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Atari Bringing the Old West to the 21st Century With ``Dead Man's Hand for Xbox'' in Fall 2003; Xbox-Exclusive Powered By the Latest Unreal Technology.


Entertainment Editors/Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 28, 2003

Fast-Paced Western First Person Shooter Includes Gunfights,

Bucking Broncos, Saloon Poker

Atari is bringing all of the drama and fast-paced action of the Old West exclusively to the Xbox(TM) video game system from Microsoft this fall with "Dead Man's Hand dead man’s hand

two aces, two eights; hand Wild Bill Hickok held when murdered. [Am. Slang: Leach, 299]

See : Luck, Bad
," a first person shooter chock full of gun fights and dripping in frontier lore. In development by Human Head studios, the creators of "Rune(R)," "Dead Man's Hand" uses the latest Unreal(R) technology from Epic Games Epic Games, also known as Epic and formerly as Epic MegaGames, is a computer game development company based in Cary, North Carolina, United States. History
Epic Games was initially founded under the name Potomac Computer Systems
 to provide amazing graphical performance, non-stop action and enhanced multiplayer capabilities through Xbox Live See Xbox. !(TM)

"`Dead Man's Hand' will be an amazing recreation of the Old West, from the high drama of showdowns to the window-smashing action of shoot outs to the bitter plights of vengeance," said Steve Allison, vice president of marketing for Infogrames, Inc.'s Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850.  studio. "Using the power of the Xbox and Unreal Technology together, Human Head is creating one of the best looking, best playing and truly unique first person shooters ever released. Xbox owners are in for a real treat, both in single player and against online foes through Xbox Live!"

In "Dead Man's Hand," players will step into the boots of El Tejon, a master gunslinger Gunslinger

A high-strung portfolio manager who, looking for high returns, invests in very high-risk stock.

Notes:
Stay away from these guys, or they could end up shooting you in the foot!
 riding with one of the roughest gangs in the West, known as The Nine. When the ruthless leader of The Nine betrays El Tejon, El Tejon turns to a life of vengeance, vowing to put every member of his former gang six feet under.

Through an epic single player story of vengeance and betrayal, the player will travel the American Frontier, experiencing bar fights, shoot outs, stagecoach stagecoach, heavy, closed vehicle on wheels, usually drawn by horses, formerly used to transport passengers and goods overland. Throughout the Middle Ages and until about the end of the 18th cent.  chases and other definitively Western scenes. "Dead Man's Hand" captures the grandeur, action and drama of the Old West with six-shooters, rifles, black hats, horses, hombres, dancing girls See Opera girl , riverboats, saloon poker and many other iconic images.

Besides straight shooting, "Dead Man's Hand" incorporates unique gameplay elements taken from the Old West. Gamers will try their hands at blasting desperados Desperados is the plural form of desperado. It may refer to:
  • , a stealth-based real-time tactics computer game.
  • , the sequel to the above game.
 from the back of their trusty steed steed

see nag.
 and shooting it out on a moving train, ducking just before going through tunnels. In addition, as the game progresses, players will acquire "Legend," a unique scoring system Noun 1. scoring system - a system of classifying according to quality or merit or amount
rating system

classification system - a system for classifying things
 that awards points as the player blazes a path into Western folklore. When accumulated, Legend will allow gamers to pull off amazing trick shots and death-defying feats. Players will also be able to pick their own path through the game, revealing new mission choices as the game progresses.

Saloon poker also plays a major role in "Dead Man's Hand." Players will sit down for a poker game before each mission as a bonus round. If successful, the player will earn bonuses such as additional Legend, health or ammo. The player then decides whether to gamble their initial earnings for bigger bonuses. However, they could lose all of their bonuses in the process.

More than 20 adventures will challenge gamers, through the deserts, hills and towns of the old Southwest, across the mountains and mine shafts of the great Northwest, and in the riverboats and cities of the Midwest. Missions will take place upon vast maps that feature detailed indoor and outdoor locations, from rickety rick·et·y  
adj. rick·et·i·er, rick·et·i·est
1. Likely to break or fall apart; shaky.

