LOS ANGELES, May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games), a division of Vivendi Universal Publishing, today announced its Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3) line-up, a high-caliber roster of interactive products spanning multiple platforms and genres. VU Games and its industry-leading development studios -- Blizzard Entertainment®, Sierra Entertainment and Universal Interactive -- will showcase an impressive array of titles based on some of the industry's most prominent franchises, including J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of The Rings(TM), NASCAR®, Spyro(TM) The Dragon, SWAT(TM), The Thing(TM) and Warcraft®, among others. The Company will also highlight select titles from its Partner Publishing Group, which co-publishes and/or distributes products for strategic partners, including Conspiracy Entertainment, Fox Interactive, Mythic Entertainment and Simon & Schuster, among others.

"The growth of our E3 product line-up and diversity of genres, franchises and platforms underscore our commitment to providing gamers with high quality interactive entertainment," said Luc Vanhal, President and COO, North America of Vivendi Universal Games. "E3 will provide us with a great opportunity to generate pre-awareness for our products, as well as demonstrate our industry leadership in the worldwide games arena."

VU Games' multi-platform product line-up includes games for PlayStation® 2, Xbox(TM), Nintendo® GameCube(TM) and GameBoy® Advance and the PC. The Company will also debut two online massively multi-player (OLMMP) games, a burgeoning market in the interactive entertainment industry.

Products will be on display throughout E3, May 22-24, at the VU Games booth (#1200) located in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Highlights of the Company's 2002 E3 line-up include:

    Blizzard Entertainment(R)

    --  Warcraft(R) III: Reign of Chaos(TM), the highly anticipated real-time
        role-playing strategy game, will bring millions of players back to the
        war-ravaged lands of Azeroth for an epic continuation of the
        critically acclaimed Warcraft story line.  Featuring a richly detailed
        world filled with a wide variety of heroic characters and lush
        scenery, Warcraft III will put players in control of four different
        races, each with its own unique identity, appearance, and style.  In
        addition to its single- and multiplayer elements, the game will also
        include a powerful, complete, and easy-to-use toolset that gives
        players the freedom to create new maps, quests, and even full-fledged
        campaigns.  Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos will launch simultaneously
        worldwide this summer for both PC and Mac, with an expected retail
        price of approximately $55 - 60 U.S.

    --  World of Warcraft(TM) is a massively multiplayer, online role-playing
        game set in the rich fiction of Blizzard's Warcraft universe.
        Featuring bold 3D graphics and deep, immersive gameplay, World of
        Warcraft will allow thousands of players to adventure together in this
        epic world and will provide them with a new, in-depth perspective on
        familiar lands, former battlefields, and heroes from the legendary
        universe.  In addition, World of Warcraft will introduce new,
        uncharted territories and foes never before seen by followers of the
        series.


    Sierra Entertainment

    --  Malice(TM) is a platform action-adventure game featuring the most
        unexpected heroine to come to the console arena.  In development for
        the PlayStation(R) 2 computer entertainment system and the Xbox(TM)
        video game system, Malice is due to release worldwide later this year
        on both next generation consoles under the Sierra brand.  Boasting a
        tough and feisty teenage heroine, players will no doubt grow addicted
        to guiding through time in order to undo the terror of a Dog God gone
        mad.  Malice features 22 levels, a truly original story, and a cast of
        quirky characters.  It's been heralded for its fantastic graphics,
        unique weaponry, compelling storyline, and intriguing heroine.

    --  NASCAR(R) Racing 2002 Season, the latest addition to Sierra's
        award-winning racing franchise, features every track in the 2002
        NASCAR Winston Cup Series with teams, drivers, and sponsors of the
        2002 race season.  New driving lessons will bring novice drivers up to
        speed, while track tours narrated by three-time NASCAR Winston Cup
        Series racing Champion Darrell Waltrip will help even the most
        seasoned veterans find the fastest way around each circuit.  Both
        novice and seasoned drivers will experience the thrill and excitement
        of racing like the pros on the most realistic NASCAR Racing simulation
        for the PC.

    --  SWAT(TM): Urban Justice is the fourth in the SWAT series and the most
        compelling game yet from their award-winning franchise.  With a new
        engine and new gameplay options, SWAT: UJ offers a premier law
        enforcement experience, allowing gamers to become a modern day hero
        and live the life of an elite SWAT officer.  Players can go
        head-to-head with Los Angeles' most brutal street gangs when the game
        is released worldwide this September for the PC.  SWAT: UJ is the only
        game to reward players for saving lives and protecting the innocent.
        It delivers 16 intense missions set in stunningly realistic Los
        Angeles locations that can be played in mission, career, and
        multiplayer modes.  New weapons, characters, and gear will also be
        included.

