Bethesda Softworks has launched a new site for its upcoming strategy/tactical combat game, Magic & Mayhem: The Art of Magic, at http://aom.bethsoft.com. The site includes gameplay information, screenshots, artwork, and information about all of the creatures and spells available in the game, and a forum where gamers can talk to the developers and producers about the game and exchange feedback and ideas. In addition, each week the AOM site will highlight one of the creatures from the game. This week's Featured Creature is the Mountain Giant, a very powerful but somewhat dim-witted creature with a powerful ranged attack. Designed by Mythos Games -- the creators of the original, award-winning Magic & Mayhem (as well as X-Com: UFO Defense) -- and developed by Charybdis Ltd., Art of Magic is scheduled to be released by Bethesda Softworks throughout North America in mid-April.

Magic & Mayhem: The Art of Magic is a unique blend of strategy, tactical combat, and role-playing brought to life with full 3D graphics and an epic storyline. As a Wizard, you have the power to conjure terrifying creatures and devastating spells against you opponent. Before each battle, you choose which spells you will bring with you, and then use the spells in real-time tactical combat against your opponent. You'll create archers and knights, griffons and harpies, Demons and Dragons...each with a distinct tactical advantage. You can also cast a wide variety of spells on both your creatures and your opponents'. Strengthen your forces with bloodlust or iron skin spells, or crush your enemy with meteor shower, apocalypse, or bury. You can even morph your Wizard into the form of a creature, or raise creatures from the dead to fight for you.

In the single-player campaign, your character's skills and abilities develop as the game progresses through items found in scenarios and experience gained from successfully completing tasks. You can choose how you want to develop your character as the game progresses, focusing on a particular type of magic (chaos, neutral, or law) or combat strategy. Do you want your Wizard far away from the lines of battles, conjuring up creatures to do the fighting for you, or do you want to be on the front lines, destroying the enemy with your attack spells? The choice is up to you, and you can change your strategy from mission to mission.

Robust multiplayer support allows gamers to battle head-to-head with up to eight friends or computer opponents over LAN or the Internet, including deathmatch and team play. Create a team with your friends and engage in titanic battles with enemy Wizards as you work together to form the perfect alliance. Or, jump into a skirmish with one or more computer-controlled Wizards on a wide variety of maps for a quick fix.

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Pete Hines Director of Marketing and Public Relations 
Bethesda Softworks Inc. 
a Division of ZeniMax Media. Inc. 
www.bethsoft.com 

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