Can't say I'm liking the frame rate in this video for Deck13 Interactive's action RPG, due out next year for the Xbox 360 and PC, but I like the way they spell.

It's probably my biggest disappointment of this E3. I've been following Venetica since the game was first announced. It's an action role-playing game starring the daughter of death, Scarlett, who must do battle with evil forces in order to defeat an evil necromancer and save her father. It's in development for the Xbox 360 and PC by German developer Deck 13, with a release expected sometime this year. I rushed over to DTP this morning, giddy with excitement, but despite extending my meeting from a half hour to an hour, I only got to see Divinity II: Ego Draconis, which was nice, but no Venetica.

I did manage to grab some pretty screenshots, but I can't look at them. They just depress me more. You folks look for me.

Scarlett's journey in her upcoming action RPG for the 360 and PC takes her into the Twilight World, where she can communicate with the dead in order to gain access to new gameplay elements and skills. Characters who die in the main world wind up in the Twilight World, where they'll give Scarlett a hand in her adventure. Being the daughter of death does have its perks, I suppose.

Check out the new screens below, and then read more about the game in the press release neatly tucked beneath them.

Venetica: Experience the dark Action RPG features of the Twilight World

Hamburg/Germany, January 19th, 2009 – In dtp entertainment’s upcoming Action RPG Venetica players take over the role of Scarlett, Grim Reaper’s daughter who is young and beautiful.. Set in a fantastic Venice, it is her mission to fight the pure evil.

Venetica takes players to the here and now of its fantastic game world, making Scarlett explore Venice’s streets, canals, houses and even the roof tops. As the daughter of Death, she also has the ability to enter the Twilight World: the world of the dead. Here, she communicates with the dead and gets access to a number of unique gameplay elements. To achieve this, Scarlett needs to learn and train for special, supernatural skills and abilities – of which she initially doesn’t even know exist…

During the game, her skills and abilities will allow her to get deeper and deeper into the Twilight World, and, for instance, ask the dead for help.

Here and there, the dead help Scarlett to accomplish her missions by giving her hints: There are two ghosts, for example, who help Scarlett to find special items by revealing hidden doors or showing her helpful hints that will allow her to pick locks successfully. Scarlett meets these guys early in the game, when they still are alive. She helps them, but can’t avert that both will be killed later in the game.

It’s not just Good that awaits Scarlett in the Twilight World – the pure evil lurks there too, waiting the daughter of Death. Those who know the story of Venetica are aware of the bad necromancer, who is the source of all evil in the game’s story. He, Viktor, empowered himself with the Grim Reaper’s supernatural powers and now threatens the world. So, it’s not only countless horrific creatures that are waiting for Scarlett. Viktor’s powerful accomplices also hound her..

Equipped with supernatural powers, Viktor’s allies await Scarlett in the Twilight World once she has defeated them in the world of the Living. Now, Scarlett will face her real challenge: Using their powers, the evil helpers transform themselves into huge beasts, becoming even more powerful now that they reached the realm of the Dead.

Venetica’s Twilight World offers even more to the players: It’s not only special NPCs and enemies that resurrect in the world of the Dead – also Scarlett herself uses the underworld to re-awake. This allows her to generate herself tactical combat advantage, for instance by repositioning herself unseen while staying in the Twilight World, and afterwards surprisingly returning to the world of the living.

There is another special connection between Scarlett and the Twilight World: Her literally eternal love to Benedict, who dies just at the start of the game, bounds her to this world. Scarlett will meet her love regularly. In fact, Benedict will be the one who reveals Scarlett’s supernatural powers and who trains her in how to use them.

Many additional skills and abilities allow Scarlett to make even more use of the Twilight World, for instance by summoning creatures or by giving her unusual insights in both the worlds of the Living and the Dead. So, the Twilight World offers a full load of innovative gameplay features to Action RPG gamers.

Venetica will be a cinematic Action RPG with an extraordinary and deep story. The game mixes emotion and action in stunning ways.

A unique and living world full of surprises is waiting for the player, set in fantastic 16th century Venice and paired with intuitive and easy to learn gameplay.

As Cinematic RPG Venetica offers movie like cameras, subtly used cut scenes and spectacular images on a marvelous trip through a unique game world that is hard to match in the genre.

dtp entertainment will release Venetica developed by Deck 13 in 2009 for PC and Xbox 360®.

Sometimes all you need is an interesting concept to pique my interest, and DTP Entertainment has managed to do exactly that with just a few paragraphs and four screens of this RPG, due out in 2009 for the PC and Xbox 360. Nifty main character, interesting world, potential for almost limitless power...definitely one to keep an eye on.

Venetica: dtp entertainment unveils the new Deck 13 role-play game – for the PC and Xbox 360

Hamburg/Germany, May 27th, 2008 – Deck 13, one of Germany’s most successful game developers, has teamed up with dtp entertainment to present Venetica, a visually stunning role-play game with a cryptic storyline. Venetica mixes emotions and action in a unique free roaming and living sixteenth century world full of surprise.

In the era of Venetica, Death walks among the living as a flesh & blood being, carrying out the deeds of an ancient council known by a few as Corpus. Each generation of the Corpus is set with the task of selecting the next predecessor of the bringer of death. Unfortunately, the most recent council had unwittingly selected a crafty necromancer who is determined on bringing death and destruction to the world.

This conniving imposter has managed to transform into an undead fiend, which no mortal man can kill. This power-crazed necromancer is hell-bent on destroying the reinstated Death and the council of Corpus. Only one person stands in his way, Scarlett, the daughter of Death.

Up to now she has known nothing of her origins, her powers and the capabilities that she possesses – now she is challenged to learn how to develop and use her powers to save her father and curse the necromancer and his henchmen to the eternal hereafter. dtp entertainment is going to release Venetica in 2009 for PC and the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. www.venetica-game.com