    --  The Hobbit(TM) is the first video game based on the worldwide
        best-selling book of the same name, "The Hobbit" is a third-person
        action/adventure game set in the world of Middle-earth.  In the game,
        players take the persona of Bilbo Baggins, an unassuming hobbit who
        has been unwittingly thrust into an epic adventure.  Due to be
        released in 2003 for the Nintendo(R) GameCube, "The Hobbit" aims to
        set new standards for fantasy video games.

    --  Tribes(TM) Aerial Assault for the PlayStation(R) 2 computer
        entertainment system is the highly anticipated console debut of one of
        the world's top PC action online games, and will be one of the first
        games to take advantage of Sony's add-on network adapter.  Unlike
        other shooters, Tribes Aerial Assault lets players fly in addition to
        running and jumping, a true 3D action experience that makes
        traditional action gaming seem stale and flat.  Tribes provides an
        arsenal of futuristic weapons, exclusive vehicles, and boundless
        outdoor arenas in which to do battle.


    Universal Interactive

    --  For the first time ever, Bruce Lee fans will be able to play as the
        legendary martial arts master on a next generation video game console.
        Bruce Lee(TM): Quest of the Dragon features an epic storyline in which
        Bruce Lee battles multiple enemies to rescue his kidnapped father and
        retrieve the mystical Golden Relic, keeper of ancient martial arts
        secrets.  Players must perfect a variety of martial arts moves
        including Lee's famed discipline, Jeet Kune Do, as they travel through
        action-packed gameplay levels in locales such as Hong Kong and San
        Francisco.  The game is scheduled for release in third quarter 2002 on
        the Xbox(TM) video game system from Microsoft.

    --  Crash Bandicoot(TM): The Wrath of Cortex(TM), scheduled for release
        on the Nintendo(R) GameCube in third quarter 2002, follows the same
        action-packed storyline as "Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex"
        released for the PlayStation(R) 2 computer entertainment system and
        the Xbox(TM) video game system from Microsoft.  In the wild adventure,
        Crash must travel by land, sea and air to restore order to the world
        and defeat his arch-nemesis and creator, the evil Dr. Neo Cortex.
        Poised to push the limits of the Nintendo(R) GameCube hardware, "Crash
        Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex" offers stunning special effects,
        vibrant graphics, multiple play modes, time-trial sequences, and five
        bosses in more than 30 levels of gameplay.

    --  Jurassic Park(TM) (working title) is scheduled for release on the
        PlayStation(R) 2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox(TM) video
        game system from Microsoft and the PC in fourth quarter 2002.
        Jurassic Park allows players to design and manage the most amazing
        dinosaur theme park the world has ever seen, or battle their way
        through 12 intense missions that will test their mettle against the
        awesome powers of nature and its most dominant creatures.

    --  An action-adventure title scheduled for release on the Game Boy(R)
        Advance in third quarter 2002, Monster Force tells the story of the
        teenage versions of Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolf Man and their
        heroic efforts to defeat the evil terror that has seized their adopted
        homeland.  Players can choose to play as Frank, Drac or Wolfie in
        single- or multi-player mode as they explore more than 30
        creature-infested levels including the Garden Maze, the Abandoned
        Village and the Spooky Cemetery.  Players collect power-ups, master
        special moves unique to each character, perform skill tests,
        participate in a ranking system and otherwise do serious monster
        battle against an army of Pumpkin Warriors.

    --  Spyro(TM): Enter the Dragonfly, scheduled for release on the
        PlayStation(R) 2 computer entertainment system in fourth quarter 2002,
        marks the return of Spyro the Dragon to the world of console gaming.
        The game is the sequel to "Spyro: Year of the Dragon(TM)," the
        best-selling title for the PlayStation(R) game console.  A platform
        adventure, the title features a new weapon for Spyro -- dynamic,
        particle-based breath abilities -- in addition to a brand new
        storyline, new characters, new vehicles, larger visual worlds and a
        greater emphasis on puzzles.  Following the Year of the Dragon
        Festival, Spyro and Sparx set out on an adventure to solve the
        disappearance of the Dragonflies after they mysteriously vanish from
        the Dragon Realms.

    --  Spyro(TM) 2: Season of Flame, scheduled for release for the Game
        Boy(R) Advance in third quarter 2002, is a platform game featuring
        isometric, side-scrolling and top-down levels and four playable
        characters.  The game is being developed with Digital Eclipse
        Software, Inc., developers of Universal Interactive's best-selling
        2001 release "Spyro: Season of Ice," recognized with an "All Star"
        award by the Children's Software Revue.  Spyro(TM) 2: Season of Flame
        tells the story of Spyro's return to the Dragon Realms where he is
        surprised to discover that a mysterious enemy has stolen the
        Fireflies, the source of all dragon firepower, including Spyro's.  Now
        it is up to everyone's favorite purple dragon to save the Fireflies
        before it is too late!

