MASTER OF ORION II: BATTLE AT ANTARES FROM MICROPROSE GOES GOLD
THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED CD-ROM SEQUEL WILL
HIT RETAIL SHELVES NATIONWIDE BEFORE THANKSGIVING
Master of Orion
II: Battle at Antares Joins Company's Chart-Topping Lineup of Sequel
Product Releases Including Sid Meier's Civilization® II, Grand Prix II
and the Recent Debut of Sid Meier's Civilization II Scenarios
ALAMEDA, Calif., November
19, 1996 - There will be more aliens to conquer and great galactic missions to accomplish,
just in time for the holiday season. Spectrum HoloByte, Inc. (Nasdaq- NNM:SBYT) announced
today that Master of Orion II: Battle
at Antares will arrive in retail
stores prior to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Developed by MicroProse's Studio in
Austin, Texas, Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares, will be marketed under the
MicroProse® brand and distributed worldwide.
Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares joins the
company's expansive strategy category, continuing the original Master Of
Orion's exciting theme of space explorations, colonization and combat. Master
of Orion II: Battle at Antares offers never-before-seen challenges and opportunities,
including SVGA graphics, enhanced cinematics, an original musical score and sound effects.
The series continues to probe players of all levels with new gameplay that is easy to
learn and entertaining, but remains a challenge to "master."
"In developing this sequel, we listened to our customers. We know the
wanted more special effects so we added more and updated the technology. The fans wanted
more to explore, so planets and colonies have been added to the star systems. And players
wanted control over their spaceships. Now, in fact, they can custom build their own. And,
of course, they wanted the addition of multiplayer capabilities. In Master of Orion II:
Battle at Antares, the depth of gameplay is in the choices we give the players.
Players can ask themselves: 'Should I research advanced in weapon or production
technology; should I immediately attack the first opponent I see or is it better to trade
with the opponent?' Furthermore, the different races add replayability. Each race
requires a different style of play to succeed, and when we added the ability to custom
design a race, the possibilities for game strategies became nearly endless," said
Steve Barcia, designer and programmer at the MicroProse Studio in Austin, Texas.
Derek McLeish, senior vice president of marketing, said, "We set out
to create a product that refined the original top-selling game Master of Orion. It
was our intent to build upon the success of the already established 'Master
of....' brand. We also recognize the hot trend of science-fiction in the
entertainment industry and especially believe that this game targets the general
consumer's interest while also satisfying our many Master of Orion die-hard
enthusiasts," McLeish continued, "As a leading developer and publisher of
interactive entertainment software, Spectrum HoloByte continues to expand its extensive
lineup of sequels focusing on the already successful and established brands: Sid
Meier's Civilizations II, Grand Prix II, and the recent launch of Sid
Meier's Civilization II Scenarios."
For a more challenging and competitive experience, Master of Orion II:
Battle at Antares will be a stand-alone game that includes multiplayer features such
as a local area network, modem and hot-seat play. Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares
players will be able to research more technology, view new art in SVGA graphics, choose
from more alien races (Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares will have 13
alien races whereas Master of Orion had 10), customize their own race, and enjoy a
more detailed tactical ship combat and colony development.
In Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares, population
growth has outstripped planetary resources and the need for galactic expansion has become
a necessity. Acting as mighty emperors, users start with one colony and control how
resources are allocated, where fleets are deployed, which galactic neighbors to wage war
on and which to befriend. Then, players lead their people into other star systems, quickly
securing the space and resources that will guarantee their supremacy. Players encounter
various obstacles, including a rave of fanatic xenophobes (the Antarans) from another
dimension that wants to annihilate all intelligent life in the galaxy.
Category: Strategy
Era: Future
Format: IBM PC and compatibles; CD-ROM only; Windows 95 or
MS-DOS 5.0 or later.
Min. Requirements: IBM PC 66MHz 80486 or faster;
double-speed CD-ROM drive; MSCDEX2.1 or higher, 8MB RAM or 16MB RAM if running under
Windows 95; 75MB hard drive space free, SVGA (VESA required) for 640 x 480 x 256 colors;
mouse and keyboard.
Supports : Sound Blaster/Sound Blaster Pro, ProAudio
Spectrum
Required for 100% Hayes-compatible 9600 modem or faster (2
players), null-modem serial
Multiplayer Option: cable (2 players) and IPX network (2 to 8 players)
Product information is available for download from the MicroProse World
Wide Web site at http://www.microprose.com. For consumer orders, call 1-800-695-GAME in
the United States and Canada and call 619-693-1200 outside the United States and Canada.
Spectrum HoloByte, Inc. is a leading developer and publisher of
interactive entertainment software for use on CD-ROM-based personal computer systems and
next generation console machines, under the MicroProse brand name. The company's five
development studios are located in Alameda, California; Hunt Valley, Maryland; Chapel
Hill, North Carolina; Chipping Sodbury, England and Austin, Texas. Products are available
nationally and internationally through major distributors, retailers and mass merchants.
The company's World Wide Web address is http://www.microprose.com.
Contributed by skl (1163) on Mar 13, 2004.
