Asheron's Call expansion released

Turbine today released a new expansion pack for its massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Asheron's Call. Titled Asheron's Call: Throne of Destiny, the second add-on to the PC game includes the original Asheron's Call and its first expansion, Dark Majesty. The pack is rated T for Teen and currently sells for $29.99.

Throne of Destiny adds several new elements to the series, including a rebuilt graphics engine and user interface. New content includes a playable race, areas to adventure, dozens of quests, and several creatures. For hardcore players, characters' maximum level cap has been more than doubled to 275.

The expansion was delayed from a spring release after closed beta testing with devoted Asheron's Call fans resulted in "flaws pointed out in graphic detail," according to one of the game's producers.

Asheron's Call: Throne of Destiny was one of the first games (along with the recently released Asheron's Call 2: Legions) to be both published and developed by Turbine. Other games in the works from the company include Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach and Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar.

For more information on the Asheron's Call series, read GameSpot's full review of the original.