An Australian company is making an ambitious bid for the lucrative online multi-playing games market that is presently dominated by the multi-million seller World of Warcraft.

Brisbane-based Auran, best known for Franchise Trainz' Rail Simulator series, has spent more than three years developing the game Fury, a third person RPG that will be rolled out in October.

I spent a couple of hours with Ian and Nathan from the Australia based company that is also releasing a new episodic Sam & Max game.

They talk of Fury being like a new genre - combining the best out of MMO and FPS genres.

So what's different?

The game will be a player versus player role-playing game compared to the traditional such game, which involves a player against the environment. In other words, it tries to be more like a fiercely competitive quake match with balanced players and teams fighting fiercely against each other after some pre-fight training and clan-forging.

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AdvertisementThe game also tries to match equally ranked players from across the globe.

Also, instead of facing one or two opposing factions within a single server, you are pitted against dozens of other Realms (servers). Once you have chosen your home Realm, you can form up into groups, teams, and Clans (guilds) within your Realm, then vie for supremacy against all others.

Your ranking is based on the tasks completed not on levels gained by accumulating points. It's flexible as there are seemingly endless variations comprising different combinations of abilities and equipment.

Tens of thousands of players can exist upon a single Realm, so you should find no shortage of enemies or allies.

The story goes like this: The world has been shattered by the powerful forces of The Fade. Only the Chosen can take to the battlefield to fight and recover the Fury Essence that will provide protection and save your Realm from the destruction of The Fade.

Through your skill in combat, you will be reborn and recover the lost memories of your former life and the ancient magic and powers, long forgotten. You have lived a thousand lives and fought in countless battles in your past, which you must now unveil to fight for your future.

As one of The Chosen you will prove your determination to protect your Realm from The Fade and when battle is done, return to the safety of The Sanctuary to receive the spoils of war.

Using the Unreal Engine 3, The Fury's combat system aims to be fast and centred on skill-based decisions. You select the target and use specific abilities against them.

I look forward to trying out the game and I'll let you know how it shapes up.

Can World of Warcraft be beaten?