MAY 20, 2002

Microsoft Throws Down the Gauntlet: Can You Beat a Legend at His Own Game?

One Lucky E3 Attendee Will Go Head-to-Head with Brian Reynolds in a Rise of Nations Showdown

Strategy gamers at E3 who believe they can hold their own with the best of the best will want to sign up for a unique challenge issued by Microsoft Game Studios: the chance to take on legendary developer Brian Reynolds in a head-to-head game of Rise of Nations.

Thanks to Rise of Nations' fast-paced gameplay, which lets players experience an entire, history-spanning battle of nations in an hour or less, Microsoft's "Lunch Hour Challenge" may be the quickest real-time strategy tournament ever. Sign-up will begin at 11am Thursday at the Microsoft booth (South Hall, #1246). At 11:55am, four contestants will be randomly selected to enter the challenge. They'll play head-to-head elimination matches until just one player remains.

That grand prize winner will receive a $500 gift certificate to shop.microsoft.com then sit down at 2pm to challenge Brian Reynolds himself, facing the master in his own game. The odds are long -- but the reward could be the ultimate in strategy-game bragging rights.

Reynolds is a founding member of Big Huge Games and has a formidable background in strategy gaming, including working with Sid Meier on such masterpieces as Civilization II and Alpha Centauri*. Rise of Nations is an ideal first project for Big Huge Games, combining the epic scope of turn-based classics like Civilization with the faced-paced action of real-time strategy games. Players can take multiple paths to victory, using everything from military might to economic finesse to expand their national borders as their civilization quickly progresses from the stone age to the information age. More information can be found at www.bighugegames.com  or www.microsoft.com/games/riseofnations.asp. 

Microsoft Game Studios is a leading worldwide publisher and developer of games for the PC, Xbox video game system and online platforms. Comprising a network of top developers, Microsoft Game Studios is committed to creating innovative and diverse game portfolios for PC (http://www.microsoft.com/games/), including such franchises as "Age of Empires®," "Flight Simulatorä" and "Zoo Tycoonä"; Xbox ( http://www.xbox.com/), including such franchises as "Halo," "Project Gotham Racingä" and "NFL Fever"; and Zone.com ( http://zone.msn.com/ ), the official games channel for the MSN® network and home to such hits as "Bejeweled" and "Outsmartä." 

* Although actually designed by Brian Reynolds, the games Civilization II and Alpha Centauri were originally marketed under the "Sid Meier" brand, e.g. as Sid Meier's Civilization II and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. CIVILIZATION is a registered trademark of Infogrames Entertainment. ALPHA CENTAURI is a registered trademark of Firaxis Games. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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