NEWS - Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Demon Stone on Xbox
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 25, 2004--Atari and Stormfront Studios, under license from Hasbro, Inc., have announced plans to develop "Forgotten Realms®: Demon Stone™," an action-adventure game set in the popular "Dungeons & Dragons®" world created by Wizards of the Coast. Designed by Stormfront Studios, creators of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," and originally in development for the PlayStation® 2 computer entertainment system, "Demon Stone" will now also be available for the Xbox® video game system from Microsoft this fall. Featuring a storyline developed by New York Times best-selling author R.A. Salvatore, "Demon Stone" will also feature the extraordinary talents of actors Patrick Stewart and Michael Clarke Duncan, who will lend their voices to two prominent roles in the video game. "Demon Stone," which is scheduled for release in Fall 2004, is set in the popular "Dungeons & Dragons®" world created by Wizards of the Coast. "Demon Stone" is being developed by Stormfront Studios, creators of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers." "Demon Stone’s" intense, cinematic action is set entirely within the visually stunning Forgotten Realms fantasy world. Familiar characters, such as the famous drow Drizzt Do’Urden™ and the legendary mage Khelban "Blackstaff" Arunsun; and terrifying monsters, including Dragons, Orcs, Slaadi, Yuan-Ti and Trolls; as well as geographical locations straight from the popular D&D campaign setting will make appearances and serve as backdrops throughout the game. The story of "Demon Stone" revolves around the adventuring party’s unwitting intrusion into an age-old conflict between two warring demonic armies -- one led by a Githyanki Princess and the other, a Slaad Lord. After inadvertently releasing both demons back upon the world after eons of imprisonment, it becomes the adventurers’ quest to right their wrong and restore order to the world of Faerun. In "Demon Stone," the player directs a party of three characters -- a Fighter, a Sorcerer and a Rogue. The player controls one party member at a time -- switching between them on the fly -- while the other party members are controlled by the engine’s sophisticated artificial intelligence. For example, when the player controls the Fighter, the Sorcerer and Rogue will continue to engage in combat, cast spells and assist the player in defeating all challengers. In many situations, the characters will be able to divide and conquer difficult objectives -- while the Fighter holds back a horde of Yuan-Ti snakemen with brute force, the Sorcerer supports him with devastating ranged magic, while the Rogue sneaks above and behind them for a coup de grace. The player participates seamlessly in each critical moment as the characters are cinematically switched from one perspective to another. "Demon Stone" will utilize an extensive fighting system which is both easy to learn and visually stunning. Characters will perform amazing attacks and feats at the simple touch of a button, but the system has sophisticated features for advanced players who want to tailor their attacks to maximize their damage in specific situations. Unique special attacks, combinations, linked combos, super attacks and even group super attacks allow advanced players to excel against their most fearsome foes. In addition, "Demon Stone" will allow players to upgrade their characters with a branching path of new feats and combos as they gain experience and levels. Each character will feature a number of unique abilities, such as the Fighter’s combat skills and strength, the Rogue’s stealth and lock-picking abilities and the Sorcerer’s plethora of new spells. For example, when upgrading the Fighter, the player might have the choice of upgrading his Strength, his Melee Skill or his Hand-to-Hand skill. Within those choices, there will be other dependencies, such as the requirement to earn Power Attack before Cleave can be acquired. "Demon Stone" is scheduled for release in the fall of 2004.Source: http://www.warcry.com
