Orc-some Warhammer shots

If one massively-multiplayer PC game has the potential to rain on World of Warcraft's victory parade, it's Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning - just point your adventurous eyes at these new screens showing Warhammer's armored greenskin menace, the orc, along with some ludicrously huge weaponry. Hit the Images tab above to check them all out.

Like WoW, Warhammer: Age of Reckoning (or, rather aptly, WAR) asks you to choose between good and evil but, with the wealth of atmosphere provided by the game's tight relationship with table-top warfighters Games Workshop, WAR's character choices offer just as much character, visual flair and appeal as WoW's cast - perhaps even more.

Above: Characters are lovingly detailed, with slightly more personality than WoW's cartoon-ish warriors.

More interesting, though, are the welcome developments in MMO gameplay. WAR features the exciting prospect of battling PvE (player versus environment) and PvP (player versus player) in the exact same environments. Plus an overriding collective goal in the new realm versus realm battles, offering full campaigns and huge battles between the forces of good and evil, with real consequences - like the sacking of your race's capital city.

And if none of that makes much sense to you, tell it to an MMO fan and watch them foam at the mouth in anticipation. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is due for release for PC next year.

November 21, 2006

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Ben Richardson is a former Staff Writer for Official PlayStation 2 magazine and a former Content Editor of 12DOVE. In the years since Ben left GR, he has worked as a columnist, communications officer, charity coach, and podcast host – but we still look back to his news stories from time to time, they are a window into a different era of video games.