Kotaku have some details on StarCraft II’s single player campaign, here’s an excerpt:

Hiking back up to the bridge, Raynor checks out the Star Map. This is where you’ll choose your missions. They’re much more open ended than in the previous StarCraft campaigns. You’ll be able to pick the planet or system you want to tackle next, progressing the story in your own way. Mission briefings provide the summary, objectives, bonus objectives, mission bounty, and recommended technology, so you’ll have to choose which best suits your current needs and matches your current level of tech.

Following a trip to Sar Mara, in which Pardo cheated, adding extra Thor mechs and Battlecruisers to his compliment to secure the next artifact, it was back to the Hyperion. And since Jim Raynor’s had a rough go of it lately, he heads down to the ships canteen, only to run into an old friend, Zeratul, who warns of something rather dire.

The real-time cinema showed the engine’s impressive graphical tricks, with real time shadows, bump mapping and realistic lighting painting a believable ship corridor.

The single-player presentation ended there, promising a glimpse at the future of the storyline, including a return from the Queen of Blades, Kerrigan and hinting at unraveling the mystery of the Xel’Naga.

The free form, open ended progressive storyline planned for StarCraft II looks like it could be a refreshing change of pace for fans of the Blizzard RTS formula.