BLACK LABEL GAMES ANNOUNCES PC PATCH, NEW MOUSE-LOOK FEATURE, FOR CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED ACTION/SURVIVAL-HORROR TITLE "THE THING"

LOS ANGELES, Calif., October 31, 2002—Black Label Games, a studio of the Games division of Vivendi Universal Publishing (VU Games), announced today that it has produced a PC patch for its critically acclaimed game "The Thing."

A sequel to Universal Studios and John Carpenter's 1982 film of the same name, "The Thing" game continues the movie's storyline and features an all-new cast of characters. Players assume the role of Blake, a military squad captain on special mission in Antarctica to investigate the mysterious disappearance of an American scientific expedition. Before long, the team discovers an alien beast with the power to transform itself into everything it kills. Blake must struggle to keep fear from consuming his men as he fights the alien monsters in their midst.

London-based game developer Computer Artworks, Ltd. created a trust/fear interface for the game, an innovative gameplay mechanic never before implemented that enables the player to actively manage the psychological states of the non-playing characters (NPCs) and their willingness to cooperate with their leader. Unlike most survival-horror games, "The Thing" demands that the player complete the game with his increasingly suspicious squad-mates, relying on wits and an arsenal of weaponry, including flame-throwers and machine guns, to escape infection.

"Our decision to create a mouse-look patch for 'The Thing' was driven by our desire to give PC gamers the most authentic computer gaming experience possible," said Torrie Dorrell, general manager of Black Label Games. "The mouse-look patch implements a control style familiar to PC game enthusiasts and creates a frenetic, immersive gameplay experience."

Television actor William B. Davis ("The X-Files") provides the voice of Blake's nemesis, Whitely, in the game. The ultra-realistic 3D game also features groundbreaking snow and lighting effects, subtle sound cues and some of the most hyper-detailed and truly horrific creatures ever to grace the gaming screen. "The Thing" is difficult to see, hard to kill and seemingly impossible to evade.

About "The Thing"

Derived from John W. Campbell, Jr.'s short story "Who Goes There?" and a remake of Howard Hawks' 1951 film, John Carpenter's ("Christine," "Halloween") "The Thing" has become a cult phenomenon since its theatrical release in 1982. The story of an alien monster that ravages an Antarctic outpost with its power to morph into the shape of anything it kills, the film was rated by Entertainment Weekly as the 12th-scariest movie of all time, in the company of such classics as "Alien" and "The Exorcist."

About Black Label Games

Black Label Games is a studio of the Games division of Vivendi Universal Publishing, and is focused on developing titles based on original intellectual properties as well as content licensed from external strategic partners. Black Label Games' title line-up includes "The Thing," the critically-acclaimed action/survival-horror game, a sequel to John Carpenter's 1982 cult classic movie of the same name, "Enclave" for the Xbox™ video game system from Microsoft, and "Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter," for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo GameCube™ and the Xbox™ video game system from Microsoft. The unit is also releasing games based on the great 20th century literary epic, J.R.R. Tolkien's worldwide best-selling saga "The Lord of the Rings," as part of Vivendi Universal Games' long-term agreement with Tolkien Enterprises.