ENTER A WARRING GALAXY AS EITHER THE FREEDOM GUARD COMMANDER OR THE IMPERIUM SHADOWHAND ADMIRAL. ENGAGE IN THE EPIC BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF A NEWLY DISCOVERED TECHNOLOGY WHICH COULD FOREVER CHANGE THE COURSE OF THIS MONUMENTAL WAR.

MORE UNITS AND MISSIONS

Wage war with over a dozen never-before-seen units which make up two new armies. Launch into 20 new missions in another devastating episode in the Dark Reign universe.

ADVANCED MULTIPLAYER

Link up viz ActivLink against eight Internet players, and choose one of four fierce armies!

ALL-NEW MULTIPLAYER MISSIONS

Play cooperative missions online with friends against AI opponents. Also features the best Dark Reign conversions and more than 100 multiplayer maps!

DYNAMIC TERRAIN

Now players can shape the battlefield with real-time terrain deformation. Build roads to speed access to resource supplies and create marshes to bog down enemies.

ENHANCED CONSTRUCTION KIT

Construction Kit enhancements allow players to create their own multiplayer missions. Plus, new movies and a new musical score with nine new audio tracks.

Source:

Back of Box

THE BATTLE FOR REAL-TIME STRATEGY SUPREMACY IS OVER.

BUT THE WAR HAS JUST BEGUN.

UNRIVALED MULTIPLAYER FEATURES

Wage up four player battles on Activision's free online service.

Battle up to eight IPX players or go head-to-head via modem.

Share resources, money, units and intelligence.

Determine the loyalty of fellow combatants.

ADVANCED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Global AI detects tactical patterns and counteracts.

Place a unit on sentry duty.

Command a unit to retreat if hit or fight to the death.

Deploy a unit to harass enemy troops.

REALISTIC UNIT DYNAMICS

Units travels slower uphill and faster on roads.

Set waypoints for a single unit or an entire formation.

Hide units in a ravine or launch an underground ambush.

Climb to higher terrain to improve view of surroundings.

REVOLUTIONARY CONSTRUCTION KIT

Determine unit AI and set mission end conditions.

Customize missions with units, buildings or objects.

Create detailed playing maps of unprecedented size.

Adjust elevation to bolster defensive front.

Source:

Inside Flaps

DARK REIGN EXPANSION DELIVERSALL NEW CAMPAIGNS AND UNITS, TWO NEW ARMIES, COOPERATIVE MISSIONS AND ADVANCED MULTIPLAYER OPTIONS

Santa Monica, CA, January 9, 1997 -- The Reign continues with Activision, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: ATVI) upcoming Dark Reign Expansion: Rise of the Shadowhand, the all-new add-on to the highly acclaimed real-time strategy game. Currently slated for a March 1998 release, this Windows 95 title requires the purchaser to also own Dark Reign and is being developed and published by Activision, Inc.

Showcasing Dark Reign's powerful engine, Dark Reign Expansion: Rise of the Shadowhand features 18 single-player missions, over a dozen new units and all-new cooperative multiplayer missions that enlist players in a race for control of a newly discovered technology. Up to eight Internet players can wage war, choosing one of four fierce armies, including the new Freedom Guard Xenite and the Imperium Shadowhand armies. Gamers can shape the battlefield with real-time terrain deformation by building roads to speed access to vital resources or by creating marshes to bog down enemies. In addition, gamers can jointly change the course of the war by playing cooperatively against AI opponents. The game's enhanced construction kit allows players to create their own multiplayer missions.

Dark Reign Expansion will also feature the best player-created Dark Reign conversions -- conversions are new games utilizing the Dark Reign engine -- as well as the prize-winning mission and map from Activision's Dark Reign Mission and Map Building Contest.

"Dark Reign's revolutionary AI and mission construction kit put it at the forefront of the real-time strategy category," states Robert A. Kotick, Chairman and CEO, Activision, Inc. "With the addition of cooperative missions, deformable terrain, and eight-player Internet warfare, Dark Reign Expansion delivers an all new level of strategy to the genre."

Since its initial launch on September 17, 1997, Dark Reign has shipped more than 400,000 units worldwide and was released simultaneously in 58 countries with fully localized versions in English, French, German and Spanish.

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Activision, Inc. is a worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software for Microsoft Windows compatible personal computers, as well as Sony PlayStation, Sega and Nintendo game systems. Activision is headquartered in Santa Monica with offices in Madison, Wisconsin, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Australia.

Source:

Press Release

When a stray Freedom Guard transport stumbles upon a secret Imperium research base in a remote system at the edge of the galaxy, they find a possible genetic cure for the mark which controls their lives. But the Freedom Guard must master a new species of semi-intelligent animals and battle a force of the Imperium’s secret intelligence organization to succeed…

The Dark Reign Expansion: Rise of the Shadowhand is the eagerly awaited add-on pack to the highly acclaimed real-time strategy game. The Dark Reign Expansion includes the following features: - More Units and Missions: Wage war with over ten never-before-seen units. Launch in 18 new missions in another devastating episode in the Dark Reign universe. - The best Dark Reign conversions and multiplayer maps ever! - New movies and a new musical score with six new tracks. - All new cooperative multiplayer missions: race your human or A.I. opponents for control of newly discovered technology. - Internet play for up to 8! - Two new sides! The regular Imperium and Freedom Guard armies are joined by the Freedom Guard's Xenite friends and the fearsome forces of the Imperium Shadowhand.

System Requirements

100% IBM PC-compatible computer

Pentium-90 MHz processor

Microsoft Windows 95 operating system

16MB RAM

Quad-speed required to play movies.

60MB of uncompressed hard disk space

VESA local bus or PCI video with 1MB RAM

256-color SVGA (640x480) video card

100% Microsoft-compatible mouse and driver

14.4 baud modem for modem play; 28.8 baud modem for Internet play

ISDN or better required for eight player Internet games

Available Spring 1998

Suggested Retail Price: $29.99

Requires Dark Reign to play

Source:

www.activision.com