Tom Clancy's SSN

Tom Clancy takes multimedia to new depths in SSN CD-ROM

from Simon & Schuster Interactive

NEW YORK, November 12, 1996 -- Tom Clancy SSN, a new CD-ROM from Simon & Schuster Interactive and Virtus Corp., is a pulse-pounding combination -- a ground-breaking, action-packed submarine "combat game" and a full-screen, live-action techno thriller -- true to the mega best selling author's trademark action and suspense. A two-disk set, Tom Clancy SSN is shipping today to stores nationwide.

Developed by Tom Clancy and Virtus Corp. with Commodore Douglas Littlejohns, a former submarine commander in the British Royal Navy, SSN combines the realism of the best submarine simulations with the heart-stopping action only Clancy can provide. "SSN offers fans of Clancy's books and military strategy games thrilling content, an advanced level of interactivity and real-world submarine simulation," said Mark Baric, Virtus president and CEO. "This combination makes SSN a truly unique offering."

In SSN, Chinese hard-liners stage a daring raid on one of the world's last great untapped oil reserves, setting the stage for rejuvenated Communist dictatorship, a new hegemony over South East Asia, and, perhaps, an invasion of America's long-standing ally, Taiwan. As the 24-hour news services report on the unraveling situation, you, in control of the world's most deadly nuclear attack submarine, are dispatched with the United States Navy's Pacific Fleet to deal with this latest threat to world peace.

"This true collaboration between Tom Clancy, Simon & Schuster Interactive and Virtus Corp., has resulted in an awesome interactive experience," said Gilles Dana, general manager of Simon & Schuster Interactive. "SSN is blockbuster quality entertainment geared for the mass audience who love Tom Clancy's books and films, as well as traditional gamers who constantly thirst for a greater strategic challenge."

Battles are fought in a unique cinematic environment immersed in detailed, cutting-edge, 3D-rendered graphics of subs, surface ships and surroundings. Players combat artificially intelligent enemies in true-to-life battle scenarios and in turn, determine the outcome of this original story brought to you by the master of the techno-thriller, Tom Clancy.

Other features included in this two-disk CD-ROM are: a special reference guide complete with pictures, 3-D animations, vital statistics and descriptions of all submarines, surface ships and armaments included in SSN; and "A Conversation with Tom Clancy", a 30-minute video dialogue with Tom Clancy, Commodore Douglas Littlejohns and James Adams, Bureau Chief of the Washington office of the Sunday London Times, filmed in the former Congressional Nuclear Attack bunker. This conversation investigates the political, strategic and tactical issues raised by the harrowing story and game play contained in the CD-ROM.

A paperback companion book to Tom Clancy SSN, from the Berkley Publishing Group, will be published in November to coincide with the release of the CD-ROM. The paperback edition will feature 15 battle scenarios and will be priced at $15.00/$23.00 CAN.

Minimum MPC system requirements for SSN are 60 MHZ Pentium (120 MHZ Pentium preferred), Windows(R) 95, 8 MB RAM (16 MB RAM preferred), 256-color VGA, SoundBlaster 16 or 100% compatible, double-speed CD-ROM.

Virtus Corp. is a pioneering developer of tools for creating interactive 3-D environments on the desktop computer. Virtus continues to lead the field by extending its 3-D technology to business applications and entertainment products as well as the World Wide Web. The company is based in Cary, N.C. and privately held.

Simon & Schuster Interactive is the consumer software publishing unit of the Simon & Schuster Consumer Group. The division enters its second year with 22 CD-ROMs on the market and an additional 18 expected to be published by the end of 1996. Simon & Schuster, the publishing operation of Viacom Inc., is the world's largest educational, computer book and English language book publisher. With operations in 43 countries and book multimedia product distribution in 150 countries, its imprints include Simon & Schuster, Macmillan Publishing USA, Simon & Schuster Interactive, Pocket Books, Scribner, The Free Press, Prentice Hall, Silver Burdett Ginn, Allyn and Bacon, Computer Curriculum Corp. and Educational Management Group.

Viacom Inc. is one of the world's largest entertainment and publishing companies and a leading force in nearly every segment of the international media marketplace. The operations of Viacom include Blockbuster Video, Blockbuster Music, MTV Networks, Paramount Parks, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Television, Showtime Networks, and Simon & Schuster, radio and television stations, and movie screens in 11 countries. Viacom also has a majority interest in Spelling Entertainment Group. National Amusements, Inc., a closely held corporation which owns and operates more than 1,000 screens in the U.S. and the U.K., is the parent company of Viacom.

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