For an action-RPG that has an ancient mythology set as its background, you can't not have an area that doesn't bring you to the Underworld. The lair of Hades is one of the most important places and often visited by most gods and heroes. So, if you're developing a game such as Titan Quest, you better make sure you bring hell on earth (so to speak).

Iron Lore Entertainment president and lead designer Brian Sullivan talks more on the Immortal Throne expansion which will take gamers into the depths of the Underworld and back: the story behind it, the environment, as well as the various side quests that you might want to play through.

Of course, they didn't have to re-invent the wheel. You've got the whole Greek mythology to back you up on development, so why not make the most out of it? That's how they were able to to piece the game together; taking stories, side quests, characters, enemies, and the whole hoopla that Edith Hamilton knows so much of.

The expansion gets a worldwide release on March 5. Click the "Read" link below to delve deeper into the designer diary and watch a run-through of the underworld with Brian Sullivan.

Great news to all RPG fanatics who are just about ready to jump out of their seats to grab a new game, THQ has announced that Titan Quest: Immortal Throne has gone gold!

Well yeah, it's not as great as announcing that the game has hit shelves, but y'all know that's the next step from here right? And as you know, Immortal Throne is the very first expansion for Titan Quest and will feature new quests, items, and classes set within the underworld of Hades.

The game will also have more than 12 hours of single-player content per difficulty level, an all-new skill mastery that fuses existing ones to create eight new playable character classes.

Developed by Iron Lore Entertainment, Immortal Throne is slated for a worldwide release on March 5.

We told you earlier that THQ's Titan Quest: Immortal Throne is now packed and good to go, so right now, all we're really waiting for is for the light to go green and for the game to hit the shelves. But since it's a no go until March 5th, whaddya say we load up on some more details about this upcoming expansion first, yes?

Alright then, GameBanshee was able to talk with Iron Lore producer Mike Verrette to talk about the upcoming Immortal Throne expansion for Titan Quest. Now we will attempt to bring you guys everything they talked about so to kick this thing off, let's start with the production.

Verrette said that the major production for the expansion began in early June, not long after the original Titan Quest went gold. And right now, the team is on their final weeks of bug fixing and testing.

The basic premise: Let's hear this one from Verrette:

The short story is that at the end of Titan Quest the pantheon of gods has agreed that the time has come for mankind to inherit the earth and control their own destiny... The player soon finds that life in the ancient world is...threatened as it appears that a new army is amassing in the depths of Hades and venturing out into the land of the living which is no longer under the protection of the Olympian gods. In a nutshell, the player will need to find the entrance to Hades and ultimately discover the source of the new army – and destroy it.

On the new Dream skill mastery: The concept of the new Dream skill is to place focus on "warping the world around you." But from a gameplay perspective, the dream mastery will work as a support tab for melee action or casting. Skills within the tab range from crowd control to direct damage, and heck, even to new pets. (Watch out for the new Nightmare pet.)

On the Caravan system: The Caravans will have two main purposes: 1) to provide additional expandable storage and 2) to transfer items to your other characters. For the second one, Mike says, "So if you find a great staff with your melee character, there is now a way within the game to get that item over to your mage type character, etc."

The interview tackles all these in detail and goes on to discuss tons more, like NPCs and creating artifacts, monsters, and "boss" fights, etcetera etcetera. So if you're itching for more details, click the read link below to check out the full interview.

And Titan Quest: Immortal Thronecontinues to show us what it's made of -- literally. Here are some new images that will bring you forth to the Underworld of Hades. Yep, you might as well take a good hard look at it for these will be the roads you will travel on for your quest in...er...Titan Quest.

Apart from that, here's a quick run-down of the features in the game, lest you've forgotten about it.

• Allows players to bring existing and new characters to new heights, along with higher level equipment and skills
• The expansion pack features an entirely new skill mastery, which combines with existing skill masteries to create eight new exciting character classes.
• Quest through exotic locations in the Mediterranean area and ultimately descend across the river Styx into the heart of Hades. Defeat terrifying new monsters on your way to victory!
• A new type of rare equipment with a new slot on the character interface gives the player character a powerful bonus.
• A new type of NPC character that can create artifacts from recipes.
• Traveling NPCs will meet you in major cites throughout the ancient world, storing your most precious goods, and allowing you to transfer them between your characters
• Uncover hundreds of powerful new unique items as you quest through the Underworld of Hades.

