Atari's Act Of War: Direct Action™ Receives Backing From General Barry McCaffrey, USA (Ret)
Highly Decorated Army Officer and National Security Advisor Lends Expertise and Insight to Game
BEVERLY, Mass., Jan. 26 -- Drawing on the knowledge of one of the most highly decorated general officers ever to serve in the US Army, Atari announced that it has retained General Barry McCaffrey, USA (Ret.) to offer his feedback and direction on the Company's acclaimed, Act of War: Direct ActionTM, a real-time military strategy game for the PC. Written by former U.S. Air Force captain and The New York Times best-selling author Dale Brown, Act of War: Direct Action is a geopolitical techno-thriller set in the near- future that outlines a plausible "what-if" scenario involving an organized terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
"The subtleties of the game are as important as the game play itself, and we were looking for an expert who could provide both a military and counter- terrorist perspective, and we have certainly received that with General McCaffrey," said Erik Gerson, senior vice president of Marketing for Atari. "Act of War: Direct Action mirrors the changing mission of today's military from one of traditional warfare to that of state-sponsored terrorism, and having been at the forefront of both, General McCaffrey brings an unparallel knowledge base to our development team."
"Today's games provide such a compelling form of entertainment and technology enabling developers to produce intricately realistic programs, and Act of War: Direct Action is a shining example of that," said General Barry McCaffrey. "The developer has done an astonishing job of capturing all aspects of unconventional warfare and when combined with the story of Dale Brown and the recognizable, U.S. settings, the result is a game of sobering magnitude."
Act of War: Direct Action is a frighteningly plausible tale of suspense, international intrigue and geopolitical military conflict. Through a techno- thriller story constructed by military expert and author Dale Brown, this real-time strategy experience puts players squarely in control of counterterrorist forces to defend cities of the world. As commander of a newly formed anti-terror military unit known as the Talon Task Force, players will need to recruit combat units, develop technologies, manage finite resources, and deploy their forces against a cunning and ruthless terror network.
Developed by Eugen Systems, Act of War: Direct Action is scheduled to release this March for the personal computer at a suggested retail price $49.99.
About General Barry McCaffrey
General Barry R. McCaffrey is the Bradley Distinguished Professor of International Security Studies at the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. He is active in national security affairs and recently co-chaired the Atlantic Council of the United States NATO Counterterrorism Working Group, leading a delegation to Moscow, Mons, Brussels and Warsaw. In January 2004, he visited Iraq to conduct a country-wide evaluation of the security situation and last August, visited Afghanistan and Pakistan to conduct a political- military assessment. Retired from active duty, General McCaffrey served as the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces Southern Command coordinating national security operations in Latin America. During his military career, he served overseas for thirteen years and completed four combat tours. He commanded the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) during the Desert Storm 400- kilometer left hook attack into Iraq. At retirement from active duty, he was the most highly decorated four-star general in the U.S. Army. He twice received the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second highest medal for valor. He was also awarded two Silver Stars and received three Purple Heart medals for wounds sustained in combat.
About Dale Brown
Dale Brown is the author of more than 15 New York Times bestsellers, including Plan of Attack (available in January 2005), his most recent novel starring his intrepid hero, Patrick McLanahan. His next book, Act of War (due out in June 2005), launches an unforgettable new series lead by a young new hero named Jason Richter. This surefire thriller combines geopolitics, terrorism, and plenty of action as it takes readers deep into the new world of intelligence-focused warfare like never before. A former U. S. Air Force captain, Brown can often be found flying his own plane over the skies of Nevada. He lives near Lake Tahoe. To learn more about Dale Brown and his books, visit his web site at: http://www.dalebrown.info.
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 games such as DRIV3RTM, Enter the MatrixTM, Neverwinter NightsTM, StuntmanTM, Test Drive®, Unreal® Tournament 2004, and Unreal® Championship; and mass-market and children's games such as Backyard SportsTM, Nickelodeon's Blue's CluesTM and Dora the ExplorerTM, Dragon Ball Z® and RollerCoaster Tycoon®. 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.
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