"Twisted Metal" awarded Video Game of the Year; driving/combat game singled out by the editors of Electronic Gaming Monthly

Business Wire, Dec 4, 1995

FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 1995--Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) Monday announced that its high-action car combat game, "Twisted Metal," for Sony's PlayStation game console, was awarded Video Game of the Year, across all video game platforms, in the 1996 Video Game Buyers Guide published by the editors of Electronic Gaming Monthly.

It was also awarded Best Sound Effects -- All Systems in the same publication, while Game Players Magazine awarded "Twisted Metal" with Best Original Soundtrack in its special 1995 Holiday Issue.

"Twisted Metal" is a car-to-car combat game that challenges players to chase down their opponents through 3-D rendered, live environments. The game takes place on the streets of a futuristic Los Angeles where players have the run of the city -- there are no pre-set tracks or courses. Players can literally cut through parks, drive on sidewalks, and fly off bridges as they hunt down their quarry.

"`Twisted Metal' is a new breed of video game," said Peter Dille, marketing product director, SCEA. "We've re-created a huge, 3-D city in which the player and his/her opponent can roam around in a search-and-destroy driving game."

Players choose from 12 high-tech vehicles armed with an arsenal of deadly weapons to combat opponents in six 3-D environments. The road to victory begins in an arena setting, where players must destroy an opponent's vehicle before proceeding. They then will progress to the warehouse district, travel across freeways, forge into "River Park," discover Cyburbia, and finally arrive at their final showdown on the rooftops of L.A.'s skyscrapers.

Vehicles include a demonic ice cream truck, a "whacked-out" taxi, a psycho-European exotic, and a police car with its own form of law. Each is equipped with advanced missile launchers and machine guns, and is able to pick up special weapons along the way.

The storyline begins with a madman named Calypso, who summons the player to join a deadly contest on the streets of L.A. The prize is to have their ultimate fantasy or desire fulfilled. To win the battle, all other cars in the competition must be destroyed. A one- or two-player competitive video game, "Twisted Metal" has four playing perspectives, including POV (dashboard), a blimp view, and two third-person perspective views.

Sony Computer Entertainment America, a division of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc., is based in Foster City. The company markets the PlayStation game console for distribution in North America, publishes software for the PlayStation game console for the North American market, and manages the U.S. third-party licensing program.

Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. is a subsidiary of Sony Corp. of America.

Visit the company on the Web at http://www.sony.com.

CONTACT: Sony Computer Entertainment America, Foster City,

P. Kevin Horn, 415/655-8000

or

Fleishman-Hillard

Samantha Sackin, 213/629-4974