‘HELLO KITTY: ROLLER RESCUE’ – THE OFFICIAL VIDEOGAME ROLLS ONTO A CONSOLE NEAR YOU THIS SEPTEMBER

Have you ever imagined yourself to be Hello Kitty or any of her group of cool pals? Well now you no longer have to only imagine, you can be Hello Kitty in Hello Kitty Roller Rescue, the first, officially licensed Hello Kitty 3D-action-adventure game, scheduled to be released by Xplosiv Games across Europe on all console formats on September 9th 2005 (RRP £19.99).

Hello Kitty originated in Japan in the early seventies and has become a cult phenomenon ever since. Hello Kitty Roller Rescue is a bright, out-of-this-world platform platform adventure, allowing Hello Kitty's fans all around the world to become Hello Kitty herself, or her trusted sidekick Bad Badtz Maru.

Prepare yourself for plenty of feline fun, frolics and adventure in Hello Kitty Roller Rescue. The nasty King Block and his evil yet clumsy troops from Planet Rock have invaded Sanrio Town, the happiest little town on Earth. Only Hello Kitty and her trusted, moody sidekick, penguin Badtz Maru and his alien-bashing frying pan stand in their way.

It's up to you to step into Hello Kitty's pink roller boots and skate your way into danger - your mission to save Sanrio Town and Hello Kitty's friends and family. With courage and friendship on your side and a host of over 20 other lovable Sanrio Town characters to help you in your mission including Cinnamoroll, Melody and Keroppi - victory can only be a skate away.

Features

• The game features the famous Hello Kitty and Badtz-Maru as the main characters, plus more than 20 other popular Sanrio characters

• Hello Kitty can select a partner to help her fight her enemies in various stages throughout the game

• New options can be purchased with special coins collected. These include unlocking galleries, music and animation, plus new clothes and weapons can be unlocked when special conditions are met

• Sanrio Town has been bought to life in vivid detail and players can see their favorite Sanrio characters everywhere they go

• Become Cube Kitty when using special weapons

About Hello Kitty Roller Rescue

Game Publisher: Xplosiv Games

Game Developer: XPEC Entertainment Inc. & Typhoon Games (HK)

Game Genre: Action Adventure

Game Language: English/French/German/Spanish

No of Players: One

Formats: GameCube/ XBOX/PlayStation2/PC CD Rom

Launch Date: QTR3 2005

RRP: £19.99

Notes for editors

About Xplosiv

Empire launched Xplosiv as a value brand selling PC software in mid 2000 and PlayStation2 in 2004, proving a great success in the UK and overseas due to the group's license wins with, Sega, Ubisoft, Taito, Activision, Microsoft, Vivendi and CDV. Further information on Xplosiv products can be found at www.xplosiv.net

About Empire Interactive

Empire Interactive is a leading publisher of interactive entertainment software that has been established for 17 years. The company floated on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange in July 2000. Headquartered in the UK, Empire Interactive also has offices in the US, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. The company develops and publishes a varied range of titles across all platforms in the US, Europe and Asia. Further information about Empire Interactive and its products can be found at: www.empireinteractive.com

About Typhoon Games

Typhoon Games Limited is a leading publisher, developer and distributor of multi-platform online as well as offline entertainment software with channel partners in North America and Europe and distribution in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Korea and Japan. Game Titles released by Typhoon Games have won international acclaim, rave reviews by leading game media experts and received some of the industry top awards - to date Typhoon Games has published over 100 different Game Titles. For further information please visit www.typhoongames.com

About Sanrio

Sanrio is a world-wide designer and distributor of character-branded stationery, school supplies, gifts and accessories. Sanrio is perhaps best known for Hello Kitty^®, their star character and corporate symbol. Hello Kitty, however, is only one of many Sanrio characters and designs that bring Sanrio merchandise line to life. Others include Pochacco^®, our athletic young pup, and the slightly naughty Badtz Maru^®. For further information please visit www.sanrio.com