Heroes, Beach Life and IGI 2 set to make for a M.A.D November…

Mastertronic |

Mastertronic today announced the four titles to make up its November M.A.D range - the second wave of titles to appear as part of the respected £9.99 label.

The qualification for acceptance to the M.A.D range is simple, yet ensures consumers are guaranteed the best possible games at affordable prices. Only games that have sold in excess of 100,000 units at full-price are considered for the label, and November's titles represent the cream of recent PC hits, including UbiSoft's Heroes of Might and Magic 4, IGI 2: Covert Strike from Codemasters, Eidos' Beach Life, and Vivendi Universal Games' Hoyle Casino Games.

The four games reflect the M.A.D label's intention to deliver a quartet of varied and playable titles with every batch, with Heroes of Might and Magic 4 widely regarded as one of the definitive PC role-playing experiences. Offering over 400 possible plot strands and the ability to command over 60 creatures, this graphically resplendent epic offers hours of uncompromising action and amazing longevity.

IGI 2: Covert Strike is a remarkable action title, dropping the player into a series of stealth missions spanning Libya, Russia and China's seedy underbelly as the player searches for a number of vital secret documents. Realism is key to IGI 2: Covert Strike's engrossing gameplay, with the player's movements affected by the number of weapons they are carrying, while the different calibres of bullets have a marked affect on their targets. Add a multi-player mode for gripping 'Death Matches' and it becomes obvious why IGI 2: Covert Strike has enjoyed such critical and retail success.

From Eidos comes the Club 18-30 stylings of Beach Life, a very humorous, yet always entertaining, take on the strategy genre. Beach Life invites the player to create, run and expand a lucrative beach resort, while dealing with natural and man-made disasters that constantly threaten your little slice of paradise.

Hoyle Casino Games is a compilation of three classic family card and gambling packages, comprising Hoyle Casino 2003, Hoyle Board Games 2003 and Hoyle Card Games 2003, with the three titles offering a total of 50 well-known pastimes, including roulette, backgammon and Solitaire - with the three games in one package representing phenomenal value for money.

"M.A.D's commitment to quality is perfectly represented by our very strong November schedule," comments Andy Payne, Managing Director, Mastertronic. "After a storming launch we launch an explosive collection just in time for November. It was important that we cemented the label's reputation with an even stronger second wave - and we have more than done this. Each of the four games has enjoyed both sales and critical success, and in conjunction with our acclaimed PC Gamer Presents... label, Mastertronic is well on track to securing pole position in the PC budget sector, with more quality titles to follow in the coming months and throughout 2005."

About Mastertronic

Headed up by Frank Herman, Andy Payne and Adam Prichard, Mastertronic is part of The Mastertronic Group Limited re-formed in 2003.

Mastertronic will seek to engender the values of its enviable heritage and become the leading value re-publisher of computer and video games working with publishers, retailers and consumers alike to continually innovate at all stages in the publishing value chain. Focus will be only on bringing the highest quality games to a mass market, delivered within a brand strategy that everyone can trust.

Originally formed in 1983, Mastertronic bought many a legendary 8 bit game to a true mass market (One Man and his Droid, Hunter Patrol, Spellbound, Phantoms of the Asteroid and Master of Magic to name a few). Mastertronic also brought the Sega Master System into Europe in the mid- 80's. The name Mastertronic all but disappeared from the industry in 1991 when it was acquired by Sega.