HOOK HAMPSHIRE, U.K., April 26, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Superscape Group plc, leaders in revolutionary entertainment for mobile phones, announces that it has signed a worldwide licensing agreement with Universal Studios Consumer Products Group to develop a new 3D game based on Van Helsing. Van Helsing, the new epic action-adventure film from writer-director Stephen Sommers (The Mummy, The Mummy Returns), draws inspiration from the studio's classic horror properties and introduces Van Helsing, Bram Stoker's fabled monster hunter, who is summoned to a distant Eastern European land on a quest to vanquish evil. The film stars Hugh Jackman (X-Men, Swordfish) and Kate Beckinsale (Pearl Harbor) and opens nationwide May 7, 2004.
Commenting, Kevin Roberts, CEO Superscape Group plc said: "I am delighted that Superscape has been awarded the rights to develop a new 3D game based on Van Helsing. This is further endorsement that Superscape's Swerve is being regarded as the technology of choice to bring high profile, branded entertainment to the small screen of the mobile phone."
"We believe that Superscape is the best partner to translate the fun, adventure and rich visual universe of Van Helsing from the big screen to the handset," said Jeremy Laws, vice president of Media Licensing and Strategy for Universal Studios Consumer Products Group.
The new mobile game, developed by Superscape using the company's industry-standard JSR 184 compliant authoring tool Swerve Studio, will be available for over the air download on mass-market BREW and Java handsets. New missions and levels will also be downloadable.
In the game, Van Helsing's mission is to defeat the infamous Count Dracula before he is able to bestow the power of everlasting life on his evil offspring, of which there are thousands. The game comprises a series of missions for Van Helsing in which he must battle with wraiths who shoot lightening bolts, exploding pygmy bats, vampires, Dracula's brides, werewolves, dwarf-like ' dwergers', Frankenstein's Monster, and ultimately Dracula himself.
Players will experience the game through the eyes of Van Helsing, and will need to explore, puzzle solve and enter into many combats armed with an impressive array of weaponry including wooden stakes, blades, shotguns, and crossbows. At the end of each mission, the players will receive a summary of the time taken to complete it, the number of opponents killed, and the level of accuracy achieved.
Missions are set in the castles of Frankenstein and Dracula and are accompanied by realistic sound effects (to complement the console-quality 3D graphics) including a wolf growl, pistol shots, explosions, and thunderclaps.
About the Film
Deep in the mountains of Carpathia lies the mysterious and mythic land of Transylvania-a world where evil is ever-present, where danger rises as the sun sets, and where the monsters that inhabit man's deepest nightmares take form. Innovative filmmaker Stephen Sommers-who so imaginatively re-envisioned Universal's classic Mummy character in the worldwide blockbusters The Mummy and The Mummy Returns-now widens his cinematic scope and multiplies his creative inspiration by breathing new life into the most time-honored pantheon of classic Universal monsters and setting them in a stunning new world of fantastical reality. Sommers' all-encompassing vision for a world as tangible, real and visceral as any caught in the stranglehold of inescapable evil blends the recognizable and the unimaginable into a vivid, epic backdrop for his tale of ultimate evil against a lone force of good: Van Helsing.
Van Helsing is rated PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned - Some Material May Be Inappropriate For Children Under 13) for non-stop creature action violence and frightening images, and for sensuality. Please consult www.filmratings.com or www.parentalguide.org for more information.
About Universal Studios Consumer Products Group
Universal Studios Consumer Products Group (USCPG) is responsible for global licensing and retail strategies as well as building brand recognition. USCPG is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Vivendi UNIVERSAL Entertainment (VUE) (www.universalstudios.com), the U.S.-based film, television and recreation entity of Vivendi Universal, a global media and communications company.
About Superscape
Superscape specialises in industry standard (JSR 184/M3G) 3D technology for wireless environments. The company's Swerve technology is a complete solution comprising a software-only 3D engine (Swerve Client), a powerful development tool integrated into 3ds maxtm (Swerve Studio) and a catalogue of 3D games (Swerve Content) available for licensing. Key players such as ARM, Sony, 20th Century Fox, Siemens, Samsung, Motorola and SavaJe have already endorsed Swerve.
Superscape is quoted on the London Stock Exchange and has corporate offices in Hook, Hampshire (UK) and San Clemente, California (USA). www.superscape.com ------------------
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