Anarchy begins on Halloween

With Anarchy Online now available throughout Europe, Funcom are preparing to begin the persistent storyline which they had promised players. Specially designed missions, dungeons and bosses will tie in with planned gameplay changes and scripted events to involve gamers in an episodic story arc which will span four years. Or at least that's the plan. The first season is due to start on October 31st and will carry on through to May, when it will end on a cliffhanger leading in to a second season of activities starting later in the summer. The whole thing is being devised by a story team including Ragnar Tornquist and Didrik Tollefsen, two of the men behind the stunning adventure game The Longest Journey, along with Anarchy Online lead designer Gaute Godager and Aaron de Orive, who was planning the storyline for Ultima Online 2 before the game's development was unexpectedly cancelled by Electronic Arts. To kick things off a new story website has been launched for the game, offering a short teaser movie, an interview with Omni-Tek's Rubi-Ka boss Philip Ross, and the prologue of the soon-to-be-released Anarchy Online novel "Prophet Without Honour", which fills in more of the game's back story. Apparently the end is nigh. Related Feature - Anarchy Online preview