Custom maps are the heart and soul of the multiplayer aspect of
Blizzard titles.  While it may be satisfying to start with
nothing but workers and fight in an intense battle of balanced combat,
it’s also fun sometimes to run around as a nigh-unkillable hero and
massacre everything in your path.  It might not be Dynasty
Warriors, but the map editor of StarCraft II has already produced some
impressive pieces of work that end up giving you a kill count soaring
into the thousands.  So here’s a sneak peak of what’s hot, and
what you might end up playing at release!

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style="font-style: italic;">Nexus Wars will give you more
firepower on screen than any other map out there.

Nexus Wars

Nexus Wars is a imitation of Castle Fight in Warcraft III. 
Teams are split evenly with up to four per side, on a map divided into
east and west with two long, narrow roads between each other’s main
base.  The objective is simple.  Build units and
crush your opponent’s Nexus!



...but you have no control over the units you build.  Also,
the units you build are entirely free and spawn infinitely. 
So how is this remotely balanced/fun?  The game is won and
lost on what is built.  You have full vision of the map to see
what units your opponent is going for, so building counter-units is
required to push into your opponent’s base.  Your units will
automatically go on an attack-move command to your opponent’s base,
following one of the two roads.



Casters will automatically cast their spells, and those without an
attack have been given one to ensure that they don’t blindly rush to
their deaths.  Unit statistics are exactly the same or almost
the same as their counterparts in the actual game
itself.   Knowing the counters to Zerglings and
Hydralisks will get you far in this game, but if you’re clueless....
make sure you ask before you build!



Every 20 seconds, you get income based off the buildings you’ve
built.  The more you build, the higher your income
goes.  This makes it a tough argument to save up for big units
early, especially when hard counters to air and armored units are
readily available in StarCraft II.  You get minerals for each
individual unit kill as well.



Games of this generally play out as huge tugs of war, with each side
getting a counter unit just in time to push the flow of combat back
towards the other team’s half.  Should a side be overpowered
and about to lose unit producing buildings, each player has a one time
only nuke that will instantly kill every unit in a wide
radius.  This can negate an overpowering push of ranged or
siege units, and enable your next wave to turn the tide.



But when players run out of nukes and the enemy is on their doorstep...
the game is over as your buildings fall (and income with it!) and nexus
is eventually destroyed.  This is a stellar game, and will
only get better with time.  The original Castle Fight had an
exceptional range of unique units and counter units, and as those are
introduced into this it’ll get far more complicated and
strategic.  The only downside is how crazy things can get late
game.  You might have to turn down your video settings due to
a limitless supply of units being spawned, and several hundred at a
time will be pushing by the end.

 

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Location, location, location . It all ends too quickly otherwise.

Over-run!

Overrun pits each player on their own against waves and waves of
attackers.  What makes it unique is the highly customized unit
stats and abilities.  There are multiple routes to victory,
via straight units, via units in bunkers, or via turrets.  The
objective is simple--defend the communications tower in the middle.



You build inbetween the outskirts and communications tower. 
The area is wide, and buildings are expensive so mazing isn’t an
option.  In addition, these units are out for blood and all
can attack. so don’t play it like a tower defense.  Waves come
sparsely with only a unit per second or so, but individual units are
much tougher than other defense maps.  Concentrated fire is
key to victory.



The unique units and upgrades really make the game though, with
Marauders getting long range, splash damage slowing attacks for
instance.  Reapers even apply a WoW-style Deep Wounds that
does damage over time and stacks with itself, making them powerful
against targets that will survive long enough to eat the full
debuff.  Even most buildings have abilities to help you
out.  Repair isn’t an option, so each defensive building has
the ability to perform an instant repair, at an energy cost.



Every 10 levels, you go up in the tech tree.  Tech 1 units are
highly ineffective against Tier 2, and to a lesser extent Tier 2 vs.
Tier 3.  Fortunately, in-between tiers you have a long time to
rebuild your defenses appropriately, and can sacrifice lesser units
towards Tier 2 versions.  The Tier 2 units have even more
awesome abilities, such as the Siege Tank upgrade that gives them a 20%
chance to fire a second shot instantly after the first.



The waves themselves are also different.  Near the end of the
first tier, Nydus Worms will spawn randomly around your base area and
spew out units.  If you have weak units in back, or vulnerable
buildings, these will be destroyed quickly and you’ll fall apart in no
time.  Should you survive this, Nydus Worms will continue to
spawn at a slower rate outside your base and spawn units during
waves.  They only last a limited time--but carry a high bounty
if you can finish them off before they despawn.  They’re the
bonus enemies of the game, and defeating them is key to surviving into
Tier 3.



There’s a surprising level of balance and variety in this
game.  It’s not as hot as some of the other survival maps, but
has many unique features and a more refined feel, as well as more
vibrant scenery/map composition, which is a welcome change from the
barren landscapes of most custom maps out there.