Sierra unleashes award-winning The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery for Mac; Second Gabriel Knight mystery is a multimedia tale of supernatural intrigue!

Business Wire, July 9, 1996

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 9, 1996--Sierra On-Line Inc., the largest in-house publisher of interactive entertainment software in the United States, today announced the release of the Macintosh version of The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery.

Sequel to the award-winning 1993 holiday hit Sins of the Fathers, The Beast Within weaves a mythical and mysterious trail of eerie supernatural lore, taking players from a New Orleans bookstore to the dark forests of Germany. Writer and designer Jane Jensen has created a challenging third-person interactive adventure taking full advantage of the newest CD-ROM technology and sophisticated cinematic techniques.

The Beast Within features Gabriel Knight, a schattenjager (or detective-like investigator of the supernatural) who is enlisted by the villagers of his family's Bavarian hometown to find and destroy what they believe is a murderous werewolf.

Two separate storylines unfold in six alternating chapters on six CDs as Gabriel and his familiar associate, Grace Nakimura, investigate different leads and discover an historic link between Gabriel, King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the werewolves that roamed the German countryside centuries ago.

Set almost entirely in Germany, The Beast Within was shot by Hollywood director Will Binder in the same blue-screen studio used for Sierra's blockbuster hit Phantasmagoria.

Over 1,000 color-saturated photographic backgrounds (taken on 80 locations in Germany) blend seamlessly with film performances by a cast of 40 actors to create a richly beautiful and believable world. An original operatic finale lends further emphasis to the story's authentic gothic feel.

The PC version of The Beast Within, released in December 1995, has garnered phenomenal critical acclaim. Computer Gaming World presented The Beast Within with its 1995 Premier Award for "Game of the Year," Strategy Plus named the title "Adventure Game of the Year" (1995) and PC Gamer honored the title with an Editor's Choice Award (March, 1996).

The Beast Within is available on six CDs for for an estimated street price of $32.50. The Beast Within, also available on PC CD-ROM for Windows 3.1, Windows 95 and DOS, is available through multimedia retailers, computer specialty stores and superstores and directly from Sierra at 800/757-7707.

Founded in 1979, Sierra On-Line is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and educational software. The company's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol SIER. Sierra's corporate headquarters are located in Bellevue. -0-

Sierra press releases are available on the Internet, via the SierraWeb at http://www.sierra.com; or receive facsimiles of recent Sierra product press releases and financial disclosures via Sierra's News-On-Demand at 800/853-7788.

CONTACT: Sierra On-Line, Bellevue

Eric Twelker, 206/649-9800 x5862

eric.twelker(at)sierra.com