"StarCraft II" players are ready to rush in once the first "Nova Covert Ops" DLC arrives on March 29. The upcoming downloadable content is one of three episodes, which will contain three missions each.

Blizzard, the game developer and publisher, originally scheduled the first mission pack to arrive no later than June 19, but thanks to an unknown force, it will be arriving much earlier. Another good thing is that only the "StarCraft II: Starter Edition" is needed to play the upcoming DLC. All three "Nova" mission packs will be available on or before Dec. 1.

"The reign of Emperor Valerian Mengsk is under threat. Along with facing political opposition, several Dominion ghosts have gone missing in action while under his rule. Their trail leads to a secretive Terran group, the Defenders of Man. As Nova Terra, a psionic ghost trained to be the perfect covert operative, you must delve into the conspiracy before it's too late for the Terran Dominion," the official game description says.

Gamers will be playing as one of "StarCraft's" characters, the Dominion's most powerful ghost agent, November Annabella "Nova" Terra. IGN added that the missions for the upcoming standalone DLC will introduce new gameplay such as impeding attempts at invading planets and sneaking into the base of enemies.

Blizzard is offering the "StarCraft II: Nova Covert Ops" DLC pack on pre-order with a price of US$14.99, which is discounted from the US$22.47 regular price. This is for all the three episodes, with a total of nine missions. Upon pre-ordering, Blizzard will also throw in a special in-game portrait and a ghost unit skin for "StarCraft II."

"StarCraft II: Nova Covert Ops" will be available for Windows PC and Mac machines. The "StarCraft II: Starter Edition" is free to download but the upcoming DLC will require a Battle.net account and Internet connection.