LADYDRAGON.COM - SEGA AND THE CREATIVE ASSEMBLY FORM NEW GAME FRANCHISE; PARTNERSHIP

Tuesday March 08, 2005

SEGA AND THE CREATIVE ASSEMBLY FORM NEW GAME FRANCHISE; PARTNERSHIP

Acclaimed PC Developer Goes Multiplatform Console

SEGA of America, Inc., SEGA Europe Ltd, and The Creative Assembly (CA), the award-winning UK developer behind the hugely successful Total War series, today announced a partnership to create the action-based Spartan: Total Warrior for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox video game system from Microsoft®, and Nintendo GameCube™. The first game in the new Total Warrior franchise represents the development giant’s first console release.

While CA's Total War games emphasized the player as commander (the General), Spartan: Total Warrior puts the player in control of a heroic warrior. Spartan: Total Warrior will engulf the player into the midst of titanic clashes between mighty armies, blending mythical beasts and legendary monsters into the fray. Brutal combat meets epic warfare on the battlefields of the ancient world as you fight for your life, your freedom and your honor.

"All of us at CA are delighted to be working with SEGA, who share our vision of creating genre defining games," said Tim Ansell, Managing Director of The Creative Assembly. "Spartan: Total Warrior is an original game-play experience based upon dynamic, epic action-combat and we could find no better global partner than SEGA, who wrote the book on console gaming."

"'With Spartan: Total Warrior, CA has developed a title that offers both dynamic, real-time combat sequences and epic-sized battles; a combination that has never been technically accomplished on this generation of hardware," said Scott A. Steinberg, vice president of marketing, SEGA of America. "This partnership underscores SEGA's strategy to publish more great game content designed to appeal to western gamers."

"The Creative Assembly has delivered outstanding games from day one and Spartan: Total Warrior is another quality title befitting the exceptional standards of the team, Comments Matt Woodley, Marketing Director of SEGA Europe. They've delivered an epic game-play experience and have laid the foundation for what will be another hugely successful brand."

Take up arms against the ruthless Roman Empire and fight alongside loyal allies as your skill at combat and your mastery of the art of war allows you to single-handedly turn the tide of epic battles.

Key Features;

• Massive battles featuring legions of detailed warriors simultaneously engaged in dynamic, pitched combat

• Wade into the thick of battle with intense combat featuring a wide range of moves, multiple melee and missile weapons, combos, spectacular special moves, finishing moves, blocks, shield charges and evasive manoeuvres

• Realistic and fluid motion-captured and hand keyed animation without any sacrifice to game-play responsiveness

• Richly detailed battlefields extend to the horizon. From arid wastelands to full scale cities, through dungeons to rugged mountains, and finally to the ultimate showdown in the Imperial Coliseum in Rome, the titles environments are massiveSpartan: Total Warrior for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Gamecube is slated forrelease in September 2005.