March 31st, 2002 (12:00am) - Montreal, Quebec. March 25th, 2002 - Fans of the Close Combat series had a
lot to talk about today, after Strategy First and Freedom Games announced
that they have entered into a North American publishing agreement for the
G.I. Combat series, the next generation of real-time historical strategy
gaming. The first release will be G.I. Combat: Episode I, Normandy.
"We are very excited to work with Freedom Games, " said Don McFatridge,
President of Strategy First. " I’ve always been a big fan of the Close
Combat series and I see this as a great opportunity to publish a truly
innovative new entry into historical real-time tactical combat games. G.I.
Combat is a welcome addition to the genre and we look forward to its release
later this Summer."
"The G.I. Combat series takes the historical accuracy of the award winning
Battleground and Campaign series from Talonsoft and the dynamic playability
of the Close Combat games and elevates it to the next level. If you like
World War II, and the action of a true 3D, real-time strategy game, you will
love the G.I. Combat series," said John Davidson, President of Freedom
Games.
From the development team who brought you Close Combat, and from Strategy
First, winner of the "Publisher of the Year Award" by Wargamer.com, comes
G.I. Combat, a real-time tactical combat game that engulfs players in the
battles of Normandy, from the beaches to St. Lo, during the Second World
War. The full three-dimensional environment provides unsurpassed detail of
terrain, vehicle modeling and weapon effects. Although historically
accurate, the game will be easy to play much like an action game.
Players will be fighting to hold vital crossroads and attempt to better the
performance of their historical counterparts. With a detailed individual
soldier model, consisting of 8 different psychological states and morale,
players will have to take into account the effects of combat on the
performance of their men. An accurate physics model allows G.I. Combat to
model unprecedented levels of realism for both infantry and vehicle combat.
Each weapon has over 40 different data entries for ballistics, rate of fire,
armor penetration, etc. Each vehicle is modeled in 3D, simulating all
aspects of armor, including thickness, slope and hardness. Detail includes
realistic ammunition load-outs, weapon performance and crew capacities for
all type of vehicles present during the conflict in June 1944. Many
different squad types will be available allowing the user greatly
diversified organizations of their fighting forces.
For more information on G.I. Combat, log onto www.strategyfirst.com and
www.gicombat.com.
About Freedom Games
Freedom Games was founded by John Davidson, an original co-founder of
Talonsoft, and Eric Young, designer and producer of the Close Combat series.
Based in Baltimore Maryland, Freedom Games is a developer, marketer, and
publisher of interactive entertainment software games for the personal
computer. The team is made up of eight industry veterans who have a combined
total of 43 years of game development and production experience.
About Strategy First Inc.
Strategy First Inc. is a leading developer and worldwide publisher of
entertainment software for the PC. Founded in 1990, the company has grown
rapidly, publishing major games in the industry and simultaneously
developing its own in-house titles such as O.R.B., Disciples II, Nexagon:
The Pit and Zero-G Marines. After winning numerous awards for games such as
Disciples: Sacred Lands, Europa Universalis, Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns and
Steel Beasts, Strategy First continues to push the gaming envelope with its
own groundbreaking titles, while maintaining its reputation as a unique
alternative for independent developers seeking to market their games to a
worldwide audience.
