Birth of the Federation Announced

From Star Trek Game Information

ALAMEDA, Calif., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Entertainment software company MicroProse, Inc. (Nasdaq: MPRS) announced today the expansion of its successful STAR TREKâ„¢ game license with the upcoming release of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATIONâ„¢ Birth of the Federationâ„¢. Licensed through Viacom Consumer Products, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION Birth of the Federation is a turn-based, multi-player strategy game of space exploration, expansion and tactical combat that gives players control of one of five races in the STAR TREK universe.

"The broad appeal of the STAR TREK license and the intuitive interface make this game accessible to any STAR TREK fan," said Derek McLeish, senior vice president, marketing of MicroProse, Inc. "At the same time, the hard core gamer will love the flexibility of leading his own empire."

Game Play

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION Birth of the Federation is set in the familiar STAR TREK universe, capturing the look and feel of the internationally famous series and transforming it into a rich and deep strategy game. The game world is populated with a multitude of races, encounters and events drawn directly from STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. Game play emphasizes resource management, combat and diplomacy. Each player controls one of the major STAR TREK alliances, choosing from the Federationâ„¢, Romulansâ„¢, Klingonsâ„¢, Ferengiâ„¢ and Cardassiansâ„¢. All five empires will be present in every game, therefore; any not played by a gamer will be run by the computer AI.

The different characteristics of each race add flavor and replayability to STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION Birth of the Federation. Depending on which alliance the player chooses to run, he will have different abilities, strengths and weaknesses. For example, the Federation is well-balanced, the Ferengi excel at trading and economics, the Klingons have bonuses for combat and the Romulans receive espionage and stealth bonuses.

Players shepherd the chosen empire from the early days of interstellar travel, exploring new worlds, setting up colonies and encounters with the other four major races and other minor races, each showcasing unique abilities and dialogue. Gamers decide how to allocate resources for building up planetary defense, star fleets, technological advances and trade. The game also features a wide variety of special entities, from ancient energy beings to deserted Dyson spheres and a potential Borg invasion, threatening all players.

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION Birth of the Federation has the depth of play and variety to be an appealing single-player game, but also includes mechanisms which enable it to be fast-playing and satisfying for up to five players via Internet, LAN, direct connect, modem head-to-head, e-mail and hot seat. The CD-ROM supports both continuous connection and turn submission for maximum multiplayer flexibility. User options allow a typical single player game to last from three to 20 hours, whereas multi-player time limits and other user configurable options enable a continuous Internet-connected game to be completed in an evening, or permit an epic space saga taking weeks or months to complete.

Players can choose from quick or detailed combat modes. Quick mode leaves the computer in control of both sides of battle, enabling the player to watch the battle play out. In detailed combat, the player has the ability to give ship orders on a turn-by-turn basis, guiding his fleets to take advantage of their current tactical positions.

MicroProse is a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software for use on CD-ROM-based personal computers. The company is also developing software for the use on next generation 32/64-bit console machines, the Internet and on-line gaming services. The company has five development studios located in Alameda, California; Hunt Valley, Maryland; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Austin, Texas and Chipping Sodbury, England. Products are available nationally and internationally and are sold through major distributors, retailers and mass merchants. Products and company information are available for download from the MicroProse Web site at http://www.microprose.com.

NOTE: STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks of Paramount Pictures. Viacom Consumer Products licenses and merchandises properties on behalf of Paramount Pictures, Paramount Television and Simon & Schuster as well as third-party properties. Viacom Consumer Products, a unit of Viacom Entertainment Group, is a subsidiary of Viacom Inc.

SOURCE MicroProse, Inc. CO: MicroProse, Inc. ST: California IN: MLM SU: PDT 10/27/97 13:27 EST http://www.prnewswire.com