THQ announced that Titan Quest: Immortal Throne, the expansion to Titan Quest, is set to be released anytime now. The expansion pack introduces eight new character classes, an entirely new epic underworld to explore, and dozens of other new features.

THQ's Brian Sullivan, president and lead designer, Iron Lore Entertainment called it the "next level" in the game’s character development and player immersion. Meanwhile, THQ said Titan Quest: Immortal Throne will provide Titan Quest "exciting new content."

Now that its packaging is done, all that's left is the shipping. The game is set to be released early 2007.

In Titan Quest: Immortal Throne, players take the war between the forces of good and evil to an all-time low - in Hades. You can't go lower than that, at least in Greek mythology. The bad guys are mean, too. The three-headed canine and rabidly fierce Cerberus, guard dog of the underworld as well as new foes are waiting along the bank of the Styx. Check out the screens for a sampling of the crazy creatures out for blood.

The expansion pack also features an entirely new skill mastery which combines with current skill masteries to create eight new exciting character classes and unique weapons by the hundreds.

Titan Quest: Immortal Throne is all set to be released worldwide in early 2007.

More images in the Full Article.

Remember around a month ago when we told you guys about that THQ announcement that they're working on an expansion for Titan Quest, that critically acclaimed game from Iron Lore Entertainment?

And do you remember when we told you about the expansion features of Titan Quest: Immortal Throne? Well, it seems that list didn't entirely cover the changes and upgrades that the Immortal Throne expansion will have. Because we're such nice people here in QJ, we're gonna share with you this video we stumbled upon in YouTube. It has Mike Verrette, producer for Iron Lore, talking about the first chapter and the new stuff we'll be getting from Immortal Throne.

As you all know, the expansion pack will continue where the original game left off, and don'tcha worry, you will be able to import the characters you've worked so hard to develop. Plus, with 30 new quests, 20 new monster types, around 400 pieces of new equipment, and tons more, we definitely recommend you get the Immortal Throne expansion to further enhance your gameplay experience.

Muchos kudos to arnaudh for posting this.

THQ, together with developer Iron Lore Entertainment, released Titan Quest, a mythology-based hack-and-slash RPG, around June of this year. The game features battling mythical creatures and exploring ancient world locations. As reported in a previous article, the expansion entitled Titan Quest: Immortal Throne is set to be released worldwide hopefully early next year.

Titan Quest: Immortal Throne opens a number of new features. Level cap was raised to 75, plus new locations were added like the historic Rhodes and Epirus, and mythical river Styx, Plains of Judgement and the Elysium fields. This adds more than 30 new quests to embark on and 15 hours to gameplay.

There are also 20 new monster types and around 400 pieces of new equipment. Caravans have also been added to gives player storage room - just like the chest in Diablo - and transfer items between their characters. A new NPC called Enchanters would make a debut. They offer two services: separate relics from items, or create items called artifacts. They do this for a fee, which depends on the how rare the items are.

Scrolls have also been added. They give players a chance to use a spell or a buff once and the price of the scroll is directly proportional to the power of the scroll. A new skill tab, dream-mastery, adds nine player classes to the game. It was made to be a strong choice as a primary skill tab to both melee and ranged characters as well as a secondary support tab.

Michael Verrette, Producer at Iron Lore Entertainment, adds:

As we wrap up work on Immortal Throne, we are very excited to get the expansion out into the hands of the players. For us at Iron Lore, Immortal Throne doesn't just provide more gameplay, more equipment, and more monsters, it redefines the entire Titan Quest experience.

Definitely something to look forward to this 2007.

If you're a fan of Titan Quest, then this will surely be a good news for you. THQ has announced that they are now working on the first expansion of the critically acclaimed game, and will be set for a worldwide release early next year.

Entitled Titan Quest: Immortal Throne, the game expands the storyline from the swamps of Mediterranean to the core of Hades. THQ was certainly pleased with the strong acceptance of gamers to Titan Quest last summer that they wanted to push the game a level higher, and give its fans new and exciting content.

Iron Lore Entertainment will remain to be in partnership with THQ to provide you with that fast-paced, story-driven gameplay that drew gamers to play the game. Says Brian Sullivan, President and lead designer of Iron Lore, "With eight new character classes, and entirely new epic underworld to explore, and dozens of other new features, the expansion takes the game's character development and player immersion to the next level."

Check out all the screenshots after the jump!