Now in its twelfth year of operation, Ultima Online gears up for the Stygian Abyss expansion, which adds the game's largest dungeon and a new playable race - the gargoyle.

The Stygian Abyss expansion gets its name from Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, the 1992 PC game that saw players exploring a vast dungeon in first-person view. Now that dungeon comes to Ultima Online, along with a new playable character race in the form of gargoyles. Gargoyles have long been a staple of the series, and now players will be able to take the flying stone creatures for a spin, with new skills such as imbuing, mysticism, and throwing. Oooo, throwing.

The expansion's existence was first revealed in 2007 accidentally on the Japanese Ultimate Online website, so EA's official announcement comes a bit late. Still, I suppose seeing a massively multiplayer online game soldier on after twelve years is cause enough for a press release. Ultima Online: Stygian Abyss is due out this summer.

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