Wizardry Online beta signups now open

You're a wizard Sony! Sony seems on a role lately when it comes to conjuring up various free-to-play titles from the depths of its game filled cauldron. This time around we have the announcement that the beta signups for their upcoming MMORPG Wizardy Online are now open.

So what is Wizardy Online? From what we can tell right now Wizardry Online is a dungeon based MMORPG where players will be able to choose from 5 races and 4 different classes. The real distinctive thing about the MMORPG though is the permadeath. Once your character meets his demise, he well...meets his demise. With few recent exceptions (Diablo 3 comes to mind) most persistent multiplayer games have not had a permadeath system since the older days of gaming.

From the looks of it, it appears as though you are given 2 chances to complete a level. If you fail the second time around you lose your character and items forever. It should be mentioned though that there are some items that allow you to avoid your untimely demise, however these items are available for real money.

PvP is also a part of the game with players able to kill players in what appears to be an open PK system. Those that kill players excessively though will find themselves with a bounty on their head and banned from certain areas in the game.

You can signup for the beta by visiting http://www.wizardrythegame.com/. It will be interesting to see how an MMO with permadeath will work out in today's gaming society especially when it can be avoided with items from the cash shop. Are you excited for a game with so much on the line? What is your option on avoiding death through the cash shop?