A Quick Look At ... Taken from official web sites by Sue ------------------------------------------------------------------ Black Dahlia from http://www.bdahlia.com/ Take 2 Interactive Software's latest multimedia adventure game is the occult murder-mystery Black Dahlia. Inspired by the actual unsolved murder of aspiring actress Elizabeth Short, nicknamed "the Black Dahlia," and the infamous "Torso" murders in Cleveland (who many believe were committed by the same individual), the game places the player into an eerie world of death and deceit. Black Dahlia builds on the success of the critically acclaimed mega-hit Ripper and features a star-studded Hollywood cast, 75 interactive puzzles, 60 meticulously detailed locations, and over 3 hours of the most compelling cinematic sequences ever seen on a PC. The year is 1941 and the United States teeters on the brink of war. As the horrors of the holocaust and the destruction in Europe are brought home to America, yet another evil strikes fear into the hearts of the citizens of Cleveland. Stalking the city's industrial ghettos is a vicious serial killer who ritualistically dismembers his victims with brutal precision. Thrust into this world is Jim Pearson, a young agent of the fledgling government agency the COI (Office of Coordinator of Information), whose simple investigation of a pro-German subversive group unwittingly becomes a full-scale hunt for America's first serial killer, tagged by the media as "the Torso Killer." Broad in scope, the game takes the player through over 60 locations from pre-war Cleveland to war-torn Europe and a Los Angeles flush with victory. The player must race to catch a killer before he is able to complete his bloody occult ritual and make humanity's greatest nightmare an unspeakable reality. Over 75 puzzles have been interwoven into the game's twisting plot to test the player's wits and abilities. Puzzle types will range from cerebral, to graphical, to combat sequences, all leading to the game's dramatic conclusion. Black Dahlia offers a level of realism that is nothing short of stunning. The game has been researched and designed with painstaking precision, and its setting is historically accurate to the most minute detail, with careful attention paid to elements such as costuming, architecture, and character design. In addition to the high production values, Take 2 has unveiled its new proprietary technologies allowing for both increased player interaction and smoother cinematic sequences. As part of a lavish media blitz, Take 2 has opened a dedicated Black Dahlia web site to support its newest title. The Black Dahlia web site features live chats, contests loaded with free prizes, and a plethora of product and historical information. Prize awards will include $5,000 in cash, fully loaded gaming PCs, and home stereo equipment. Free product demos will also be sent to each registered user of the Black Dahlia web site. Black Dahlia contains mature subject matter and is intended for users 17+ years of age. Take 2 Interactive Software is a multimedia developer and publisher specializing in entertainment products for IBM (and compatibles), Macintosh, and next generation set-top platforms. Award winning titles include: Jetfighter III, Ripper, AD&D's Iron & Blood, Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller, Millennia: Altered Destinies, and Star Crusader. Take 2 is headquartered in New York City, with development offices and studios in Latrobe, PA; and Mission Studios, a development subsidiary, located in Inverness, IL. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Tex Murphy: Overseer from http://www.accesssoftware.com/product/mystery/overseer/ Your client is drop-dead gorgeous. Her father is just plain dead - of an apparent suicide. She's certain he was murdered and is willing to do anything to prove it. You are Tex Murphy, P.I. - willing to do anything to make rent. Your 3D virtual reality investigation leads you into the heart of a dark secret. An elite team of specialists has created something unspeakable, and each of them is marked for death. Now, only you stand between freedom and the reign of the Overseer... The emphasis in Tex Murphy: Overseer is on adventure. The story is a twisting, turning joyride, full of danger, espionage, ingenious escapes and, of course, plenty of humor. The designers paid extra attention to game play this time around, packing the adventure with dozens and dozens of riddles, puzzles and hair-raising cliffhangers, all intended to keep players glued to their computers until the mind-bending finale. Tex Murphy: Overseer is the ideal vehicle for the new DVD format. The explorable 3D environments are presented in High Color (which uses up to 65,536 colors), making them richer, deeper and more photorealistic than anything ever seen on computer. Players will feel they are actually in real locations. And the movement--as in Under a Killing Moon and The Pandora Directive-- is completely unrestricted, allowing