Asheron's Callback

Asheron's Call 2 Fallen Kings will go on sale in the UK on December 6th, priced £29.99 including one month's free gameplay, Microsoft has quietly announced. Thereafter punters will have to pay £8.45 per month for subscription.

The publisher is promising that the world of Dereth has been completely reborn for the sequel, and even old players will find it drastically different. The denizens have fled to shelter and the land has become twisted under dark waves of chaos for hundreds of years (condensed, obviously - even Microsoft gets products out the door quicker than that). After generations of hiding, the three civilised races - Humans, Tumeroks and Lugians - have allied against evil and must rebuild their world under an uncertain fate. It's into this maelstrom of uncertainty that players are thrust.

Developed by Turbine Entertainment using a proprietary game engine, Asheron's Call 2 also features a revamped combat system and a new crafting system that lets players pursue non-combative skills. In addition to the vast planes of Dereth as they are now, Turbine will be augmenting the game episodically, introducing new story elements and features like new dungeons, quests and monsters.

And although MS has only confirmed the UK date so far, a bit of pressing reveals that players in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands will also be able to buy the game shortly, although it appears only French, German and English languages are supported.