    --  The Lord of the Rings(TM): The Fellowship of the Ring is scheduled for
        release in fourth quarter 2002 for the Xbox(TM) video game system from
        Microsoft, the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system and the PC.
        A third person action/adventure, the game allows players their choice
        of playing as three members of the fellowship, Frodo, Aragorn and
        Gandalf, on a journey from the Shire to the depths of Moria and all
        the way to the River Anduin.  In a storyline faithful to Tolkien's
        epic masterpiece, players will explore the massive environments of
        Middle-earth while solving puzzles and fighting various enemies such
        as Orcs, Black Riders and an evil Balrog in this first installment of
        the quest to destroy the fabled One Ring of Power.

    --  The Lord of the Rings(TM): The Fellowship of the Ring is being
        developed for the Game Boy(R) Advance and is scheduled for a fourth
        quarter 2002 release.  A role-playing game, The Lord of the Rings: The
        Fellowship of the Ring, follows the storyline of the first volume of
        J.R.R. Tolkien's saga.  It allows players complete control over the
        entire Fellowship -- at times controlling nine characters at once.
        Specifically designed to take full advantage of the GBA's technical
        capabilities, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring will
        feature an isometric graphics engine combined with an intuitive
        character interaction and combat control system to highlight this
        immersive, RPG-style game.

    --  The Scorpion King(TM): Rise of An Akkadian(TM) is scheduled for
        release on PlayStation(R) 2 computer entertainment system and the
        Nintendo(R) GameCube in third quarter 2002.  Based on the character
        first presented in the film "The Mummy Returns," the game is a 3D
        combat-adventure title that serves as a spin-off to "The Scorpion
        King" movie.  The game is the story of the future Scorpion King's
        first adventure, a long and arduous quest to thwart an evil lord's
        diabolical plan to raise a supernatural army of beast-warriors to
        conquer the world.  Players will wield multiple attack combinations
        against their enemies as they travel through ancient Egyptian
        environments.

    --  The Thing(TM) is scheduled for release on the PlayStation(R) 2
        computer entertainment system, the Xbox(TM) video game system from
        Microsoft and the PC in third quarter 2002 and we will be co-published
        with Konami Corporation in Japan.  A sequel to Universal Studios' and
        John Carpenter's 1982 cult-classic horror film "The Thing," the video
        game picks up where the movie left off and features an all-new cast of
        characters.  The player becomes Blake, a military squad captain sent
        into the frozen Antarctic to investigate the mysterious disappearance
        of an American scientific expedition.  The game incorporates an
        innovative gameplay mechanic never before implemented in the
        survival/horror genre.  A trust/fear interface enables players to
        monitor the psychological states of the non-playing characters (NPC's)
        and their likelihood of cooperating with their leader, Blake.
        Different from most survival/horror games, The Thing demands that the
        player work with his increasingly suspicious teammates, relying on
        wits and an arsenal of weaponry, including flame-throwers and machine
        guns, to escape infection and finish the game with his squad.


    Partner Publishing Group

    --  Dark Age of Camelot(TM): Shrouded Isles(TM) continues the
        break-through gameplay of the original award-winning Dark Age of
        Camelot.  Players will discover three all new races, many new
        character classes and large new lands to explore within the three
        original Realms.  A powerful new graphics engine delivers incredibly
        rich and detailed environments and characters, delivering an even more
        compelling massively multiplayer role-playing world.  Dark Age of
        Camelot is being developed by Mythic for the PC and will be releasing
        in Q4 of 2002.

    --  Die Hard(TM): Vendetta is the most intense first person shooter for
        the Nintendo(R) GameCube(TM).  Take on the role of the heroic cop,
        John McClane.  Protect and rescue innocent Los Angeles citizens -- and
        his daughter Lucy -- as this non-stop action-packed Die Hard storyline
        unfolds.  Especially designed for the platform, this game brings to
        the Nintendo(R) GameCube an immediately intuitive & addictive game
        mechanic, unprecedented character interaction, superbly rich and
        destructible environments, and amazing in-game cinematics.  Die Hard:
        Vendetta is being developed by Bits Studios for Nintendo(R) GameCube
        and will be releasing in Q4 of 2002.

