WITNESS HEROISM AND COWARDICE IN WORLD WAR II* THE REAL-TIME STRATEGY BLOCKBUSTER FROM CODEMASTERS

New York, NY – February 26 2002 - Codemasters’ forthcoming real-time strategy epic World War II (working title) for the PC will feature an original system dubbed Frontline that gives individual soldiers and units the potential to display everything from heroism to confidence, despair and cowardice, thanks to a new morale-based system.  World War II is scheduled for release in the Fall of 2002.

 “The second World War was about much more than abstract ‘units’ moving around in textbook tactical formations. It was about heroism and panic, courage and fear – about soldiers performing extraordinary actions in extraordinary circumstances,” said Codemasters Studio Head Jonathan Smith.  “The Frontline system creates a game where real human emotions are just as important as strategy.”

Designed by The Bitmap Brothers, the game’s developers, the Frontline system creates a graphical onscreen representation of the player’s units’ morale, health and vision within the game. It is accurate enough for the player to use as a point of reference for all of his allied units, wherever they are in the field.

“With the Frontline system, this game will be the first action-RTS to deliver a true recreation of the battlefield experience…the first to portray the psychology of warfare, rather than a sterile theory of ‘wargaming’,” said Bitmap Brothers’ Managing Director Mike Montgomery.

A unit’s morale changes in real-time and is vitally important to its effectiveness. All units, whether singularly – such as a sniper – or grouped together have a morale state, which directly affects their combat accuracy and response time to situations.

If a morale is exceptionally high, the combat effectiveness will be raised substantially and make it easier to achieve current objectives. If an individual’s morale peaks, there is a chance that they will perform a heroic act, such as putting a grenade through an enemy bunker or pillbox.  If morale is particularly low, the unit’s combat effectiveness when fighting will drop accordingly. In the worst case scenario units will freeze in combat. However, a player can bolster morale by bringing battle-weary units back from the front lines or sending in reinforcements to help out.

Due to be published this Autumn for PC, World War II* will capture the heroism of World War II’s most significant battles, including Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge. With a range of Allied forces at their control, players will attempt to drive the Axis forces deep back inside their own territory. The game is currently in development at The Bitmap Brothers’ studio in east London.

* World War II is a working title.

About Codemasters
Established in 1986, UK-based Codemasters is one of Europe's best-selling and profitable game-makers, developing and publishing titles for the console platforms and PC.  Codemasters’ products first appeared on US retail shelves in 1999 and since then they have continued to provide energetic, compelling and innovative entertainment to gaming fans of all genres.  The company’s 2001 offerings included Blade of Darkness and Operation Flashpoint, both of which met with critical acclaim and enormous consumer praise. Richard Darling, the company’s Design Director and co-founder, is renowned as one of the most prolific game designers and has been involved in the creation of 60 of the company’s staggering #1 titles in the UK.  In keeping with the company's mission to remain on the crest of the gaming wave, Codemasters is developing games for online and next generation platforms.  Additional information about the company and its products can be found at www.codemasters.com

About Bitmap Brothers
Founded in 1987, The Bitmap Brothers are the original 'rock star' developers - a small, but highly successful development team that prize quality over quantity, and depth over glitz. Continually striving for originality, attention to detail and new levels of playability, the company has been responsible for several of the games industry's most memorable titles, released on a range of formats that have included 8, 16 and 32-bit home computers and consoles - from the earliest days of the Commodore 64 through to today's high performance PCs and next generation consoles. The first game from The Bitmap Brothers, Xenon, was released in 1988. A sophisticated shoot-'em up that, through a combination of cutting-edge graphics and challenging gameplay became the first Amiga game to enter the UK top 40 charts, selling over 100 000 units in the process. In the same year, The Bitmap Brothers followed up the success of Xenon with the seminal future-sport game Speedball, a mesmerising arcade sports sim praised as one of the greatest two-player games ever designed and winner of countless awards. Ten further games: Magic Pockets, Gods, Cadaver, Xenon 2, Speedball 2, The Chaos Engine, The Chaos Engine 2, Z, Speedball 2100 and Z: Steel Soldiers, complete the company's multi award-winning back catalogue to date.

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