Fallen Earth is a post-apocalyptic massively multiplayer online game that mixes first person shooter and role playing game style mechanics. The game is set in 2156, one hundred years after the world is brought low by a plague known as Shiva that killed 99% of the population. The game takes place in and around the Grand Canyon, one of the few habitable places left on Earth, which makes it a place many are willing to kill to control. Our world is one where mankind teeters on the edge of extinction, clinging to the bones of the old world while trying to recover their lost secrets. It's a world of scavengers and desperation. The players are those who choose to rise above the hardships of this new world and work towards a better world, or decide the old world was corrupt and all signs of it must be erased completely.

The Fallen Earth will begin an Open Beta program August 17. Players who want to get an early glimpse of Fallen Earth on August 17 need only register on FilePlanet beginning Friday, August 14 at 1 p.m. ET (GMT-4).

Taking place in the Grand Canyon, Fallen Earth gives players the choice to rebuild the decaying world or participate in its destruction through use of the classless advancement system, real-time crafting and the seamless integration of first-person shooter and role-playing game mechanics.

"The Open Beta and Pre-Order programs give a much larger group of players the opportunity to experience Fallen Earth," says Jessica Orr, product manager for Fallen Earth. "We are excited that players want to get a jump on the game, and we are including a little something extra for being among the first to order."

Those who pre-order Fallen Earth at Direct2Drive get an exclusive in-game mount-the Wasteland Runner-which has four more points of defensive skills, 2500 more Stamina and six more pack slots than other horses. Additionally, pre-orders receive a guaranteed spot in the Open Beta and a five-day head start in the game, beginning September 4.

The Fallen Earth team has created a variety of new vehicle models from muscle cars to motorcycles to ATVs. They have also enhanced the vehicle combat system using the same basis as player-based combat so players will be able to attack from their vehicles, be it with pistols from a motorcycle or dual-mounted machine guns from a muscle car.

The core functionality players expect from an MMO, such as raids, clans, auction house, and a mail system, are now up and running in Fallen Earth. Players can combine their efforts in raids of up to four groups or thirty-two players, allowing them to tackle larger threats and compete more effectively in PvP activities. Clans allow players to form large social groups with a number of different ranks, each with its own configurable name and permission list. The auction house system allows players to sell goods to each other with ease, and to search the auction house for items needed for a specific recipe. The mail system enables players to easily stay in contact and trade goods among themselves through the vigilant efforts the Franklin's Riders, the postal service within Fallen Earth.

Features

• First Person Shooter/Role Playing Game Hybrid: Engage in intense FPS combat with the depth and customization of RPG character advancement
• Classless Advancement: Utilize the robust skill-based system to build characters with multiple stats, skills, mutation paths, tradeskills and factions
• Massive Real-Time Crafting System: 95 percent of the in-game items—vehicles, consumables, weapons, armor and more—can be made by the players as they scavenge and harvest
• Unique Faction Systems: Ally with or rally against six factions to determine how the post-apocalyptic world is rebuilt
• Multiple Game Play Modes: Experience multiple types of game play including crafting, exploration, vehicle combat and scavenging in both solo and group play
• Tactical Player vs. Player: Battle in one of the open PvP zones or wage war with the factions to claim control of a town
• Vast Explorable World: Put survival instincts to the test while experiencing 70 towns with more than 5,500 missions spread over 1,000 square kilometers of zoneless territory

Fallen Earth will be released on Sept. 9, 2009.