players to search every nook and cranny, as opposed to the limitations of rendered paths or slide-show presentations. The interface has been updated and streamlined, allowing the 3D environments to be presented full-screen. And, in keeping with Access Software's commitment to customer service, Tex Murphy: Overseer comes with an extensive Help system, as well as complete hints, so players will never have to call in for a clue or purchase a hint book. Also, in response to an extremely favorable reaction, there will be two levels of gameplay, as there were in The Pandora Directive, one for players who want to get on with the story, and one for puzzle fanatics. The cast of actors, headed by Michael York (Logan's Run, The Three Musketeers, etc.) is experienced and excellent. The script, written by Aaron Conners, is feature film-quality and was the primary draw for the major actors. Adrian Carr follows up his stylish direction of The Pandora Directive by utilizing the new technology and giving Tex Murphy: Overseer a truly cinematic, rather than computer game look. With the very latest technology, a riveting script, a stellar cast, stylish direction and a finale that will blow the audience away, Tex Murphy: Overseer promises to be the most exciting edition yet in the popular and critically-acclaimed Tex Murphy series. System Requirements 133 MHz Pentium Processor or better Windows 95 operating system 16 MB RAM installed Video resolution (640x480x16 resolution, 2 MB Video RAM required) 16-bit Multimedia compatible sound card 4X CD-ROM or DVD drive 20 MB available hard disk space Keyboard/mouse/speakers ------------------------------------------------------------------ THE FORCE IS WITH YOU IN NEW STAR WARS EPIC, JEDI KNIGHT: DARK FORCES II, THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED DARK FORCES MULTIPLAYER SEQUEL FROM LUCASARTS A BEGUILING NEW FORCE INFILTRATES THE STAR WARS GALAXY IN LUCASARTS' MYSTERIES OF THE SITH, NEW COMPANION MISSIONS FOR JEDI KNIGHT: DARK FORCES II Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II and Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith (companion disk for DK2) from http://www.lucasarts.com/products/ Jedi Knight II: Dark Forces II - the First Star Wars Title to ------------------------------ Incorporate Network Play, Lightsabers and the Force. San Rafael, CA -- "Only a fully trained Jedi Knight, with the Force as his ally, will prevail." -- Obi Wan Kenobi Driven by the phenomenal success of the award winning Star Wars title Dark Forces, one of the best selling computer game titles of 1995, LucasArts Entertainment Company has released the long awaited sequel, Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, a 3D, first-person, action adventure for Windows 95 CD-ROM. In a series of firsts for LucasArts, this original epic will incorporate highly anticipated network play, and will enable players to battle the evil Empire with lightsabers and gain strength through use of the Force. Jedi Knight requires players to navigate through more than a dozen complex and incredibly detailed multilevel mazes and environments as they face powerful enemies and once-again fight for the Rebel cause. Cinematic full motion video sequences punctuate the action and weave a compelling new tale in the Star Wars universe. Jedi Knight will be available in the fall of 1997. "The multiplayer features in Jedi Knight are exactly what Dark Forces fans demanded the most in a sequel," said co-Project Leader Justin Chin. "In addition, we've incorporated cinematic live-action cut-scenes and the ability for players to use lightsabers and the Force, making this a truly exceptional Star Wars experience." In Dark Forces, players took on the persona of Kyle Katarn, a young mercenary sent to infiltrate the Empire. Through a series of live-action sequences, Jedi Knight continues the story of Katarn as he embarks on a quest into his past and learns the mysterious ways of the Jedi. With this knowledge, he must stop seven Dark Jedi from unlocking the powers of a hidden Jedi burial ground. This task forces Katarn to confront his own dark past. He then must decide his destiny. If he chooses the Dark side, he will come into enormous power and forever break from good. If he chooses the Light side, he faces seemingly insurmountable evil. Whatever path Katarn chooses will change the face of the galaxy forever. Katarn's ultimate nemesis is Jerec, a powerful Dark Jedi who is leading a deadly group on a search for the riches of supreme power. Six diverse and dangerous Dark Jedi follow Jerec. Boc, cunning and brash, wields two lightsabers, making him a particularly vicious opponent. Sariss is strong in both the physical and mental areas of the Force. The merciless and bitter Maw doesn't value human life, is loyal to none and uses the Force with expertise. Gorc and Pic are twins that form a bizarre and grotesque team -- one is a huge eight foot monster and the other is only four feet tall -- who work and battle as a