just play so uniquely compared to the other two and I think that's excellent. Plus they're clearly ripped off from Warhammer 40,000's Tyranids and I love my Warhammer 40,000.

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Which tactics worked well with your species, and what was their weakness?

Calum Moment: As lame as it sounds – I just spammed the hell out of carriers, and just like SC1, it worked. I'd turtle at the start of every round, with a few zealots and photon cannons for defence, then focus on teching up to get Carriers. Once I had about 5 of them, it was game over. This strategy isn't full-proof however, if I got rushed HARD then I was screwed.

Tim Colwill: The same tactics work well, combined Hydra and Zergling drops, good placement of burrowed scouting units, massed Mutalisks. New ranged units like the Roach add some welcomed versatility, and being able to move towers now is also good. Their weaknesses remain the same as before, it's difficult to reach air units as fast as others, transports take a while to build up and the structure of the tech tree now requires a fully upgraded hive to even make anything cool, which is a bit limiting but it's okay in the long run.

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Terran vs Protoss - Fight!
Daniel James: The play-style of the Zerg is not dissimilar to the original. You’ll still be pumping out Zerglings from the get go, Ultralisks are still the top tier heavy hitters of your ground forces, and even the Broodlord makes a reappearance (...though this time he attacks ground forces by throwing baby versions of himself at them). The first major difference you encounter is with the Queen, who is no longer a relatively inactive unit. Now the Queen is an effective, although fragile, base defender. She also has three unique abilities at her command, allowing her to lay additional larvae eggs at your hatchery, lay a creep tumour egg (which can then be used to spawn others and effectively send creep across the map), or heal a wounded building. You will typically have at least one Queen at every hatchery, or more if you choose to use them as a base defender.

The Zerg, unlike their Protoss or human counterparts, are perfectly positioned to throw out everything they have in their arsenal in every game (if you so choose). This is due, in part, to their ability to quickly switch ‘techs’ which offers the player the opportunity to change their plan of attack on the fly. Coupled with the modifications to the Queen unit, this can make the Zerg a quite devastating adversary. Did that Terran player just counter your ground forces with dominant air? Well, toss up a Spire and fill the skies with the cries of the Zerg swarm!

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Which species in the beta did you like least?

Tim Colwill: Protoss still! I loved them when I first started SC back in the day but they're just so... I dunno, strait-laced, and boring. No imagination! "WE WILL KILL THINGS BECAUSE WE ARE THE BEST AT KILLING THINGS AND WE ARE ALL SAD."

Calum Moment: The Terrans. While some of the new units are cool (Reapers are cool) I don't like the new art style they've adopted – some things look like they are made from Lego. Strategically they played very much the same as in SC1, with things like base blocking actually built into the mechanics of the game now, but to me – they seemed like the most underpowered of the three races at Beta, probably why they appeared to be the least played.

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We've got plenty more information about the beta to follow, focusing on the matchmaking, the interface, improvements and more. Come back next week for part two.