2. Feeble with age; infirm.

3. Of, having, or resembling rickets.
 old saloons to sprawling mountain vistas to dark mysterious mineshafts.

Players will have nine different Old West firearms to choose from, each modeled on the real pistols, shotguns and rifles that made the Old West famous. Other weapons include knives and dynamite, as well as fixed Gatling guns and cannons that will blow enemies clear into the next county.

Players will be able to compete against other Xbox owners via Xbox Live! as well as against friends in their living room in split screen multi-player mode. A variety of competitive and cooperative play modes will be available.

Utilizing the power of the latest Unreal technology by Epic Games, Human Head has developed an amazing recreation of the sweeping vistas and rustic canyon towns of the American Frontier. The sophisticated in-game physics engine will make hats fly off enemies when they are shot, bad guys fall off roofs, knock over barrels and bust up furniture as they drop; and wagons and carts buck and bounce realistically as they race across the desert floor.

Human Head's unique "Semi Persistent World" technology (SPeW) enables varying terrain through mountains, deserts, prairies, and river valleys. This technology enables multiple missions to be played on the same map and reveals new missions as the game progresses. In addition, SPeW allows for many items that get changed or destroyed in one mission to remain destroyed when players return on later missions.

The name "Dead Man's Hand" itself is steeped in Western folklore. History reports that the famous "Wild Bill" Hickok, the Prince of Pistoleers, was murdered with a single shot to the back of his head while playing poker in a Deadwood, South Dakota For other uses, see Deadwood.
Deadwood, named for the dead trees found in its gulch, is the county seat of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,380 at the 2000 census.
 saloon -- the first time he ever sat with his back to the door. The poker hand Wild Bill held when he died was two pair -- black aces and black eights. Since then, this hand has been known worldwide as the Dead Man's Hand.

"Dead Man's Hand" is scheduled for release on Xbox in Fall 2003.

About Human Head Studios, Inc.

Human Head Studios Inc. is a privately owned, independent game development studio based in Madison, Wisconsin. Human Head Studios developed the critically acclaimed, award-winning Viking game Rune(R) series including Rune(R), Rune(R) Halls of Valhalla, and Rune(R) Gold for the PC, Linux and Macintosh platforms and Rune(R) Viking Warlord warlord, in modern Chinese history, autonomous regional military commander. In the political chaos following the death (1916) of republican China's first president and commander in chief, Yüan Shih-kai, central authority fell to the provincial military governors  for the PlayStation 2. In addition, Human Head Studios developed Blair Witch(R) Volume 2: Coffin Rock for the PC and has ventured into traditional pen and paper games, with a new non-electronic games division, whose first product The Redhurst Academy of Magic(TM) is set for release in Summer 2003. For more information about Human Head Studios, Incorporated, visit www.humanhead.com.

About Infogrames

New York-based Infogrames, Inc. (Nasdaq: IFGM) 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 are distributed under two brand lines: ATARI, hard-core, genre-defining games such as Driver(TM), Enter the Matrix(TM), Neverwinter Nights(TM), Stuntman stunt·man  
n.
A man who substitutes for a performer in scenes requiring physical daring or involving physical risk.

stuntman nespecialista m

stuntman 
(TM), Test Drive(R), Unreal(R) Tournament 2003, and Unreal(R) Championship; and INFOGRAMES, mass-market and children's games such as Backyard Sports(TM), Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues(TM) and Dora the Explorer Dora the Explorer is an animated television series that is carried on the Nickelodeon cable television network. A pilot episode for the series aired in 1999, and Dora the Explorer became a regular series in 2000. (TM), Civilization(R), Dragon Ball Z “DBZ” redirects here. For the meteorological term, see dBZ (meteorology).

Dragon Ball Z (ドラゴンボールZ
(R) and RollerCoaster Tycoon(R). Infogrames, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary majority-owned subsidiary

A firm in which more than 50% of outstanding voting stock is owned by the parent company.
 of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext 5257), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit www.infogrames.com.

Unreal and the Unreal logos are registered trademarks of Epic Games Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Business Wire
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2003, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Publication:Business Wire
Geographic Code:1USA
Date:Mar 28, 2003
Words:1129
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