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MEDIA ALERT: AUGUST 10, 2000

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MONTEZUMA'S REVENGE! AGE OF EMPIRES II: THE CONQUERORS EXPANSION TRIAL VERSION AVAILABLE TOMORROW

Microsoft today announced that the trial version for Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion, the award-winning add-on to Age of Empires II: Age of Kings, will be available for download tomorrow at http://www.microsoft.com/games/conquerors/.

In the trial version gamers can play the first scenario of the Montezuma campaign, which is one of four new campaigns found in the full retail version. Two new units, the Jaguar Warrior and the Plumed Archer, and two new technologies, the Garland Wars and El Dorado, are also included in the trial version. Additionally, players can experience the Mayan and Aztec civilizations -- new civilizations only available in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion. The trial version also contains an all-new game type, King of the Hill.

The full retail version of the Conquerors Expansion features five new civilizations: the Huns, Aztecs, Mayans, Koreans, and Spanish, along with four new historically based campaigns and over ten new units. Each civilization has unique attributes, buildings, and technologies, as well as unique combat units based on its historical counterpart. "Smart villagers," who go to work immediately and efficiently after constructing a drop-off building, and farm queues, which allow the gamer to automatically replant exhausted farms, add realism and ease-of-play to the gaming experience. Continuing to build on the Age of Empires franchise, the Conquerors Expansion showcases the expertise of Bruce Shelley, and offers the most feature-rich expansion pack created to date.

Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion will be available at retail locations throughout North America in late August for an anticipated street price of US$29.95. More information is available at the game's official Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/games/conquerors/ , or on the Ensemble Studios Web site at http://www.ensemblestudios.com/.

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