My Vote for Aiur - Help Blizzard Pick the Next Dark Templar

As our nation prepares for President-elect Obama’s inauguration next week, it’s time for gamers to turn their attention to a new election. Right now, Blizzard is calling out to the Starcraft community to decide on the final design of the Protoss’ dark templar unit for the much-anticipated sequel. Polling stations opened last week.

The dark templar, first encountered in the Brood War expansion, is notorious for its natural cloaking ability and infantry-slicing prowess. Apparently, there are at least two competing tribes of dark templar, and our votes will determine which of these alien assassins makes the cut. Fans can choose between the traditional Lenassa dark templar, sporting his chic veil and single “warp blade,” or the toothy Zer’atai dark templar. This newcomer is armed with a dual-scythe and some pretty intimidating tusks (presumably those are the zerg bones mentioned in Blizzard’s description).

I’d urge GotGame readers to choose ol’ Fangy McUnderbite, if only for the sake of injecting a little new blood into the Protoss. Not to mention, from the looks of the accompanying animation, he wields that wacky weapon like a champ. Of course, it all comes down to personal taste, and there is something to be said for the Lenassa’s mystique. If you’re having trouble making up your mind, you could always wimp out and pick the “both” option (in which one of the designs would be randomly assigned in-game). For once, undecided voters have it pretty easy.

This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen developer-sponsored polls. For instance, earlier last year, Capcom allowed Street Fighter fans to stuff the ballot box in favor of Cammy, and prior to that, Japanese gamers helped select the latest Smash Brothers. Though some characters will inevitably be left on the cutting room floor, these polls are great for generating early interest in a game and rewarding hardcore community involvement.