April 18^th, 2006 (9:43pm) - Coming late September, exclusively for Windows PC, Maelstrom is an action strategy game where Hollywood sci-fi meets RTS gameplay.

Set against the violent ecological meltdown of Earth, players will be able to unleash a tide of carnage with transforming robots, crush enemies by raining down fire, level entire mountains and freeze the oceans.

In this ravaged world, water has become the most valuable of resources and has divided what remains of mankind in two: the urban freedom fighting ’Remnants’ and the technologically advanced ’Ascension.’ Now, these two groups must wage war against a new threat, the invasion of a savage alien race, the Hai-Genti resulting in a desperate struggle for supremacy and survival.

The Remnants, Ascension and Hai-Genti comprise Maelstrom’s three playable factions, and each is different in terms of theme and play strategy:

The Remnants

* Led by ex-US military General James Buchanan, players can take charge with the heroic Remnants, as they modify their units on the fly to deal with the situation.
* Use stealth to infiltrate enemy lines and guerrilla tactics to devise lethal traps involving napalm, proximity mines, bomb cluster chains and devastating nuclear weapons.
* Turn enemy units against their masters, as players hack into and control the Ascension’s ruthless transforming tech, the Mechamorphs.

The Ascension

* Dominate with the insidious Ascension, headed by Arlan Khan, as players command the all-powerful Mechmorphs with their transforming technology.
* Fear no one with advanced technology and shielded units, with their laser weaponry, cryogen rays and orbital weapon platforms, which strike down death from above.
* It’s not just the Ascension’s weaponry that can transform; if players need to relocate their base or buildings, these too can be transformed and moved on.

The Hai-Genti

* Attack the human factions and command the full strike force of the invading Hai-Genti.
* Take on an altogether alien strategy and fire down spores from the skies to grow an army of vicious bloodthirsty beasts.
* Launch surprise attacks and tear the humans limb from limb to feed ravenous spores, the literal hearts of players’ campaigns.
* Sacrifice own units to produce even more vicious and deadly mutated monsters. After all, they’re only fodder for the cause.

Complete with the ability to terraform landscapes and transform units, Maelstrom will provide strategy gamers with the power to harness the forces of nature in the most frantic, destructive, action-packed RTS game yet.

Based on an original concept by Codemasters and KDV Games, the Russian team behind the critically acclaimed Perimeter, and wrapped in a gripping science fiction scenario devised by screenwriter James Swallow, Maelstrom will launch in late September exclusively for PC. For more information visit http://www.codemasters.com/maelstrom .