Posted by Björn March 17, 2006
Mythic Entertainment has announced "Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning," an MMORPG based on the Warhammer fantasy world.
"
About the Age of Reckoning
It is a desperate time for the Emperor. A terrible Chaos Plague defiles
his lands, ravaging the populace and weakening his armies. Meanwhile,
the Dwarf holds in the nearby World’s Edge Mountains have come under
siege by a massive greenskin horde. Honor-bound by an ancient oath, the
ruler of the greatest nation of men in the Old World has dispatched
several regiments to assist the embattled Dwarfs, further depleting the
Empire’s already thin defenses.
In this dark hour, a new threat appears. Under a sky darkened by a
crimson eclipse, a great warhost erupts from the wastelands of the
north. Bearing the banner of Tzeentch, Changer of the Ways, the army of
Chaos marches south for the borders of the Empire, crushing everything
in its path.
With the Dwarfs fighting desperately to slow the ferocious greenskin
“Waaagh!”, the Emperor realizes that his only hope of defeating the
encroaching legions of Chaos lies with the High Elves of Ulthuan. Upon
receiving the Emperor’s dire plea for help, Finubar, Phoenix King of
the High Elves, sets sail at the head of a mighty fleet of warships
laden with battalions of High Elf warriors.
No sooner have the Elven fleet weighed anchor in the Imperial capital
of Altdorf, when word comes of a new menace: the vile Dark Elves have
invaded the island of Ulthuan! It now becomes terribly clear to the
Phoenix King, the Emperor and the High King of the Dwarfs that a vast
conspiracy is at work. In his heart, Finubar knows that only Malekith,
Witch King of Naggaroth and Lord of the Dark Elves, could orchestrate
such a plot. He is not mistaken.
Months earlier, Malekith’s seers had foretold the coming attack on the
Empire by the forces of Chaos. The Lord of Naggaroth moved swiftly to
capitalize on this rare opportunity. Using his formidable arcane
powers, Malekith forged amulets of dark magic and gifted them to the
leaders of the most powerful Orc tribes in the greenskin lands. Within
each talisman were bound potent spells to greatly increase the strength
and fortitude of the Orcs, but the treacherous Witch King secretly
included one additional spell - a spell of command that compelled the
tribal warriors to unleash their boundless aggression on the mountain
holds of the Dwarfs. The cunning Lord of the Dark Elves knew that if
the Emperor could not rely on his Dwarf allies for help, he would have
no choice but to call upon the High Elves.
Mere hours after Finubar’s war fleet had set sail for the Old World,
Malekith launched a massive invasion against the island home of his
hated kin. Scores of Black Arks descended upon the vulnerable lands of
the unsuspecting High Elves. Rank upon rank of Naggaroth’s fiercest
warriors belched forth from their dark depths, and with them came
nightmarish beasts and terrifying engines of war.
Surrounded on all sides by fearsome adversaries bent on their
annihilation, the leaders of the Dwarfs, the High Elves and the Empire
forge a pact to fight together as one power. The Alliance of Order is
born, and its members swear an oath never to lay down their swords
until their enemies are destroyed.
Now, the greatest armies ever assembled collide in an epic war pitting
the forces of darkness and destruction against a stalwart alliance of
men, Elves and Dwarfs. A new age is dawning in the world of Warhammer.
It is an age of bitter rivalry and lethal conflict, of vile treachery
and legendary heroism. This is the Age of Reckoning."
The game is scheduled to be released in 2007. You can find six screenshots in the
game's gallery that were released with this announcement.