Empire Of Sports

In The Real world we may be pasty chocolate-wristed slugabeds who would burst into tears at the mere hint of physical contact However, once we switch on our PCs we become muscular behemoths, bestriding virtual worlds with aplomb. Probably. What we're trying to say is that there's some game coming out that melds the unlikely bedfellows of competitive sports and massively multiplayer online roleplaying.

Empire of Sports will enable you to tour the world in the role of a Jack-of-all-sports, taking part in competitions against other like-minded souls. As it stands, the game will launch with six sports available, a somewhat incongruous set of football, basketball, tennis, track and field, skiing and bobsleigh. Yes, multiplayer bobsleigh. Apparently it's all in the leaning. While the bloke at the front steers, his three passengers will be able to shave seconds off the time by leaning at the right time.

As for the rest, it's a very PC-specific approach, with tennis requiring you to point the mouse where you want the ball to go. It's a similar story in the basketball and the football, with the mouse control proving comparable to the latest PC FIFA title. As for the skiing, it's again about leaning - albeit in a more pronounced fashion - and the track and field harks back to the keyboard-bashing days of Daley Thompson's Decathlon.

Despite the sporting theme, it's an RPG at heart, with stats improved by training and competition. And while the sports may not seem compatible, there'll be crossover. So if you're quick on the athletics track, that will transfer to the football pitch. Furthermore, guilds will exist in the form of clubs, replete with managers responsible for picking teams.

As for the all-important business model, it'll be free to play, but with performance-enhancing items available through micro-transactions for those who don't have the time to put in the hours at the virtual gym. If you like the sound of it, the 'prologue' is currently available, otherwise known as the beta.