Time to take a break from all the serious news for a while, so let's just chill with GodsWar Online game designer Ethan Pan as he takes us through the creation of one of the game's star villains, the mythical Medusa.

In the MMO video game Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising, players are tasked to venture to an epic journey and help save Rome and the Olympian Gods themselves. With this kind of endeavor in hand, players sure do need some practice.

That's why Perpetual Entertainment just announced the closed beta testing for the title. Now, closed beta doesn't always mean the community gets left out. You can actually participate as the developers put up an official dedicated sign up page.

All you have to do is go to Rome Rising's official site, register, and pray to the gods that you get chosen. Perpetual Entertainment Co-Chairman and President Chris McKibbin said,

By identifying what works and what does not, our closed beta testers will help shape the final version of the game. It's an exclusive opportunity to help us polish the final version of Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising, thus making it a truly legendary experience.

One of the good things about Rome Rising is its rather unique squad combat system. Here, players will have the ability to command the powers of the gods and their own custom squad to battle larger-than-life enemies such as Cyclops, Minotaur, Hydra, Medusa, and the other creatures from the Roman pantheon.

What are you waiting for would-be heroes of Rome? The sign up page awaits via our Read link below!

Gaming website 1UP reports that according to StarCraft, Diablo Series">Blizzard's itinerary, the company will be revealing a little demo during their upcoming and highly-anticipated mega-announcement during the World Wide Invitational in Korea.

It seems nobody knows aside from the people at Blizzard what the demo is about. We do have a name, though: "Medusa Demo". 1UP theorizes that it could simply be a code name for a new game engine. They also note that there's an item called "Medusa's Gaze" in Diablo 2, so it could be something Diablo-related.

We, on the other hand, are still rooting for something Starcraft 2-related. Those things sticking out of the Queen of Blades's head give her a Medusa-like impression, really. Or maybe we're just too hung up on Starcraft.

In other news, the Blizzard website has finally reached World of Warcraft on their little teaser timeline. Keep checking back here for updates on that final question mark.

Despite reports that Perpetual Entertainment's alleged employee lay-off, and rumors about the actual reason for the move of the ship date of their MMORPG, Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising, community response still seems to be very much positive.

General sentiment is that players prefer a polished game. So how's the "polishing" been going so far? Here's a trailer for the game that was released in this year's CES 2007, see for yourselves:

Yep, it's a game filled with Titans, Medusa, Hydras, and... zombie Minotaurs?

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend us your ears.. err..eyes. New screens and a set of movies from Perpetual Entertainment's Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising have surfaced; which are all just delightful eye candies. The screenshots features creatures and locations that embodies Rome, like the Colosseum (think Russell Crowe's Gladiator) and the fierce Medusa (think Cher).

 

Expect nothing less from a still unreleased or even beta-tested MMORPG that has won MMORPG.com's "Best of Show" and "Best Graphics" for E3 2006, Allakhazam's Best of E3, and Ten Ton Best of Show. The quality of animation and graphics are to be reckoned with. Although, the videos can look pretty funny if you want them to be.

Take for instance the fight between the soldier and the troll. A must see. The coolest video by far is the one with the centaur. Wicked moves. Close second is Volta. I don't want to spoil the fun for you so just grab the videos via the download link below.

Download: [GAH:RR Videos]

More screenshots await after the jump!