Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir Press Release
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'Neverwinter NightsTM 2: Storm of Zehir' Brings Bold New Adventures to The Forgotten Realms®
Second Expansion for Atari's Renowned Role-Playing Opus Scheduled for Worldwide Release Q4 2008
NEW YORK, June 11: Atari, Inc. (OTC Pink Sheets: ATAR), one of the world's most recognized brands and a third-party video game publisher and distributor, alongside Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS) announced today that Neverwinter NightsTM 2: Storm of Zehir is currently in production. Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, one of the premier independent development studios in the world, the second expansion to Neverwinter Nights 2 will deliver an engrossing DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® experience in the tradition of the Neverwinter Nights franchise and is scheduled for worldwide launch Q4 2008.
Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir hearkens back to the days of the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale franchises by including full party customization, dungeon crawling, and free exploration of a non-linear game world via an Overland Map. The gripping storyline foreshadows the events that will take place in the Forgotten Realms with the coming release this June of the Fourth Edition of Dungeons & Dragons® Roleplaying Game.
In the aftermath of the defeat of the King of Shadows, the Sword Coast is in the midst of an uneasy economic recovery. Trade syndicates have sprung up to exploit the post-war confusion for their own ends and the players' party will wade into this uncertain environment. In order to increase their own fortunes, they can either ally with a syndicate to create a trade empire, or cut their own path through Faerun by preying upon caravans and selling the goods on the black market. As they attempt to extend their influence, players will become aware of a new faction working behind the scenes: the evil, shape-shifting, serpentine Yuan-Ti.
In addition to trading and economic manipulation, the Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir Overland Map allows players to explore the Chultan Peninsula and Sword Coast in a non-linear manner never before seen in any of the Neverwinter Nights games. Exploration will take players from well-known locations, like Neverwinter and Crossroad Keep, to more exotic areas, such as the xenophobic jungle nation of Samarach. Groups of highwaymen and monsters populate the Overland Map and the farther from civilization the player roams, the more difficult the encounters become. The 15-hour campaign in Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir is also packed with new classes, spells, creatures, and playable races.
Fans of the compelling multiplayer features of Neverwinter Nights 2 will also be able to take advantage of new improvements to the multiplayer experience, while modders will be able to take advantage of the power and flexibility of the Overland Map and Trading System features along with other world-building enhancements.
Game Features:More information about Neverwinter Nights 2 can be found at www.nwn2.com .
- Travel the Sword Coast and Samarach using the open-ended exploration of the new Overland Map. Use skills like Spot and Survival while on the Overland Map to avoid ambushes and even find hidden locales and lost artifacts.
- Create your own full party of adventurers. Devastate your foes with a squad of fireball-flinging Sorcerers, form a solid wall of steel with a party of Fighters, or strike the perfect balance in your party by spreading out the classes you choose for your characters.
- Improved party gameplay including streamlined party conversations, a new Teamwork Benefit System, and powerful party feats.
- The world's economy reacts to your adventures and choices. And, through trading and quests, you can expand your merchant company into a massive trading empire.
About Obsidian Entertainment
Obsidian Entertainment, Inc. is a premier software development company passionately dedicated to creating high quality, next generation role-playing games for PC and console systems. More information about Obsidian Entertainment can be found online at www.obsidian.net .
About Hasbro
Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) is a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER, CRANIUM and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world. ©2008 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
About Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS), is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop role-playing game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games (TCGs) and their method of play and produces the premier trading card game, Magic: The Gathering®, among many other trading card games and family card and board games. Wizards is also a leading publisher of role-playing games, such as Dungeons & Dragons®, and publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times best-sellers. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at www.wizards.com .
About Atari, Inc.
One of the world's most recognized brands, New York-based Atari, Inc. is a third-party publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company's 1,000+ titles include hard-core, genre-defining franchises such as Test Drive® and mass-market and children's franchises such as Dragon Ball Z®. Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext - ISIN: FR-0000052573), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit www.atari.com .
