Risk meets MMO in Heroes of Three Kingdoms

Charge!

Perfect World was showing off quite a few new games at E3 this year, but it was Heroes of Three Kingdoms that had some of the most interesting features. Controlling territories will be a major part of the end-game focus, as a Risk-like map tracks factions' influence over the game world. Aspiring world-conquerors will need to rely on allies to help defend their faction's territories with NPC armies, forts, and, of course, their own characters, while working to sabotage and take over enemy territories. Here's a shot I took on the show floor:

The game is developed by Perfect World's Chinese team and is a tie-in project with John Woo's Red Cliff, released in China in 2008. Heroes of Three Kingdoms is expected to enter closed beta in North America before the end of this quarter.