14 August 2002
THE FIRST CASUALTY OF WAR GAMING
IS INNOCENCE
Monte Cristo Announces PlatoonTM
for PC in November 2002
Monte Cristo today announced the
release date for its upcoming 3D real time strategy title PlatoonTM, based on
Oliver Stone’s harrowing portrait of the war in Vietnam, as November 2002.
Following the cinema release in
1986, Platoon was widely-acclaimed as the most important Vietnam movie ever
produced. 16 years later, Platoon on PC will go a paddy field further by
capturing all of the uncertainty, drama, sweat, fear and horror of this
Oscar-winning classic into a masterpiece of real time strategy gaming.
"We’re excited and proud to be
releasing Platoon, the first PC strategy game based on the Vietnam War,”
commented Pascal Hery, external productions Manager, Monte Cristo. “With Digital
Reality developing this important title, we aim not only to create a great
real-time tactical game, but also to recapture the suspense involved in the
day-to-day life of a platoon in the Vietnam War. The latest 3D graphics and
sound engine from Digital Reality will add to this feeling. The licensing
agreement we’ve signed with MGM should help to guarantee an even greater success
for the game.
“Digital Reality’s development
passion combined with Monte Cristo’s strengths are fully realized with the
inclusion of MGM’s Platoon film license,” added Neil Haldar, Vice President of
Production and Business Development, MGM Interactive. “I am proud that we
continue our momentum of crafting high-quality games that take advantage of
MGM’s tremendous film studio resources.”
Platoon’s gameplay focuses on the
1st Airborne Cavalry Division in the early days of the Vietnam conflict in 1965
to the height of the war – and rapidly mounting casualties – in 1968. Starting
out as Sergeant Martin Lionsdale, newly-wed and new recruit, players will need
to learn from their experiences of the cruel jungle quickly to be able to
succeed in their missions and rise in rank. Ultimately, they’ll be responsible
for a full platoon of specialized ‘grunts’ comprising riflemen, snipers, scouts,
machine gunners, grenadiers, engineers and commandoes.
In Platoon, each infantryman has his
own unique personality and reacts to orders, situations and environments
accordingly. The lush 3D terrain, containing dense elephant grass, rice paddy
and jungle and the dynamic weather effects, including wind, rain and monsoons,
affect each soldier’s speed and combat abilities and also the enemy detection
through both sound and line of sight.
With over 400 motion-captured
animations, Platoon’s infantry movements are all realistic and use vertex
shaders for movement as well as grass effects. Gameplay mobility will also
feature full vehicle control, including the hardy M113 Armoured Personnel
Carriers and the mighty M48 Patton Tanks, as well as static supporting units,
including mortars and recoilless rifles. Furthermore, to add to the
all-important battlefield authenticity, a complex particle system is used to
create explosion effects, smoke and fire.
To share the experience amongst
friends, Platoon offers network play for two players over four exclusive maps
and to add to the overall cinematic ambience, Platoon’s gameplay has been set in
a heart-moving musical score from BAFTA ward-winning musician Tams Kreiner.
Platoon is being developed by
Hungary-based Digital Reality, famed for Imperium Galactica I and II and
Haegemonia. Digital Reality has created a revolutionary game engine which will
carry Platoon’s breathtaking speed and complexity with ease. Furthermore, to
keep the battlefield action fast and furious, Platoon features a scalable Level
of Detail system (L.O.D.) to suit all operating systems above PIII 600 Mhz or
equivalent.
Platoon will be published for PC by
Monte Cristo in November 2002.
Notes to Editors
MGM Interactive, a unit of
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. (NYSE: MGM), manages business development and
production of interactive products for a variety of multimedia platforms, as
well as talent and developer relationships. MGM Interactive’s upcoming games
include this fall’s latest installment to the James Bond videogame franchise,
James Bond 007: NightFire, from Electronic Arts,; Rocky, from U.K.-based Rage,
based on the unforgettable Academy Award®-winning film; Robocop, from
Paris-based Titus; The Great Escape, from Sci, derived from the action-packed
cult classic,; and The Pink Panther, which casts the world’s coolest cat in
all-new games from France-based CRYO. For more information about MGM, visit MGM
Online at http://www.mgm.com.
PLATOON and TM 1986 Orion Pictures
Corporation. All rights reserved.