team. Yun, the youngest of the Dark Jedi, is cocky, unpredictable and eager to prove his worth to the Dark side. Players will find a variety of weapons -- old and new -- in the Jedi Knight arsenal, including the trusty Bryar pistol, a stormtrooper rifle, thermal detonators, repeater gun (picked up in Dark Forces from the defeated Dark Troopers), turret gun and Imperial Machines mines. Perhaps the most exciting new weapon to be found in Jedi Knight is the lightsaber. Players can now wield their way to Rebel victory with this most venerable of Jedi accoutrements. Jedi Knight allows Star Wars fans to experience the amazing -- and deeply mystical -- powers of the Force for the first time. Use of the Force is based on an experience points system that allows players to customize the game. As each mission unfolds, players earn experience points that are tallied when a mission is complete. The Force abilities -- either Dark side or Light -- are then awarded accordingly. Basic powers include enhanced jumping, the ability to see through walls, healing powers and the ability to retrieve weapons and objects from far away. While Jedi Knight is an exceptional single-player game, the new network mode offers an amazing multiplayer/multisystem experience. Players can battle it out in real-time with up to eight opponents in two different modes: Total Combat and Territory Combat. Total Combat pits individual players against each other in an all-out battle. Territory Combat can be played in either single or team mode as players battle in a quasi "capture the flag" challenge to seize territory belonging to their opponents. Mysteries of the Sith introduces New Character Mara Jade In A --------------------- Series of Story-Based Missions; Intense New Single and Multiplayer Levels, Powerful New Weapons and Force Powers Featured. Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, one of this year's most heralded and best- selling interactive entertainment titles, unleashes a powerful new force this winter with Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith, an exhilarating collection of new companion missions from LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC. Mysteries of the Sith features 29 immersive single and multiplayer levels and introduces a compelling new playable character, Mara Jade, a former covert agent for the Galactic Empire. Mysteries of the Sith is set in a period five years beyond Kyle Katarn's dramatic victory over the seven Dark Jedi he battled in Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. Kyle's reputation as a skilled Jedi Knight has attracted Mara Jade, one-time assassin, smuggler and Jedi Knight-in-training under Emperor Palpatine. Hoping to complete her apprenticeship, Mara joins Kyle on the remote outpost of Altyr 5. Kyle soon discloses that he has discovered information about a previously unknown Sith temple and must travel to it to investigate the mysterious forces it holds. Awaiting Kyle's return, Mara undertakes two missions on behalf of the New Republic involving a band of rogue pirates and a notorious Hutt crime boss. Mara soon finds herself plunged into the sinister world of the ancient Sith, ultimately setting into motion a series of events that leads to a confrontation worthy of a classic Star Wars epic. In the 14 single player levels of Mysteries of the Sith, players battle through a variety of challenging 3D environments ranging from the foreboding palace of crime lord Ka' Pa the Hutt, to wampa-infested swamps, and subterranean catacombs of a Sith temple deep within the planet of Drommund Kaas. Of the game's 15 multiplayer levels, 10 are death matches, and the remaining five set aside for Kill the Fool With the Ysalamiri. (A ysalamiri is a small salamander-like creature capable of deterring the Force within a 10 meter radius.) Several of the game's multiplayer levels are framed in familiar Star Wars settings such as an Imperial Throne Room, the Carbon-Freezing Chamber, Cloud City and Tatooine. New weaponry in Mysteries of the Sith includes a carbonite gun, designed to immobilize enemies with freeze pellets; a BlasTech BH-35 electroscope, for long-range engagements; a repeating blaster cannon, for heavy firepower; seeker rail detonators; flash bombs; remote sequencers; and a BlasTech DL-44 heavy blaster pistol. The five new Force powers available in Mysteries of the Sith are Force Push, Chain Lightning, Lightsaber Throw, Force Projection, and Far Sight. Players will battle more than 20 new creatures throughout Mysteries of the Sith, including a dreaded rancor, similar to the beast Luke Skywalker dramatically encountered in the Star Wars film Return of the Jedi. Other creatures range from assassin and torture droids to pirate raiders and Sith undead. Mysteries of the Sith features an enhanced game engine, including such advances as cameras and security systems and improved lighting for added realism. A copy of Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is required. - o -