Sony Tests EverQuest Spin Off
Sony is following up the smash success of its real time strategy game EverQuest with a spin off title called Lords of EverQuest. The media powerhouse is currently commencing an exclusive closed beta with enough room to accommodate 15,000 testers.
To reward the efforts of its testers, Sony is offering hands on experience with the next generation game, coupled with a free one-year subscription to Ziff Davis' Computer Gaming World magazine.
At the moment, a group of 500 core testers is kicking off external quality control, with room to grow.
"We've had tens of thousands of applications from beta testers interested in getting their hands on Lords of EverQuest since it was announced in April and 500 lucky people are getting their chance to play the beta version in this first round," said Michael Lustenberger, director of product marketing at Sony Online Entertainment.
Lustenberger continued, "Lords of EverQuest is pushing the boundaries of the genre with many new innovations that RTS fans are going to love, in addition to the deep story and background drawn from the EverQuest universe."
Last May, Sony sought testers for a Mac port of EverQuest. Westlake Interactive, which has ported titles such as The Sims and Medal of Honor to Mac, was challenged with making the three year old game Apple friendly.
With the Mac port out of the way, Lord of EverQuest can proceed at full stream; the storyline is inspired by its predecessor. This time around, the land of Antonia is divided by 15 war lords each with massive armies tasked with dominating the known world. The story is told from three different perspectives representing the major competing factions.
Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Fiends and Drakes -- each with their own special units and strategies -- duke it out with the hundreds of spells and abilities at their disposal. Online game play supports up to 12 players per game through Sony's forthcoming SOEGames.net Web service.
Lords of EverQuest is expected to retail for $49.99 USD. Gamers interested in signing up for the beta can do so by completing the online registration form.