Atari is locked and loaded to introduce Shadow Ops: Red Mercury, a gritty, military first-person shooter (FPS) for the Xbox(TM) video game system from Microsoft and personal computer (PC), in Summer 2004. Developed by Zombie Studios, the game will embody the production values of a blockbuster Hollywood film with an ultra-realistic game world spanning Middle Eastern cities to secret military bases in the frozen backcountry of Russia to other global hotspots in the Philippines, Bosnia and Western Europe.
Shadow Ops: Red Mercury is being showcased this week at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, May 14-16, in Petree Hall, room 4003.
"Shadow Ops: Red Mercury will grab gamers by their boot straps and toss them into a hyper-intense world of heroic combat, stealth infiltration and Special Forces intrigue in a battle to save the world from nuclear holocaust," said Jean-Philippe Agati, senior vice president and general manager of Atari's Los Angeles studio. "Zombie Studios is using only the highest quality elements to create real world political hotspots, character animations and the white-knuckled tension of combat. Shadow Ops: Red Mercury is destined to become the definitive action-oriented military shooter for Xbox and PC."
Set in the near future, Shadow Ops: Red Mercury thrusts players into the battle-scarred combat boots of an elite Delta Force operative. When a female Russian double-agent discovers information on Red Mercury -- a secret substance that can be used as a nuclear accelerant -- the player is hand-picked by the National Security Agency (NSA) to pursue the Red Mercury before it is used to build backpack nuclear devices and sold to terrorist organizations.
Using the latest Unreal® Technology from Epic Games, developer Zombie Games is creating approximately 20 single-player levels that span the globe with detailed indoor and vast outdoor terrain. Real world locations have been scouted and photographed by the development team to create highly detailed reproductions of existing textures to mimic the exact look and feel of each battleground. Unreal Technology is being pushed to its limits to produce the most intense and detailed graphics on any system as well as unparalleled multiplayer gaming.
Players will face various single player gameplay challenges, such as hostage rescue, demolition and body guard as they fight alongside (and sometimes against) international special forces from the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, France and Germany. More than 20 authentic general military and special forces weapons will be available to choose from, each with a unique strategic strength against various targets of opportunity.
Shadow Ops: Red Mercury will feature complete multiplayer support on both PC and Xbox. Xbox multiplayer will be playable in two-to-four player split screen mode or against up to 16 other players on Xbox Live!(TM), with support for Xbox voice communicator. Several different game modes will be included at launch, including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Plant the Bomb, Capture the Flag and Escort.
Shadow Ops: Red Mercury ups the ante on video game production values with photorealistic characters featuring facial animation and motion captured body animations performed by real members of elite special forces teams. Pounding battlefield sound effects will be transmitted in immersive Dolby 5.1 surround sound. The sound is being created by Soundelux, the state-of-the art Hollywood sound effects studio that worked on films including "Black Hawk Down," "Charlie's Angels 2" and "Kill Bill."
Shadow Ops: Red Mercury is expected to ship in Summer 2004.