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Ultima's Stygian Abyss expansion dated

Gargoyle playable race this summer.

Mythic has announced that Ultima Online expansion Stygian Abyss will arrive this summer. The same add-on had been promised a release two years ago.

Stygian Abyss, the eighth expansion for the isometric MMO, adds the playable Gargoyle race that has unique Throwing, Imbuing and Mysticism skills. And there's the eponymous Stygian Abyss dungeon itself, which is the largest of any in Ultima Online, and home to the wickedly difficult Medusa, Primeval Lich and Stygian Dragon baddies.

The expansion also opens the Gargoyle homeland of Ter Mur for exploration, and introduces new areas where players can punch each other like rats.

Richard Garriott's legendary Ultima Online launched back in September 1997, and was completely re-clothed 10 years later to make use of much more powerful PC hardware. The essence remains, however, as our hands-on impressions of the revamped MMO will tell you.