MAY 20, 2002
Microsoft Throws Down the
Gauntlet: Can You Beat a Legend at His Own Game?
One Lucky E3 Attendee Will Go
Head-to-Head with Brian Reynolds in a Rise of Nations Showdown
Strategy gamers at E3 who believe
they can hold their own with the best of the best will want to sign up for a
unique challenge issued by Microsoft Game Studios: the chance to take on
legendary developer Brian Reynolds in a head-to-head game of Rise of Nations.
Thanks to Rise of Nations’
fast-paced gameplay, which lets players experience an entire, history-spanning
battle of nations in an hour or less, Microsoft’s "Lunch Hour Challenge" may be
the quickest real-time strategy tournament ever. Sign-up will begin at 11am
Thursday at the Microsoft booth (South Hall, #1246). At 11:55am, four
contestants will be randomly selected to enter the challenge. They’ll play
head-to-head elimination matches until just one player remains.
That grand prize winner will receive
a $500 gift certificate to shop.microsoft.com then sit down at 2pm to challenge
Brian Reynolds himself, facing the master in his own game. The odds are long —
but the reward could be the ultimate in strategy-game bragging rights.
Reynolds is a founding member of Big
Huge Games and has a formidable background in strategy gaming, including working
with Sid Meier on such masterpieces as Civilization II and Alpha Centauri*. Rise
of Nations is an ideal first project for Big Huge Games, combining the epic
scope of turn-based classics like Civilization with the faced-paced action of
real-time strategy games. Players can take multiple paths to victory, using
everything from military might to economic finesse to expand their national
borders as their civilization quickly progresses from the stone age to the
information age. More information can be found at
www.bighugegames.com or
www.microsoft.com/games/riseofnations.asp.
Microsoft Game Studios is a leading
worldwide publisher and developer of games for the PC, Xbox video game system
and online platforms. Comprising a network of top developers, Microsoft Game
Studios is committed to creating innovative and diverse game portfolios for PC
(http://www.microsoft.com/games/), including such franchises as "Age of
Empires®," "Flight Simulator" and "Zoo Tycoon"; Xbox ( http://www.xbox.com/),
including such franchises as "Halo," "Project Gotham Racing" and "NFL Fever";
and Zone.com ( http://zone.msn.com/ ), the
official games channel for the MSN® network and home to such hits as "Bejeweled"
and "Outsmart."
* Although actually designed by
Brian Reynolds, the games Civilization II and Alpha Centauri were originally
marketed under the "Sid Meier" brand, e.g. as Sid Meier’s Civilization II and
Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri. CIVILIZATION is a registered trademark of Infogrames
Entertainment. ALPHA CENTAURI is a registered trademark of Firaxis Games. All
other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.
* * *
