SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Gamers can play an alternative take on the 1960's Cold War "Race for Space" when Activision, Inc.'s "Battlezone" blasts into more than 10,000 retail stores throughout the United States and Canada on March 11, 1998. "Battlezone" combines the best of action games with the best of real-time strategy games to create a new genre -- the first-person action-strategy game. The game takes players to the farthest reaches of the galaxy in a struggle for control of alien technology between the Soviet Union and the United States. "Battlezone" allows players to take command on the battlefield and wage war from a soldier's perspective as they confront their opponents with a devastating array of weapons.

"Battlezone," which is based on the classic 1980 Atari arcade game of the same name, is being launched with an ambitious marketing campaign that includes broad-based advertising and online and retail promotions. The game will carry a suggested retail price of $49.95. Gamers can preview "Battlezone" by playing a demo of the game that is posted on Activision's web site (http://www.activision.com/games/strategy/battlezone).

"When the original 'Battlezone' came out in 1980 it introduced true 3-D graphics and changed the face of gaming forever," said Alan Gershenfeld, Senior Vice President, Activision Studio. "This new 'Battlezone' will be every bit as revolutionary by putting strategy players in the front lines of the battlefield action and allowing action gamers to plan strategies and manage resources while taking aim at their opponents."

In 1980, the original "Battlezone" arcade game introduced players to 3-D gaming by putting them inside the cockpit of a tank in heated warfare. The new "Battlezone" not only pushes 3-D combat to an entirely new level, but it gives players the power to command an army of units engaged in aggressive, up-close and personal warfare. Gamers can blow craters into the fully deformable 3-D terrain with an arsenal of mines and mortars or rock their enemies with the mega-ton earthquake of the "Thumper."

Featuring revolutionary 3-D radar, "Battlezone" thrusts players into the role of battlefield commanders where they gather resources, build factories, maneuver and place combat units, and plan and execute full-scale attacks, all without ever leaving the first person perspective. As the ground-level high commander, gamers take charge of more than 30 different vehicles, infantry and mobile assault turrets. "Battlezone's" intense first-person action and uncompromising real-time strategic warfare deliver an unprecedented gaming experience.