It's just under a month away from the launch of Warhammer Online, the new massively multiplayer online RPG from Mythic, the folks who made Dark Age of Camelot. Way back in the Dark Ages of MMOs, back in the ancient year 2001, back when they weren't even a gleam in Electronic Arts' eye, Mythic was doing large scale player vs. player (PvP) battles. And they were doing it right, setting three factions against each other in bona fide battles and sieges rather than deathmatch-style skirmishes. Mythic has since been acquired by EA and put to work on the Warhammer license, which is essentially World of Warcraft before it was World of Warcraft.

In other words, this is a rare combination of a rich license with an established and talented developer. The last time we got a combination this good was Lord of the Rings Online.

Below are some screenshots from each of the six races' starting areas. Yes, it looks an awful lot like World of Warcraft. Get used to it. At first blush, it might even seem to play like World of Warcraft. But the basic difference in Warhammer Online is that it seems to lead you into playing with and against other people rather than just whacking insentient monsters. To be sure, there's plenty of that, too. But the world of Warhammer Online funnels player's efforts into clashing with the other races, first by encouraging players to work together on public quests, then by putting them into scenarios against AI monsters, and finally by moving quests out into the wider wild world of PvP.

I'll post more info as the beta progresses, but for now, enjoy the scenery.