- Atari Reveals Innovative New Features for Neverwinter Nights 2 -
LOS ANGELES, May 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Atari, Inc (Nasdaq: ATAR)
and Obsidian Entertainment today disclosed exciting new details surrounding
the popular companion party system in the highly-anticipated Neverwinter
Nights(TM) 2. Neverwinter Nights 2 is set in the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS(R)
Forgotten Realms(R) universe created by Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary
of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS), and will transport players back to the
embattled city of Neverwinter. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is under license from the
Hasbro Properties Group, the intellectual property development arm of
Hasbro.
Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, Neverwinter Nights 2 will feature
more than 10 new companions that players will encounter and join in their
ongoing adventures in the lands of Faerun. Players will be able to select
up to three additional companions to adventure with at any particular time.
Along with the larger party size comes increased companion complexity in
all aspects from enhanced usefulness and combat effectiveness to
dramatically improved personalities, dialogue and story background.
In addition, companions in Neverwinter Nights 2 take full advantage of
the game's complex influence system, which dramatically alters the player
characters' alignment and the world's reaction to the player based upon the
actions and choices made during the course of game play. Just as the world
will change based upon the player's actions, companions will also react
directly to the player characters' alignment and the decisions they make.
The more a companion trusts the player the more likely it will share its
history, fears and even secrets. Likewise, the more divergent the player's
point of view is from a companion, the greater the potential for loss of
influence and, in some cases, may even lead to the companion abandoning the
player during gameplay.
"Companions in Neverwinter Nights 2 are much more than just a simple
collection of statistics and abilities. We wanted companions to provide the
player with real value, insight into the game's storyline as well as a
source of additional entertainment," said Feargus Urquhart, CEO of Obsidian
Entertainment. "Allowing more companions to accompany the player, the
addition of companion control, much more robust companion storylines and
interactions, not to mention the romance possibilities, are all sure to
make companions a very popular part of Neverwinter Nights 2."
In Neverwinter Nights 2, players will also have the ability to select
and control companion actions, including guiding their spell selections,
attacks and other special abilities. Players can also simply allow each
companion's advanced artificial intelligence to take over, which will
ensure an appropriate response to any given situation. In addition, each
companion in Neverwinter Nights 2 has also been designed to fill both a
role-playing personality role as well as a specific class support role. No
matter what class a player chooses to start with, the selection of
available companions will allow players to balance out their party to
reflect the style of play they prefer.
Some of the first companions players will come across in Neverwinter
Nights 2 include:
Khelgar Ironfist (Chaotic Good, Dwarf, Fighter) -- Khelgar is a good-
natured dwarf with a love of the finer things in life. He's strong and
tough, even by dwarf standards, and developed a fearsome reputation as a
brawler. Khelgar is heading to the city of Neverwinter, to find a
monastic order that has opened their doors to anyone who wishes to learn
... Khelgar is going to make them rue that policy quickly.
Neeshka (Neutral, Tiefling, Rogue) -- Part demon and part human, Neeshka
has had a tough life. She has been raised most of her life as a ward of
the Church of Helm, and from childhood to today she's been in one sort of
trouble or another. Tieflings are often noble figures who fight to
redeem themselves despite people's initial prejudices. However, Neeshka
doesn't have a heart of gold, or some inner core of virtue, she's just
trouble at heart. She's a cute sort of trouble, though. She fuels the
perception of Tieflings as worrisome imps good for nothing but headaches.
Elanee (Neutral Good, Wood Elf, Druid) -- A child of the forest, fickle
and fae -- Elanee is a wood elf druid who watches over the Mere of Dead
Men. Elanee is not quite of this world, and is more at home in the realm
of forests and mires than she ever will be in civilization. She has
tremendous courage and a fiery temper, as well. She views the world with
a strange newness -- which is at odds with her often wise counsel. She
also sees deeper into people than they suspect.
The Neverwinter Nights franchise has sold more than two million copies
worldwide, is translated into 10 languages, sold in more than 40 countries
and features one of the largest and most active fan communities in all of
gaming. To date, fans of the franchise, which includes Neverwinter Nights,
Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide(TM) and Neverwinter Nights:
Hordes of the Underdark(TM), have created nearly 4,000 modifications to the
original game using the award-winning Aurora Toolset, the groundbreaking
software included with the full game that allows players to create their
own universes, quests and storylines. A new and improved toolset will be
included with the release of Neverwinter Nights 2.
Neverwinter Nights 2 is scheduled for release in September 2006. More
information about Neverwinter Nights 2 can be found at http://www.nwn2.com,
which includes user forums, project news, development updates and more.
About Obsidian Entertainment
Obsidian Entertainment, Inc. is a premier software development company
passionately dedicated to creating high quality, next generation
role-playing games for PC and console systems. More information about
Obsidian Entertainment can be found online at http://www.obsidianent.com.
About THE HASBRO PROPERTIES GROUP
The Hasbro Properties Group (HPG), the intellectual property
development arm of Hasbro, Inc., (NYSE: HAS), translates one of the
industry's richest portfolios of brands into a world of fun and excitement
for children and adults globally. Through a host of publishing, digital
media, lifestyle and entertainment platforms, HPG is able to surround fans
worldwide with consumer products that expand Hasbro's core brands, such as
TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, MY LITTLE PONY, MONOPOLY, G.I. JOE, TONKA
and PLAYSKOOL.
About Atari
New York-based Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) develops interactive games
for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of
interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company's 1,000+ titles
include hard-core, genre-defining franchises such as DRIVER(TM), The
Matrix(TM) (Enter The Matrix and The Matrix: Path of Neo), and Test
Drive(R); and mass-market and children's franchises such as Nickelodeon's
Blue's Clues(TM) and Dora the Explorer(TM), and Dragon Ball Z(R). Atari,
Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames
Entertainment SA (Euronext - ISIN: FR-0000052573), the largest interactive
games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit
http://www.atari.com.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, FORGOTTEN REALMS, Neverwinter Nights, Neverwinter
Nights: Shadows of Undrentide(TM) and Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the
Underdark and related logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast Inc. in
the United States and/or other jurisdictions, and are used with permission.
Hasbro and its logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Hasbro, Inc.
in the U.S. and/or other jurisdictions, and are used with permission. Atari
and the Atari logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Atari, Inc.
in the U.S. and/or other jurisdictions, and are used with permission.
Obsidian Entertainment and the Obsidian Entertainment logo are trademarks
of Obsidian Entertainment, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other jurisdictions.
Copyright 2006 Atari, Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are
the property of their respective owners.
Safe Harbor Statement
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release, the matters described herein contain certain "forward-looking
statements" that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements in this release are not promises or guarantees and are subject
to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ
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to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. We caution you not to place
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Some of the factors which could cause our results to differ materially
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The Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements
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SOURCE Atari, Inc
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Related links:
http://www.atari.com
http://www.nwn2.com http://www.obsidianent.com
CONTACT:
Andrea Schneider of Atari, Inc.,
+1-212-726-4259, Andrea.schneider@atari.com; or Brandon Smith of
Maverick PR, +1-310-404-9906, Brandon@maverickpr.net
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