    --  Enclave(TM) is a new entry into the Xbox(TM) gaming library and has
        been built from the ground up to become a strong franchise of the
        future.  Taking full advantage of the power of the Xbox(TM), Enclave's
        stunning visuals, gripping gameplay and classic storyline will make
        for an action experience unlike any other available on the platform.
        Enclave is a 1st/3rd person action combat title with a story that will
        appeal to the fantasy/RPG crowd.  Enclave is being developed by
        Starbreeze Studios for the Xbox(TM) and will be releasing in July of
        2002.

    --  Ghost Master(R) is an action-based resource management game set over
        several varied 3-D locations ranging from a haunted fraternity house,
        mansions, amusement park, and campground.  By solving puzzles you
        learn new spells and master the skills to use them.  Need an electric
        storm?  Simple.  A cloudburst of frogs?  No problem.  Stretch the very
        fabric of space and time itself?  In order to do so you'll need to
        investigate some new spell classes, and probably go visit
        Finance-o-Mancer (the official bank of the afterlife) for a plasma
        loan.  Remember, anything is possible in Ghost Master!  Ghostmaster is
        being developed by Empire Interactive for the PC and will be releasing
        in Q4 of 2002.

    --  James Cameron's Dark Angel(TM) is a 3rd person action adventure game,
        with emphasis on stealth and fighting, based on the hit TV series of
        the same name.  Set against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic
        Seattle, players take on the role of Max, a genetically enhanced
        super-soldier, on a quest to reclaim her past by finding her sister
        and fellow genetically altered escapees.  James Cameron's Dark Angel
        is being developed by Radical for the Xbox(TM)/ PlayStation(R) 2 and
        will be releasing in Q3 of 2002.

    --  No One Lives Forever(TM) 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way is the sequel to
        the award winning No One Lives Forever continues the adventures of
        super spy Cate Archer, pitting her once more against H.A.R.M. and the
        inevitable threat of global catastrophe.  The goal for the project is
        to create an engrossing, original experience in the spirit of No One
        Lives Forever, but not necessarily in its image.  No One Lives
        Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way is being developed by Monolith for
        the PC and will be releasing in Q4 of 2002.  One exclusive level of No
        One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way will be shown behind
        closed doors.  For an appointment, contact Sarita Churchill at
        310-431-4416 or sarita.churchill@vuinteractive.com.

    --  Aliens vs. Predator(TM) 2: Primal Hunt continues the nail-biting

        terror and suspense from the award winning AVP2 based on the
        blockbuster films; Alien and Predator.  With all new single-player and
        multi-player levels, and weapons, and new player characters, this
        original interlocking story is an all out bloody battle of the
        deadliest creatures as the AVP2 saga begins.  Aliens vs. Predator 2:
        Primal Hunt is being developed by Third Law for the PC and will be
        releasing in Q3 of 2002.  This title is being show behind closed doors
        on Wednesday, 5/22 and Thursday, 5/23 only.  For an appointment,
        contact Sarita Churchill at 310-431-4416 or
        sarita.churchill@vuinteractive.com.

About Vivendi Universal Games

Headquartered in New York, NY, Vivendi Universal Games ( www.vugames.com ) is a global leader in multi-platform interactive entertainment and a worldwide operating division of Vivendi Universal Publishing, the world's third largest publishing company. A leading publisher of PC, console and online-based interactive content, Vivendi Universal Games' portfolio of development studios includes Blizzard Entertainment, Sierra Entertainment and Universal Interactive. Through its Partner Publishing Group, Vivendi Universal Games also co-publishes and/or distributes interactive products for a number of strategic partners, including Empire Interactive, Fox Interactive, Mythic Entertainment and Simon & Schuster, among others. Games are one of parent company Vivendi Universal's key content areas, along with movies, music and other publishing activities.

Windows and Xbox are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Nintendo, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo Gamecube are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. All other trademarks referenced herein are the properties of their respective owners.

The Hobbit and the characters, events, items and places therein are trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company dba Tolkien Enterprises and are used, under license, by Sierra Entertainment, Inc.

The Scorpion King is rated PG-13. Consult www.filmratings.com for further information. The Scorpion King is a trademark and copyright of Universal City Studios, Inc. Licensing by Universal Studios Licensing, Inc. All rights reserved.

Bruce Lee and the Bruce Lee likeness are trademarks and copyrights of Concord Moon, LLP. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Universal Studios Monsters are licensed by Universal Studios Consumer Products Group, a unit of Universal Studios ( www.universalstudios.com ), a part of CANAL+, the TV and Film division of Vivendi Universal, a new global leader in media and communications. The Universal Studios Monsters are trademarks and copyrights of Universal Studios. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing, Inc. All rights reserved.

A note to parents: The Jurassic Park films are rated PG-13. Consult www.filmratings.com for further information.

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