Electronic Arts Goes Behind Enemy Lines With DreamWorks Interactive's Medal of Honor Underground, the Next Chapter to the Popular World War II-Inspired Game for the PlayStation

Business Wire, May 8, 2000

Entertainment Editors/Video Game Writers

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--May 8, 2000

Vive la Resistance! Liberate France from the German stranglehold in Medal of Honor Underground(tm), the next chapter in the successful Medal of Honor(tm) story, the first WWII-themed first-person action adventure title for the PlayStation(R) from DreamWorks Interactive(tm) released last year. The latest incarnation puts players in the role of Manon, the young member of the French Resistance introduced as Jimmy Patterson's "control" in the original Medal of Honor. Set prior to the start of the original Medal of Honor game, Medal of Honor Underground gives players a sense of the courage it took to survive in occupied France with D-Day four long years away. Medal of Honor Underground will be available for the PlayStation(R) this Fall.

Medal of Honor Underground begins in 1942, not long after Germany crushed the French military and overran the country. Gamers are introduced to Manon who has just witnessed her house destroyed and hometown occupied. With nothing left to lose, she joins one of the many clandestine resistance movements that have taken root throughout her homeland during the early days of the occupation. Over the course of the game players will experience her ascent from a naive volunteer to a seasoned veteran who is ultimately recruited by the Americans for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), where she will eventually play a key role in the Liberation of Paris.

The game's headquarters will be an underground French Resistance command post located in the converted basement of an innocuous-looking French bakery. Players will use the command post as a base of operations and springboard for each of Medal of Honor Underground's seven missions encompassing more than 22 levels. Each mission offers specific objectives and numerous challenges to meet in terms of infiltration, execution and escape. These will take place in France, North Africa, Greece, Germany and Italy. The final mission of the game will send Manon back to Paris to assist in the liberation of her countrymen. Medal of Honor Underground will stay true to all the gameplay features that made the original one of the most acclaimed and best-selling games released in 1999, as well as introduce new features that will make for a thrilling, hair-raising experience. Expanded features in Medal of Honor Underground include enemy vehicles such as tanks and motorcycles, even smarter artificial

intelligence (AI), new weapons such as a pistol crossbow, "buddy" AI that will accomplish tasks that the player can't, as well as more secret areas to find and explore.

As with the original Medal of Honor, the producers sought council from numerous outside sources to make the game as historically authentic and realistic as possible. To ensure Medal of Honor Underground adequately reflects the ideals and integrity of the prestigious Medal of Honor, DreamWorks turned to Capt. Paul Bucha, past president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. In addition, Capt. Dale Dye, who served as technical consultant on the original game, again worked with the Medal of Honor Underground team developing levels for the game, including the crucial details of Manon's clandestine mission against Erwin "the Desert Fox" Rommel and his forces in North Africa. The DreamWorks team also trained with Capt. Dye's firm Warriors Inc., in the Southern California desert -- this time gaining knowledge on small squad tactics and advanced grenade combat.

In order for the game to authentically portray the experience of women in the French Resistance as well as the OSS, producers contacted and met with Elizabeth McIntosh, author of Sisterhood of Spies, Margaret Weitz, author of Sisters in the Resistance, and French Resistance veteran and author of Spyglass: An Autobiography, Helene Adams-Deschamps. Through the inspiration of these individuals, Electronic Arts and DreamWorks aim to ensure that Medal of Honor Underground skillfully and accurately portrays the heroic contribution of women during the course of World War II.

Key gameplay features that will help Medal of Honor Underground deliver an overall enjoyable gaming experience include:

--  Seven missions in which the player must accomplish specific
    objectives and goals in order to succeed and advance.

--  Six all new authentic World War II era weapons for the player to
    utilize. These include a German sniper rifle and a pistol
    crossbow.

--  Over 22 levels of fully realized and recreated 3-D locations
    throughout Europe.

--  Smarter Artificial Intelligence enemy types, including
    motorcycles, tanks and half-tracks that the enemy will utilize to
    their advantage.

--  A special "buddy AI" in human form that will accomplish tasks the
    player can't, like safe cracking or helping to fight enemies.

--  Special "disguise" mode that allows players to put on an
    inconspicuous ambulance driver uniform or assume the identity of a
    press photographer and move unnoticed through German encampments.

--  Highly destructible and interactive environments designed to
    illustrate the ravages of war and be used as part of the player's
    overall strategy.

--  Sound effects by Medal of Honor sound designer Erik Kraber.

--  Original music soundtrack featuring an evocative orchestral score
    by award-winning Medal of Honor composer Michael Giacchino.

--  Actual WWII film footage to help immerse the player in the era.