Pirate Space Now Open in Earth &
Beyond
Blackbeard’s Wake offers new
adventures, riches to galactic buccaneers
REDWOOD CITY, CA (July 1, 2003) –
The online galaxy of Earth & Beyond just got a little bigger, and a little more
dangerous. Blackbeard’s Wake, a pirate sector featuring a new starbase, new
enemies to fight, and a new epic encounter, opened with the latest game update.
“Players who gain favor with the
pirate faction will have free access to pirate space, which is full of new loot
and provides plenty to hunt,” says Creative Director Chris Klug. “Players will
get a chance to see what life is like on the wrong side of the galactic law.
Occasionally, at least in Blackbeard’s Wake, crime does pay.”
Earth & Beyond players who venture
into Blackbeard’s Wake will find one of most intense epic encounters in the game
when they take on the Controller.
The Controller, an advanced
artificial intelligence, once worked for the Red Dragon pirates creating
training drones. The AI eventually evolved, becoming sentient, and angry. It
began creating powerful combat drones that attack Red Dragon pirates on sight.
Players who choose to help the Red
Dragons fight the Controller will be well-rewarded, but will also face a
well-armed foe, surrounded by intelligent combat drones.
“Our goal was to force players to
use different tactics than they’ve ever had to use before,” Klug says. “The
Controller is smart and commands his drones to attack and defend in a variety of
ways. Players who come in blasting without a solid plan will find themselves
incapacitated quite quickly.”
The recent game update also included
improvements to the analyze and manufacturing systems, giving players more
possible outcomes when crafting items. Also added were “override devices” that
improve your chances for successfully analyzing an item or creating an item of
higher quality.
If you’re not playing Earth &
Beyond, you can get a trial version via download or by having a 2-disc set
mailed to you for free. Get details at
www.enbdemo.com .
Earth & Beyond is an online
role-playing game published by Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) under the EA GAMES™
brand. Find out more about Earth & Beyond at
www.enb.com .
ABOUT ELECTRONIC ARTS
Electronic Arts (EA), headquartered
in Redwood City, California, is the world’s leading interactive entertainment
software company. Founded in 1982, Electronic Arts posted revenues of more than
$1.7 billion for fiscal 2002. The company develops, publishes and distributes
software worldwide for the Internet, personal computers and video game systems.
Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSTM, EA
GAMESTM, EA SPORTS BIG™ and EA.COMSM. More information about EA’s products and
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http://www.info.ea.com .
