LOS ANGELES, Nov. 13 -- Atari has shipped Superman: The Man of Steel, a third person action/adventure game featuring the World's Greatest Super Hero, to retail stores this week, exclusively for the Xbox(TM) video game system from Microsoft. Based on a story co-written by DC Comics, Superman: The Man of Steel challenges players to protect Metropolis from super-villains Brainiac 13 and Lex Luthor, as well as a legion of malevolent robots intent on taking over the world.
"Finally gamers can grasp the scope of Superman's abilities and put them into action against evil super-villains," said Jean-Philippe Agati, senior vice president and general manager of Infogrames' Los Angeles studio. "Superman: The Man of Steel immediately claims the title of the best super hero game on Xbox with its immense scale, variety of challenges and, of course, the unmatched powers of the lead character, Superman. Never before has there been a video game that has been so true to the original DC Comics series."
Superman: The Man of Steel is a single-player action game based on the DC Comics Superman universe. In the game, Brainiac 13 attempts to take control of the advanced technology behind the futuristic city of Metropolis -- technology that would enable him to destroy Metropolis and rule the world. Players assume the role of Superman to protect innocent civilians and defeat the evil masterminds behind the diabolical plot.
Leveraging the power of Xbox, the developers have created incredibly vast worlds dripping with true-to-life detail. Superman battles enemies throughout the massive urban cityscape of Metropolis, light-years from earth in the vacuum of space and in distant locales, such as the mysterious Phantom Zone and the dangerous Warworld, familiar to fans of the comic series.
Gameplay challenges include unparalleled in-air combat, using a variety of techniques, including punch combos and super powers. To help fend off attackers and overcome evil, players are equipped from the start with all of Superman's amazing powers and abilities, including super strength, heat vision, flight, freeze breath, X-ray vision, telescopic vision and more.
In addition to combat missions, additional gameplay challenges involve damage and disaster prevention, civilian rescues, and more. Brainiac 13 and his minions will do everything in their power to take back the futuristic technology from Metropolis, including damaging buildings, causing train wrecks and placing civilians in mortal danger -- it is up to Superman to restore peace within the city of Metropolis, and ultimately, save the world.
Developed by Circus Freak Studios, Superman: The Man of Steel incorporates cutting-edge graphical technologies, including vertex and pixel shaders, environment mapping, real-time motion blurring, realistic cloth effects and spectacular particle effects. The game features Dolby 5.1 3D spatial sound effects and an evocative, movie-like score composed especially for the game.
Superman: The Man of Steel shipped to retail stores this week with an estimated retail price of $49.99 and an ESRB rating of "T" for teen.
About Infogrames
New York-based Infogrames, Inc. is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company develops video games for all consoles (Sony Computer Entertainment America, Nintendo and Microsoft), PCs, and Macintosh systems. Infogrames' catalogue of more than 1,000 titles includes award-winning franchises such as Civilization®, Backyard Sports(TM), Deer Hunter®, Driver(TM), RollerCoaster Tycoon®, and Test Drive®, and key licenses including Warner Bros. The Matrix®, Warner Bros. Looney Tunes(TM), Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues® and Dora the Explorer(TM), Dragon Ball Z®, Unreal®, Mission Impossible®, Terminator®, Harley-Davidson®, Major League Baseball®, and the National Football League®, among many others. The Company's Humongous Entertainment and MacSoft labels are leaders in children's and Macintosh entertainment software, respectively.
Infogrames, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (IESA) (Euronext 5257), a global publisher and distributor of video games for all platforms. In 2001, IESA acquired Infogrames Interactive, Inc. (formerly Hasbro Interactive), including rights to use its line of software based on well-known licenses such as MONOPOLY, Jeopardy®, TONKA, and Atari®, which are published and distributed in the U.S. by Infogrames, Inc. For more information, visit the Company's Web site at www.infogrames.com.
About DC Comics
DC Comics, a division of Warner Bros. an AOL Time Warner Company, is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world and home to such iconic characters as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the Sandman. These DC super heroes and others have starred in comic books, movies, television series (both animated and live-action) and cyberspace, thrilling audiences of all ages for generations. DC Comics' Web site is located at http://www.dccomics.com.
About Xbox
Xbox (http://www.xbox.com) is Microsoft's future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful games experiences ever. Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Xbox is now available in North America, Japan, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico.
Xbox is a trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
SUPERMAN and all related characters and elements are trademarks of DC Comics (C) 2002.
