IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Blizzard Entertainment this week began shipping "Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness," one of the most anticipated entertainment titles this year. Warcraft II, sequel to the company's award-winning fantasy-strategy game "Warcraft: Orcs and Humans," boasts several enhancements including tactical combat over land, sea and air; head-to-head play against as many as eight players; ability for players to customize their own maps, units and sound effects; and rich Super VGA graphics.
"Warcraft II" is the continuation of the ruthless clash between the Orc and Human civilizations. After the long and bloody war in the kingdom of Azeroth, the Humans ventured across the Great Sea to escape the cruel of the Orcish hordes and rebuild their empire. Eager to engage in battle again, the Orcish army constructed sea vessels and summoned flying creatures to follow the Humans and attack their coastal encampment.
As the commander of either the Orc or Human forces, players must successfully construct and rule their medieval empire while engaging in real-time tactical warfare over land, sea and air. The game allows players to compete in a one-player mode by completing a series of integrated scenarios or play head-to-head against opponents using the game's multiplayer option.
"Warcraft II" is available immediately in DOS CD-ROM (Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 compatible) format at most computer and software retail chains nationwide and is expected to be priced at approximately $50. The game is also offered directly from Blizzard at (800) 953-SNOW.
Said Allen Adham, president and founder of Blizzard Entertainment, "`Warcraft II' is an exciting strategy game that combines the core elements that made Warcraft popular, the absolute latest in technology, and most importantly, feedback from our customers. This powerful mix of influences allowed us to push the Warcraft experience to the next level with new missions, units, weaponry and challenges.
"The moment Warcraft fans begin playing `Warcraft II,' they will instantly see that Blizzard listened to their suggestions when developing the sequel. Combined-arms combat; four-times larger maps; the ability to select as many as nine units at once; the `fog of war'; and network play supporting up to eight players are all new features inspired by our customers."
Added Todd Coyle, vice president of consumer product sales, "We are very pleased by the excitement surrounding the release of `Warcraft II' and the number of Warcraft fans who have been anxiously awaiting the sequel's release. In fact, one of our retailers has already had over 5,000 customers pre-pay for `Warcraft II.' These early indicators lead us to believe that `Warcraft II' will be one of the biggest titles of the year."
Product Highlights
"Warcraft II" is the second in Blizzard's strategy-fantasy series, following the award-winning "Warcraft: Orcs and Humans," which released in November 1994. The sequel offers several new features including combined-arms combat on land, sea and air; artificial intelligence that learns, adapts and responds to players' actions; and a multitude of new units such as dragons, submarines, Elven archers, gryphons, battleships, zeppelins and death knights.
The game also includes a new strategic "fog of war" feature which allows players to only see activity within their units' line of sight. Players are not able to see their enemy's movement outside the fog of war, but they can see the terrain of explored areas.
Other key features in "Warcraft II" include:
- Separate story lines for Orc and Human campaigns with 28 scenarios.
- Multiplayer capabilities supported via modem, direct link and network. As many as eight players can compete through network play.
- SVGA enhanced graphics with rich three-dimensional rendered scenes.
- Map builder, unit editor and sound editor that allow players to customize their own scenarios (Windows 95 required).
- Unique spawning technology that allows head-to-head play by installing multiple copies from the original CD-ROM.
- A rich soundtrack of classical war music.
Availability, Pricing and System Requirements
"Warcraft II" is available immediately in DOS CD-ROM (Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 compatible) format at most computer and software retail chains nationwide and is expected to be priced at approximately $50. The game is also offered directly from Blizzard at (800) 953-SNOW.
System requirements for "Warcraft II" are as follows:
- DOS CD-ROM
- A 486/33 Mhz or faster PC;
- DOS 5.0 or higher;
- 8 MB of RAM;
- a hard disk drive;
- double-speed CD-ROM drive
- and Super VGA monitor.
Blizzard Entertainment is a premiere publisher of next-generation entertainment software. The company previously served as the third- party developer for more than 30 entertainment titles. Blizzard's first game under its own label, "Warcraft: Orcs and Humans," won industry acclaim as one of 1994's best strategy games. Blizzard is a division of Davidson & Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq: DAVD), a leading multimedia studio for educational and entertainment software.
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/NOTE TO EDITORS: This news release along with other product information and screen captures are available in the Press Room on Blizzard's home page (http://www.blizzard.com)./
/CONTACT: Susan Wooley, 310-793-0600, ext. 1245, or swooley@davd.com, or Linda Duttenhaver, 310-793-0600, ext. 1230, or lduttenhaver@davd.com, Blizzard Entertainment/
(DAVD)
CO: Blizzard Entertainment; Davidson & Associates Inc. ST: California IN: CPR SU: PDT
KL-BB -- LATU022 -- 4554 12/05/95 09:01 EST
