In WAR players can take on roles as dwarves, warriors and elves
DateTime:7/8/2009 5:21:12 PM

To list a few options. Players starting the game choose to side with one of two factions -- they can fight on the side of the Empire, or they can pick a role as one of the sinister-looking members of Chaos. Mythic's game designers figure they have put in enough quests and adventures to provide around 200 hours of content for the average player, not counting the time a player might spend socializing online with fellow wizards and sword masters.

Mythic has been the successful underdog before. Years ago, its well-liked "Dark Age of Camelot" competed against Sony's "EverQuest" for gamers' attention and dollars. "Camelot" had a peak subscriber base of 250,000, compared with a half-million for "EverQuest," the dominant title at the time.

It's easy to see why a publisher would crave a success in this area. Most titles bring in a one-time purchase price of $50, but games such as "Warhammer Online" also typically bring in a $15 monthly fee for Web access to their virtual worlds. "World of Warcraft," the phenomenally popular title in the genre, is a money-minting machine with a whopping 10 million subscribers. No other game has come close.