It's full speed ahead for EA Mythic's Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning as the game enters the final phase of closed beta testing, the Guild Beta. This is the stage where guilds from other games who signed up for beta as a whole will gain access to the game en masse in order to test out the newly implemented guild and heraldry features, as well as the individual servers' capacity for drama.

"WAR's Guild Beta is here and some of the world's most experienced MMO players will now get a chance to play one of the most anticipated MMOs of all time," said Mark Jacobs, vice president and general manager of Mythic Entertainment. "We look forward to seeing them beat, bash and burn their way through the world that we have created for their enjoyment. It's going to be a lot of fun and it's going to be glorious!"

The WoW guild I was in when we signed up for the Warhammer beta has long since dissolved, reformed, dissolved again, and split up into a series of tiny, ineffectual guilds with no hope of ever accomplishing anything. Such is the way of all things.

A few months ago, Kieron Gillen sat down with Paul Barnett, EA Mythic's Creative Director, and has been posting bits and pieces of that interview session ever since; this week, we were treated to one of the best cynical descriptions of GDC ever. Barnett explains why, despite being asked to go, he declined the chance to go to GDC and went to the LIFT futurism festival instead:

Russians, listen up! Warhammer Online is coming. That's right, a fully localised version of EA Mythic's MMORPGH Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning will be released in Russia for PCs early next year. Whew! Make it through the post without a "Because in Soviet Russia, Warhammer Online plays you" joke. Oh. Wait.

Hit the jump for the short press release, which is thankfully free of such tired humour.

In short, Warhammer Online's crafting consists of alchemy apothecary and talisman making, with several gathering professions to help back those up. It isn't a recipe based, so you aren't likely to find yourself with an inventory full of crap you can't use. You'll be able to harvest items by cultivating plants, stripping the flesh off of animals, scavenging corpses, and Magical Salvaging, which is like disenchanting, only with a ridiculous name.

Don't take my word for it though! Take Mark's, for thirteen minutes. I'll be napping if you need me.

Update: The offer is available at more retailers than I first thought! They have been added.

EA's just sent word that Australian gamers can now preorder the Collector's Edition of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. It weighs in at a chunky $129.95, which sounds darn expensive, but not horrible when you consider the preorder bonuses and the contents of the CE.

Preorder bonuses? Yes, I definitely said bonuses. I don't have to make them up either - EA went ahead and included them in the press release. Thoughtful, don't you think?

Okay, okay. Here they are:

• Access to Open Beta
• Special early access to the live game
• Bonus in-game items:
RITTENBACH'S PORTABLE CAMP: Rest your weary soul and heal your wounds between battles
SENTINEL'S AMBER BAND: Enhance your stats and cast "Touch of Earth," increasing your chance of doing additional corporeal damage with each hit (Usable in PvE combat only)

If you're keen, I wouldn't recommend waiting. According to EA, only 6,000 copies of the Collector's Edition are available in Oz.

The CE itself has its own delicious treats. They come in the form of a Games Workshop miniature of Grumlok and Gazbag (goblins, not Klingon warriors, as I first assumed going by the names); the graphic novel Prelude to War by Graham McNeill; the 224-page The Art of Warhammer Online; The Grindmonger Trilogy, an in-game item that allows you to earn experience at an increased rate; and bonus in-game content including quests, titles, rewards and character heads (for that unique look).

Hit the jump for a juicy, detail-filled press release.