Square Enix has released a few new screens of its newest expansion to Final Fantasy XI, Treasures of Aht Urhgan. Along with these screens come their explanations and descriptions.

The first couple of screens show a new monster known as the Black Pudding. These enemies live in a place called Mount Zhayolm which will be described in a few moments. They are actually one of only a few species of animals that live in this area. Their bodies are pliable and gelatinous, but they also have sharp eyes for finding prey and flexible mouths full of fangs. Despite their appearance, these monsters - also known as flan - are very intelligent and have been seen using extraordinarily powerful spells. These creatures are run by their emotions, though, and will respond to others accordingly. Black Puddings live in groups that are inexplicably connected, though further research has been stopped due to the dangers involved with these monsters.

The following screen shows off Cerberus, an unearthly three-headed beast that calls the tunnels of Halvung home. Legends say that Cerberus guards the very doors to the underworld and that no one can escape him once they have come in contact. This particular monster was discovered in igneous rock during a construction project. Cerberus is constantly in a bad mood due to cravings of one of the beast's heads. Because of this, the monster spews toxic flames continually without concern for its surroundings. It is because of this that even menacing troll mercenaries are said to cover their ears and cower at the sound of this beast's ungodly roar.

The next six screens show off the Helvung area that has been scorched by volcanic activity and is, for the most part, void of life. This area houses the aforementioned Mount Zhayolm, which is actually an active twin volcano that rises from the islands of Vozold and Zazalda. Found across the ocean from Cape Mazklah, beyond the Sicklemoon Straits, this area is home to the Troll Mercenaries and used to be recognized by Aht Urhgan as an independent state of the Empire. The constant raining of volcanic ash and occasional sulphuric gas emissions have created a barren wasteland, almost completely devoid of plant and animal life. Before the emergence of Astral Candescence and the ensuing struggle, very few people visted this inhospitable land.

The final two screens show off the new Puppet Master class, as well as some of the Troll Mercenaries. Of the new enemies and areas revealed today, all of them will be seen in both the Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XI, which includes this latest expansion, as well as the PlayStation 2 and PC versions of Treasures of Aht Urhgan, to be released on April 18 in North America. This title has been rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB and will be available for the Xbox 360 at the price of $49.99, as well as for the PlayStation 2 and PC platforms at the price of $29.99.