Monte Cristo Unveils the Next Generation of City-Builders

April 17, 2008

Monte Cristo Unveils the Next Generation of
City-Builders

Think massive, think online, think CITIES XL™

Monte Cristo is pleased to announce
CITIES XL™ for Windows today. In this next-generation take on the city building
genre, realism will be pushed to the limit with cities that are bigger, more
realistic and more sophisticated than ever before. CITIES XL™ will expand upon
all the features that make city builders fun and interesting, while also letting
players take their game online, as they interact with others in a massive online
environment.

CITIES XL™ allows gamers to develop
cities on realistic 3D maps using an incredible collection of unique structures
and monuments based on American, Asian and European-influenced architectural
styles. The maps feature a variety of environments: mountains, hills, canyons,
beaches and islands, all set in different climates from tropical to desert,
Mediterranean to temperate. Players must create the right combinations of social
services, leisure activities, special events and other job opportunities within
their cities in order to feed, clothe, employ and entertain their citizens. Be
it planning and building a new zoo, public park, residential neighborhood or
transit system – there’s always a fresh and exciting challenge for would-be city
managers and mayors in CITIES XL™.

"We believe that the level of detail
and realism brought to CITIES XL™ answers the needs of city-builder fans," said
Jérôme Gastaldi, COO of Monte Cristo. "We believe fans of the genre will
definitely enjoy CITIES XL™ and many of those fans have provided us with
feedback on our development so far. We are really proud to have such a cool and
proactive community."

The game’s online features and
services will allow players to create interconnected cities on virtual and
persistent planets. Mayors can share and trade with one another, specialize
their economy and team up with befriended cities to create sprawling
metropolises. Life on the planet will be punctuated by events and competitions –
a concert held in one town may, for example, be attended by visitors from other
areas who can also enjoy a walk around the city to admire the urban creations of
multiple players. By combining a fantastic single-player game with the social
and multiplayer aspects of an MMO, CITIES XL™ will shape the future of the genre
by offering more variety, bigger cities and multiple gameplay layers.

For more information about CITIES
XL™, which will ship in 2009, please join the continuously growing community at
www.citiesxl.com