Petroglyph Games have an extensive background in the video games industry, with many of their developers coming from Westwood Studios. In recent years they've worked on some high profile Star Wars games, but they've now decided to take a completely different route.
Mytheon, their latest project, is a completely new IP and it's going to be completely free to play. The game will rely on micro transactions as a source of revenue, but this won't affect gameplay at all. The micro transactions will only affect things from a cosmetic perspective, such as vanity items with regards to weaponry and armour.
The game itself is an MMO that is set in ancient Greece. There are three main character classes: Warcaster, which is modelled on a Gladiator, Elementalist, which focuses on mental power and Eidolon. They each have differing styles of play, which are denoted by how they use stones. The stones are crucial to combat and there are going to be more than 150 in total. They allow players to cast spells, both offensively and defensively, as well as summon creatures. It's also possible to level stones up, so they can become more powerful over time.
The Stone Forge essentially acts as a class system. Here players can make new stones based on loot they have found. They can also clone existing stones they've found, if they are particularly helpful. Alongside this, there is also the possibility to create stones from shards that have been collected. The addition of stones as a medium, as well as the Stone Forge, creates for an interesting take on the stereotypical system.
There is a level cap of 30 in the game, and while this may seem low, it is countered by the vast array of stones on offer. The stones are effectively all the player needs to progress further, should they wish to. As with all MMOs though, there is always the prospect of raising the level cap later down the line.
Gameplay is quite similar to others in the genre, like Diablo and Baldur's gate. Many of the boss fights, which are based on the Greek Gods, as well as other skirmishes, are fought using a rock, paper, scissors type system, although there is an extra layer of depth added by using elements too. It's also possible to play levels with up to 5 other people, so there is definitely an increased scope.
There are 30 regions in the game, and it's estimated that they will take between 15-20 hours each to complete. There are also plans for expansions already, with there being talk of levels in Egypt and surrounding territories. This just shows that Petroglyph are keen to support the title even after it's released, and that's definitely reassuring for the community.
The game is currently penned in for a Q1 2010 release on PC, and it should be coming out in North America and Europe at exactly the same time.
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