EPIC TALE OF VENGEANCE, POWER AND GLORY COMES TO LIFE IN UBISOFT'S BEOWULF™ VIDEO GAME
Paramount Pictures' and Shangri-La Entertainment's Feature-Length Film Becomes an Interactive Gaming Experience
LONDON, UK - 26th July, 2007 - Today Ubisoft, one of the world's leading video game publishers, announced that Beowulf, an action combat video game based on Paramount Pictures' and Shangri-La Entertainment's Beowulf, the upcoming feature film from Academy Award®-winning director Robert Zemeckis, is currently in development for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system and Windows® PC. The Beowulf video game is being developed by the award-winning team that created the original Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter® in Ubisoft's Tiwak studio. The Beowulf video game is scheduled for worldwide release in conjunction with the film's opening in November 2007.
The Beowulf video game takes players deep into groundbreaking director Robert Zemeckis' vision of the classic saga, Beowulf. Gamers live the life of Beowulf, the legendary Norse warrior with the strength of 30 men who is torn between the nobility and brutality within him. Arrogant, self-serving and lustful for gold and glory, Beowulf will journey to Denmark to destroy a bloodthirsty beast wreaking havoc on a frigid land. But evil persists, and Beowulf succumbs to its lure of even greater fame, quietly maneuvering to claim the Danish throne. As King, Beowulf must face the consequences of ambition, even as war descends on the realm. As Beowulf, players lead their men, called thanes, into battle, slay the Titans of a dying age and crush the enemies that threaten to annihilate both their kingdom and people. Only then, when Beowulf looks Destiny in the eye, will he know what kind of hero he has truly become.
"Ubisoft, Paramount Pictures and Shangri-La Entertainment have been working extremely close in developing Beowulf," said Gilles Matouba, creative director at Ubisoft. "From the very beginning, we have had an unprecedented level of access to information and assets from the movie. This access, coupled with the creative and technological abilities of our team, has allowed us to capture aspects of the film and translate them perfectly into compelling gameplay elements such as the visceral hand-to-hand combat, dynamic swordplay and amazing visuals, while giving us the creative liberty to go even further by creating exclusive content for the game that is unexplored by the film and even the classic tale."
Key features:
Delve even deeper into the adventure as gamers will play through 30 years of the Beowulf story not seen in the movie to experience more of Beowulf's life and mold their own legacy.
The mystical world of Beowulf comes to life in stunning fashion. Powered by the next evolution of the award-winning YETI technology used to create the critically acclaimed Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter® and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter® 2, Beowulf delivers an unrivalled graphical experience.
Army of up to 12 thanes to unlock as players increase their heroic experience (by saving thanes, killing giant monsters, etc.).
Players use the thane army to their advantage by giving orders, assigning positions, tailoring weapons to the situation or enemy and by triggering in-game mechanisms.
The thane army evolves with upgradeable weapons (swords, mace and spears), skills and abilities.
Use legacy experience points to gain thanes, replace weapons and upgrade Carnal abilities.
Carnal Power allows the use of stronger attacks and special weapons. Carnal upgrades include less daze after use and prolonged use of Carnal Fury. But if used too much, there will be grave consequences.
Dynamic combat system including combos, parries and increasing skills as the player progresses.
Grab ability allows Beowulf to hold on to walls or climb, as well as fight up close with visceral hand-to-hand combat against enemies and giant monsters.
"The talented creators at Ubisoft are transforming our vision of the film into an interactive experience that extends the epic adventure far beyond its classic storyline," said Robert Zemeckis, director of Beowulf. "We've been thoroughly impressed with what we've seen from the game makers and are confident that gamers will find it to be an immersive and entertaining experience that goes far beyond the traditional movie-licensed game."
Groundbreaking director Robert Zemeckis offers a vision of the Beowulf saga that has never been told before. In a time of heroes, the mighty warrior Beowulf slays the demon Grendel and incurs the wrath of its monstrous, yet seductive, mother in a conflict that transforms a king into a legend. Beowulf stars Ray Winstone in the title role and Anthony Hopkins as the corrupt King Hrothgar, as well as John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman and Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mother. Paramount Pictures, in association with Shangri-La Entertainment, Presents an ImageMovers Production of a Robert Zemeckis film, Beowulf.
For more information on the film please visit http://www.beowulfmovie.com
About Ubisoft
Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a strong and diversified lineup of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has offices in 21 countries and sales in more than 50 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. Ubisoft generated sales of 680 million Euros for the 2006-07 fiscal year. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com.
About Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is a global entertainment company that produces and distributes filmed entertainment through the Paramount Motion Picture Group which includes Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, MTV Films and Nick Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Studios and Worldwide Television Distribution.
COPYRIGHT ® 2007 Shangri-La Entertainment LLC and PARAMOUNT PICTURES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Beowulf Paramount Pictures. ® 2007 Paramount Pictures and Shangri-La Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Game Software ® 2007 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Ubisoft, Ubi.com, and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. Microsoft, Windows, Xbox, Xbox 360, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. "PlayStation", "PLAYSTATION", and "PS" Family logo and "PSP" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.