summer games!

Earth and Beyond
In Earth and Beyond, Westwood has crafted a uniquely space-bound massively multiplayer online RPG. Inspired by genre trailblazers Ultima Online and EverQuest but shunning those games' medieval and fantasy themes in favor of a futuristic setting, Earth and Beyond infuses the MMORPG concept with a healthy dose of science fiction and space exploration. You are given the choice between three offshoots of the human race, each with different strengths and skills, and by matching up these three factions with three distinct skill sets (explorer, trader, and combatant), a total of nine character classes is achieved. Of course, you'll get the chance to customize and upgrade your own space vessel as well; the gameplay revolves around your travels through the stars and interaction with other spacefarers in a persistent online universe. If this concept sounds cool to you, you shan't wait long to play it. Earth and Beyond should be on shelves shortly.

Warcraft III
As the third installment in the popular Warcraft real-time strategy series and the follow-up to Blizzard's previous strategy title, the runaway hit Starcraft, Warcraft III has a huge legacy to live up to. Blizzard plans to meet those expectations with its first fully 3D game engine, four distinct playable races, and some fundamental RPG-style changes to the real-time strategy model it's been perfecting for the last several years. The game's storyline sees the invasion of the Warcraft world by a race of demons called the Burning Legion. As the humans, orcs, night elves, or undead, you'll have to fight against the fiery interlopers. Warcraft III features full multiplayer support via Blizzard's Battle.net network, and if Starcraft is any indication, it will be a game played actively for years after its release. The game will be available for the PC and Macintosh worldwide in early July.




thanks to gamespot