More trains than you and your PC can handle!

Montreal, Quebec. October 3, 2002. Strategy First announced today that they will be releasing the "Ultimate Trainz Collection" (UTC) in the North American market just in time for Christmas.

Hitting store shelves on November 19^th, UTC includes 2 CDs full of dynamic railroad gameplay that lets you not only create your own landscape, but collect and customize your locos and control as many trains as you and your PC can handle.

"Trainz impressed rail fans around the world with its combination of stunning graphics and easy layout construction," said Don McFatridge, President of Strategy First Inc. "We are delighted to have the opportunity to present this excellent upgrade in time for Christmas."

UTC brings a whole new dimension to gameplay with the introduction of challenging and compelling scenarios. From short passenger runs, to humpyard activities, to complex freight maneuvers, scenarios offer something for everyone. Performance is measured against scores or time limits, and play can vary between running a single engine, changing between multiple locos or operating as a switchman.

"The Ultimate Trainz Collection offers gamers and train fans more than just driving a train," said Tony Hilliam, Vice-President of Auran. "Working closely with our legion of loyal fans, we have improved our easy-to-use route editor and continued to add more content, more gameplay and more features. UTC also integrates closely with our Trainz Download Station making the collection and installation of new custom content a breeze.

We're excited by what our online community are already producing and are looking forward to the future as they invent new and imaginative ways of using this technology."

Users can even create their own scenarios using the powerful scripting language provided and provide them for download for other Trainz fans. Of course the selection of trains has been greatly expanded as well. There are dozens of new loco's, freight wagons and passenger cars plus a special bonus inclusion in UTC is Paint Shed; an easy-to-use paint program that allows users to create their own railroad liveries. In total, over 100 different cars, wagons and loco's are included, and thousands more objects can be downloaded free.

For more information about UTC, please visit www.auran.com. Infogrames will exclusively distribute UTC in North America.

About Auran

Auran has been developing world-class game and technology since being established in 1995. Originally known for the hit game Dark Reign, which

sold 680,000 copies, Auran have now licensed their Auran Jet engine technology to over 200 developers around the world. Trainz is the first

commercial product released using Auran Jet and has developed a cult following amongst train fans from Brisbane to Brooklyn to Birmingham. Auran

have several other innovative titles under development.

About Strategy First 

Strategy First Inc. is a leading developer and worldwide publisher of entertainment software for the PC.  Founded in 1990, the company has grown rapidly, publishing major games in the industry and simultaneously developing its own in-house titles such as O.R.B., Disciples II, Nexagon:The Pit and Zero-G Marines.  After winning numerous awards for games such as Disciples: Sacred Lands, Europa Universalis, Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns and Steel Beasts, Strategy First continues to push the gaming envelope with its own groundbreaking titles, while maintaining its reputation as a unique alternative for independent developers seeking to market their games to a worldwide audience.