http://chronicle.ubi.com/Articles/News/091703_rocannounce.htm
Shadowbane: The Rise of Chaos Announced!
Official News
9/17/2003 10:02:19 PM
THE SHADOWBANE™ UNIVERSE EXPANDS
First Shadowbane Expansion Pack: The Rise of Chaos Announced!
SAN FRANCISCO – September 17, 2003 – Ubisoft, one of the world's top game publishers, announced today the Shadowbane™: The Rise of Chaos expansion pack will be available at a manufacturer's retail price of $19.99 at launch. The expansion for Shadowbane, the critically acclaimed massively multiplayer online (MMO) game for the PC, will begin beta testing soon and will provide fans with an intense, hardcore experience continuing deeper into the realms of darkness. Pending the results of that beta test, Ubisoft expects to release the Shadowbane™: The Rise of Chaos this holiday season.
Shadowbane: The Rise of Chaos features new high-level content, and a new race, the Nephilim, a chaotic fusion of demon and man that has arisen from the forces of darkness. In addition, the expansion provides new character classes, disciplines, an additional character slot, two new macro zones, and enhanced environmental graphics. Shadowbane: The Rise of Chaos is being designed and developed by Wolfpack Studios, based in Austin, Texas, and is operated and supported by Ubisoft's online gaming division ubi.com™, among the top five gaming portals in the world.
"Shadowbane: The Rise of Chaos once again raises the bar for intensity and strategic action in the MMORPG genre," said Jason Rubinstein, general manager of ubi.com. "Wolfpack listened to the Shadowbane community and incorporated many of their wishes into the game. The expansion pack provides players with a host of new features and unlocks new dangerous zones, including ruins and volcanic wastelands, which take Shadowbane to the next level."
"The Shadowbane community (chronicle.ubi.com) is the most active and vibrant gaming site within the ubi.com portal and serves up to ten million page views on any given month," said Chris Mancil, lead community manager for Shadowbane. "The expansion pack will be well received by Shadowbane fans because of its balance of new areas, content, and storyline."
Shadowbane: The Rise of Chaos, set in a dark fantasy world burning with strife and unrest, will continue to expand the MMO genre into new uncharted territory. Its success and large fan following have been pinned to the game's ability to combine immersive role-playing with deep strategic elements such as city management, army creation, siege warfare, and economic development. Shadowbane is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB and more information can be found on Shadowbane.com and on the official community site, The Chronicle of Strife: chronicle.ubi.com.
Shadowbane: The Rise of Chaos features:
New playable race, the Nephilim half-demons with bat-like wings, horns and the ability to mask their infernal nature.
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More than 30 adventure areas for players to explore, engage, and challenge those who dare enter: Ruins, volcanic wastes, demons of all description, and corrupted natural creatures.
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New classes include the Doomsayer and the Sentinel:
The Doomsayer: A priest of Chaos whose power comes from the worship of the Dark Lords. They are able to use their powers of Chaos to inflict harm and weaken opponents. Doomsayers also posses a good repertoire of heals, debuffs, and pet spells.
The Sentinel: Stout, holy warriors who devote their lives to holding Chaos at bay and cleansing the world of its presence. Their powers are a hybrid of the Crusader and the Templar – with anti-chaos powers such as dispells, debuffs, and demon-only blasts.
New Disciplines include the Darksworn and the Conjurer:
The Darksworn: Underlings dedicated to the service of the Dark Lords, who are given in turn a battery of infernal powers.
The Conjurer: Pet discipline used to summon Chaotic entities. These creatures are pet versions adapted from the new monster content added with the expansion pack.
Current players who purchase the expansion pack are immediately granted a sixth character slot to use at their discretion.
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Graphical enhancements include new environmental effects which will add to the overall ambiance.
Minimum PC System Requirements
- Supported OS: Windows® 98SE/ME/2000/XP
- Processor: Pentium® III 700 MHz or higher or equivalent
- RAM: 128 MB RAM
- Video Card: 32 MB TNT2 (or better) OpenGL-compliant graphics accelerator.
- DirectX® Version: DirectX 8.1 or higher
- CD-ROM: 4x or faster
- Hard Drive Space: 1 GB free hard drive space
- Multiplay: 56K modem + Internet connection
- Valid credit card