How would you like a new MMORPG from Nival Interactive? ...no? How about if I remind you that Nival are the multiple award-winning team behind the legendary Heroes of Might and Magic V? Ah, that has your attention! The new project, titled Allods Online, apparently has the largest development budget ever in Russian games history at US $12 million, and is based on a successful RTS series, called Allods outside English-speaking territories and in them as the rather wince-worthy Rage of Mages - which also has its own claim to fame, as Russia's most successful game series. A mix of high fantasy and science fiction, it sounds like a bit of a winning formula! Let's check out the announcement trailer.

Download Allods Online 'Announcement' Trailer

Every new MMORPG suffers from it, but it's hard not to draw the inevitable comparisons between Allods Online and World of Warcraft; although their settings differ slightly thaqnks to the "space opera" theme, both have been developed from successful fantasy RTS series with RPG elements, and the press materials even describe the game play as perfect for fans of "the genre’s most successful titles". A free to play title setting up as a WoW competitor? That's... ambitious!


The PvP sounds interesting, though, with multiple players manning Astral Ships, presumably like that seen in the trailer, and taking each other on en masse. The ships navigate a space called the Astral in which float the titular Allods, the habitable islands on which the rest of gameplay - questing, grinding, looting - takes place, and which were formed after the planet Sarnout exploded. No, I don't know why - but it makes an excellent plot device to explain discrete game locations, doesn't it?


Allods Online is receiving English (and French and German) localisation thanks to a deal with free-to-play MMO go-to guys GALA-NET's European portal. This is not exactly marvelous news for Australian players, as our kind are not always appreciated (read: allowed) on European servers. Never mind though; if the Europeans like it - as the enthusiastic marketing suggests they most assuredly will - then there's a good chance the game will be opened up to more territories. More info as we receive it.