WCW Backstage Assault

**EA BEGINS THE ASSAULT…

WCW BACKSTAGE ASSAULT SHIPS FOR THE
PLAYSTATION WITH NINTENDO 64 TO FOLLOW**

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., November 8, 2000 - No ring means no holds barred. Taking the thrill and excitement of wrestling out of the ring to an all new level, Electronic Arts (EA) gives players exclusive backstage passes to square off against their favorite World Championship Wrestling (WCW) superstar with the current release of WCW’ Backstage Assault for the PlayStation® game console. EA will release a Nintendo® 64 version of the game on December 12.

Inspired by the exciting world of WCW, the game challenges gamers to an entirely new style of action-packed wrestling. A virtual free-for-all, WCW Backstage Assault is the first game of its kind to feature matches located entirely backstage and outdoors. Wrestling fans will have the freedom to bounce off rubber tires as if they were ropes in the “Parking Garage” or perform turnbuckle aerial moves by jumping off the top of lockers in the “Bathroom.” Progressing through seven different environments and 14 rooms, the quest for the belt still comes down to the knockout, submission or the traditional “3-count” to end every match. Throughout the game, players can interact with more than 40 different objects and environmental hazards that can be used as weapons. These include bathroom sinks, lead pipes and trash cans. In addition, a variety of secret weapons and special power-ups can be discovered and incorporated into every assault for added fun and excitement… WCW style.

Players can choose from 62 different wrestlers, including today’s hottest WCW superstars like Sting, Goldberg and Booker T, as well as the ever-popular women of WCW. For fans wanting to add their own personal touches, the robust “Create-A-Superstar” function allows gamers to make 36 different attribute alterations from skills such as increased strength and added quickness to visual changes such as adding tattoos and changing the style of clothing each wrestler can wear.

Whatever wrestler is chosen, they will have to be up to the task of brawling in either “Exhibition,” “Hardcore Gauntlet” or “Hardcore Challenge” matches. Exhibition mode is a great way to practice and perfect wrestling skills and attempt the First Blood and Human Torch matches. Running the “Hardcore Gauntlet” will send players through seven back-to-back matches against the toughest opponents that WCW Backstage Assault has to offer. Choose the “Hardcore Challenge” for the ultimate WCW experience where the goal is to earn the Hardcore, U.S. and World title belts. Win the belt and earn a spot in the elite “Hall of Champions.” Actual WCW broadcasters, Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan are on-hand to provide more than 8000 lines (PlayStation version only) of entertaining play-by-play and color commentary throughout each match.

The game marks the second interactive entertainment title from EA’s long-term, exclusive partnership with the WCW. The WCW brand was licensed to EA by World Championship Wrestling, Inc. WCW Backstage Assault for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 game consoles was developed by Kodiak Interactive Software Studios. EA is the worldwide publisher and distributor.

WCW Backstage Assault carries a “T” (Teen) rating and both versions of the title carry an MSRP of US$49.95 each. Consumers may purchase the game directly at the EA Store (http://www.eastore.ea.com) or by calling EA Direct Sales at 1.877.324.2637. More information on the product can be found on the official product website: www.wcwbackstageassault.com.

World Championship Wrestling is a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company. WCW produces and markets television programs and live action events featuring wrestling superstars. For more information, check out www.WCW.com.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, EA posted revenues of more than $1.4 billion for fiscal 2000. The company develops, publishes and distributes software worldwide for the Internet, personal computers and video game systems. EA markets its products under three brand names: EA SPORTS’, EA GAMES’ and EA.COM.

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Press Release

You and me. Outside. Now.

Wrestling games on the N64 are as popular as Crimson Tide bumper-stickers in Birmingham, and therein lies the problem: How to bring something new to the world of suplexing studs? The radical answer, from Electronic Arts: Do away with the ring.

More than 50 WCW wrestlers, including women and managers, piledrive their ways through seven environments, each with at least two rooms. Since there's no ring, don't expect a ref to show up. With no spoil-sports in striped shirts around, you're free to use foreign objects to your heart's content.

Each room is packed to the brim with potential weapons. Urinals can be ripped from the wall in the Bathroom, podiums turn into bludgeoning tools in the Media Center, and pay phones make for perfect weapons in the Locker Room. Other potential tools of destruction include 2x4s, water jugs, metal pipes, weights, chairs, VCRs, televisions and even sinks. Fire, smoke, water, steam, electrical sparks and other interactive elements can damage wrestlers and venues alike.

Backstage Assault features more than 800 motion-captured animations, including some 300 reused from last year's WCW Mayhem. The move you'll see most often, though, is when one wrestler cracks another over the head with a trash can or a computer monitor. Each wrestler has quite a few moves at his or her disposal, but with so many weapons lying around, the matches generally consist of constant pipe-swinging.

Developer Kodiak Interactive (which also made Mayhem) tries to keep the action somewhat true to the sport by designing ring-like mechanics into the rumble rooms. In the Truck Arena, for example, wrestlers can bounce opponents against a pile of used tires instead of the ropes. While rule-abiding wrestlers normally launch attacks from the top turnbuckle, Backstage Assault brawlers opt to perch atop 18-wheelers or chain link fences.

Matches are won by either pinfall or submission, but players can earn extra bonus points and unlock hidden wrestlers by performing certain tasks in each arena. In the Truck Arena, you can unlock Vampiro by picking up a 2x4, setting it on fire, and then torching your opponent. Bonus points are earned in the Media Center by shocking the competition with a battered VCR.

By taking advantage of aerial opportunities, you can unlock moves for use in the Create-A-Superstar mode. Kodiak tries to encourage players to use different moves by providing a bonus for variety, but this probably won't stop gamers from constantly assaulting each other with items. In fact, you can actually earn bonus points for using all of the items in the room.

In Hardcore Challenge, you battle for three WCW championships: U.S., World or Hardcore. As you scrap your way up the ladder, you can unlock new venues and weapons. Superior performances are recorded in the Hall of Champions, which ranks you by title earned, number of matches won, number of replays used (the less, the better) and style points.

Hardcore Gauntlet challenges you to fight seven of the WCW's most daunting wrestlers without taking a single breather. Run the gauntlet successfully and you'll get your mitts on even more hidden WCW stars. Less grueling but more spectacular modes include First Blood (you bleed, you lose) and Human Torch Match (you catch fire, you lose).

We have to give EA credit for their willingness to go just as far overboard as the WCW script writers themselves. This game definitely has some serious shock value, and smacking Jimmy Hart over the head with a flaming 2x4 is undeniably entertaining. When the novelty eventually wears off (and for some players it may never completely fade away), Backstage Assault's unpolished graphics and surprising lack of a four-player mode are almost as damaging as a urinal to the back of the head.

Nevertheless, Wrestling fans should definitely give this Pak a test-smack. It may not hold your attention for long, but while it does it hangs on with an iron grip.

WCW: Backstage Assault is scheduled to be released in time to add a little excitement to the holiday season.

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www.nintendo.com – Nintendo 64