"This is without a doubt Infogrames' boldest and most exciting lineup ever," said Bruno Bonnell, Chairman and CEO of Infogrames. "We have assembled an incredible team of developers both internally and externally and the result is an exceptional array of innovative titles for gamers of all interests."
On the action front, the Company will showcase several titles from the industry's top developers. Infogrames' Reflections Interactive, the studio behind the award-winning Driver franchise, will preview Stuntman, a new genre- defining driving/action game for PlayStation 2 that allows players to take the role of a Hollywood stuntman for hire. Three titles from the legendary Unreal franchise will be highlighted by leading developers Epic, Legend Entertainment and Digital Extremes, including Unreal Championship for Xbox as well as Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal II: The Awakening for PC. Also coming for Xbox is Battle Engine Aquila in which players battle in a flying tank loaded with advanced weaponry. Fans of Dungeons & Dragons, will get a chance to compete in Dungeons & Dragons: Eye of the Beholder for Game Boy Advance; Dungeons & Dragons Heroes for Xbox; and help save the inhabitants of the town of Neverwinter in the highly anticipated Neverwinter Nights from BioWare Corp. for PC. And arriving next year on PlayStation 2 will be KYA: Fury of Brazul*, an action adventure game, and Fugitive Hunter, the game that lets you hunt down the world's most wanted fugitives. Finally, Deadly Dozen - Pacific Theatre for PC lets players penetrate the island strongholds of Japanese Imperial forces.
Also known for its impressive catalog of Hollywood licensed-games, Infogrames will preview the following titles based on four blockbuster films: Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee for GameCube, Terminator: Dawn of Fate for Xbox and PlayStation 2, Superman: Shadow of Apokolips for PlayStation 2, Superman: The Man of Steel for Xbox, and Men In Black 2: Alien Escape for PlayStation 2. Also included in Infogrames' library of blockbuster movie licenses is the high-impact Matrix license which will go digital next year on PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and personal computer.
Infogrames' E3 lineup wouldn't be complete without showcasing its two top- selling franchises, Sid Meier's Civilization III: Play the World and RollerCoaster Tycoon 2, both coming to the PC. Macintosh fans can now enjoy Master of Orion III, the sequel to one of the best-loved strategy games of all times.
Racing enthusiasts will have their pick among four sequels to wildly successful driving franchises from Infogrames: Driver 2 Advance for Game Boy Advance; V-Rally 3 for PlayStation 2, the world's leading rally franchise; NASCAR® Heat 2 for PlayStation 2 and GameCube for those who enjoy hitting the track in NASCAR style; and for the PC, Dirt Track Racing 2 for thrilling off-roading fun. And coming to Xbox will be MICROMACHINES® Odyssey which brings tiny racers into gigantic worlds of fun as players compete in wild environments for top racing honors; Furious Karting, an alternative go-kart racer; and RE (working title), an exciting racing game that lets you compete against the world's most famous cars. And finally for the GameCube comes Big Air Freestyle, a Motocross racing game.
From racing down the track to racing down the slopes, Infogrames will showcase Transworld Snowboarding for Xbox. And those who prefer water to snow, can check out Splashdown, the Sea-Doo® racing game new for Xbox.
Fans of the ever-popular character-based games will be able to enjoy three new Infogrames titles in this classic genre. Based on the zany Warner Bros. Looney Tunes(TM) character, the Tasmanian Devil, comes Taz: Wanted(TM) for PlayStation 2, where the goal is to help Taz make his way home to the island of Tasmania. Also appearing on PlayStation 2 will be Zapper*, an action- packed, addictive game from Blitz Games, the makers of Frogger® 2: Swampy's Revenge. And for Xbox will be Loons, starring everyone's favorite Warner Bros. characters where the goal is to win the leading role in Hollywood's next blockbuster movie.
Infogrames brings family fun to the PlayStation 2 with MONOPOLY Party, based on the popular Hasbro board game, and Wheel of Fortune®, which faithfully recreates the #1 television game show in the U.S. The hugely successful Backyard Sports series makes its GameCube debut with Backyard Football? and will introduce a new sport to the lineup, Backyard Hockey(TM) (PC/Macintosh) this winter. Kids will also be able to enjoy Backyard Sports on the go later this year when Backyard Football comes to the Game Boy Advance. GameCube owners will also get a chance to play as their favorite Nickelodeon characters in Nickelodeon(TM) Party Blast, an all out, all-star Nickelodeon Challenge. Additional kids titles include Dora the Explorer(TM): Backpack Adventure, Blue's Preschool(TM) and Thomas & Friends(TM): Building the New Line all for PC and Macintosh, as well as Wizmo's Workshop - Play and Learn with the Dragons of Frozzbokk for PC.