July 12, 2007
EA ANNOUNCES ID SOFTWARE’S
AWARD-WINNING ORCS & ELVES SERIES TO CONTINUE ON NINTENDO DS AND MOBILE
Electronic Arts Inc. today announced
the upcoming release of the award-winning* title Orcs & Elves® to the Nintendo
DS™ and the second installment in the action-fantasy saga, Orcs & Elves II,
coming to mobile. Orcs & Elves and Orcs & Elves II are first-person fantasy role
playing games created by id™ Software and developed exclusively for EA by
Fountainhead Entertainment. Orcs & Elves marks one of the first games developed
specifically for the mobile platform that has crossed over to another
game-specific device.
The Orcs & Elves franchise has been
lauded for marrying the storytelling and visuals of the fantasy RPG genre with
the accessibility of the mobile format, which has appealed to casual and
hardcore gamers alike. The game won numerous awards including IGN’s Best of E3
2006 and Mobile Game of the Year at the 10th Annual Interactive Achievement
Awards.
“Orcs & Elves was a perfect fit for
the DS,” said John Carmack, founder and technical director at id Software, “We
were able to take excellent advantage of the 3D hardware and unique user input
capabilities, and expand the game to include a lot of wonderful features that we
just couldn’t fit on the cell phones. Orcs & Elves II is a polished gem of a
game for the mobile platforms, opening up new parts of the world to explore,
while carrying forward and improving all the elements that were loved about the
original game.”
“Orcs & Elves changed a lot of
people’s perceptions by showing that you could build an easily accessible,
story-rich RPG for today’s mobile phones,” said Travis Boatman, vice president
of worldwide studios for EA Mobile™.
id Software has crafted an entirely
new version of Orcs & Elves that utilizes the Nintendo DS unique technology
platform. Orcs & Elves will feature higher graphical fidelity, more levels,
items and monsters as players explore a massive Dwarven kingdom riddled with
ancient treasures and fierce enemies. The game features hybrid gameplay,
combining the best of first-person action and fast-paced tactical RPG gameplay.
“With the franchise expanding to the
popular DS platform, we’re reaching a real milestone in handheld gaming,” said
David DeMartini, vice president and global GM of EA Partners
Orcs & Elves II for mobile continues
the epic story from the original game and expands the Orcs & Elves universe. In
Orcs & Elves II, evil begins to spread throughout the lands after the fall of
King Brahm at Mount Zharrkarag. As a novice thief who has stolen the legendary
wand Ellon, players must travel through towns and forests while trying to
convince the Wand to be helpful. With a new mouse companion, Ellon’s help, and a
lot of luck, Valin must return to his under siege town before it’s too late.
Players will encounter new creatures, allies and villains as they explore seven
huge interactive environments including towns, collapsing caverns and haunted
forests.
Orcs & Elves II for mobile and Orcs
& Elves for the Nintendo DS is scheduled to be available for the upcoming
holiday season.
*Orcs & Elves won ‘Best RPG –
Wireless Best of E3 2006 Award’ – IGN; ‘Best Mobile Game’ at the 2006 Leipzig
Games Convention and ‘Mobile Game of the Year’ at the 10th Annual Interactive
Achievement Awards in Las Vegas in February 2007.
