Settlers 7 beta registration now open

Registration is now open for the Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom beta, and starts on January 19. Unfortunately, you'll need to be a FilePlanet subscriber. As a beta tester, you'll be privy to tutorial missions of the single-player campaign and skirmish maps for multiplayer and vs-AI matches. Of course, you'll also have the opportunity to submit bugs play a hand in the game's gold release...

• Rich gameplay mechanics: The deep building and production system allows gamers to expand their kingdoms village by village, sector by sector, optimizing their creation by fine tuning production chains and transport systems.
  
• Variety of gameplay: Gamers will be able to choose the best path to lead their kingdoms to victory around three main pillars:
  
• Military: by building strong armies and defeating opponents with shear military power.
  
• Technology: by being the first to develop new and beneficial technologies.
  
• Trade: by occupying the best trade routes to become the wealthiest player on the map.
• Depending on style of play, gamers will be able to unlock a variety of new and unique possibilities, changing the way they build their own kingdoms.
  
• All-new victory system: The new victory point system brings more tension and competition to the game. Victory points are awarded in many different ways depending on the choices gamers make throughout the evolution of their kingdoms.
  
• Online multiplayer: Gamers will be able to play online and face opponents in classic adversarial and co-op teamplay modes. Online features include user-generated and downloadable content, in-game feeds, and various leaderboards.
  
• A new graphic engine and improved AI: A brand-new graphic engine will let gamers experience the beauty of their kingdom in a never-before-seen level of detail. More than a dozen AI profiles, each with unique behaviors, will add enhanced variety to the game like never before.
  
• Build your own castle: Bring even more customization to your game as you assemble your castle from a wide range of styles, designs and architectural details. You and your friends can share your creations online.
  
• Social networking integration: Deep social networking integration with Facebook and Twitter lets you bring your gaming experience to your social circle.