IGNITION UNVEILS AWESOME PSP LAUNCH TITLE

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Thursday 18 November 2004/... Ignition Entertainment has today unveiled the first official details of PSP launch title 'Archer Maclean's Mercury' - a staggering new concept in videogame entertainment from his team at Awesome Studios.

Available as a PSP launch title, Mercury is a refreshingly unique game with roots in many genres.

Mercury provides an addicting challenge through its simple gaming mechanic, which merely requires players to 'tilt' each level in order to manoeuvre the blobs of mercury, with various switches, platforms, obstacles and hazards standing between level goals.

Powering Mercury is a ridiculously sophisticated engine which calculates every gloopy part of the liquid metal as it bends and melds around everything in its path. As the digitised mercury smoothly ebbs and flows under such simple controls, players experience the purest form of gaming imaginable.

Despite requiring no complicated controls, the game itself is grinningly taxing. Puzzle elements vary from needing to split the mercury into several coloured component parts - each of which will be affected by the degree of tilt - in order to open gates, activate switches, etc. The maze-like environments require lateral thinking in order to navigate the mercury from start to finish - with the sprawling 3D levels often requiring devilish-yet-hit-yourself-when-you-work-it-out solutions.

"Without exception, everyone who has seen the early versions of Mercury behind the scenes has immediately loved it," reveals Archer Maclean, Awesome Studios. "It's an incredible game which will define a new genre. Coding it to run this fast has been staggeringly complicated, yet the results are hugely impressive. We're delighted to be able to work with Sony Computer Entertainment in making this a PSP launch title. It's just perfect for the format."

"Mercury is going to be huge," concludes Vijay Chadha, managing director, Ignition Entertainment. "It's quite simply one of the most brilliant ideas for a game we have ever seen."

Mercury will be published by Ignition Entertainment as a PSP launch title. Further versions will follow.

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About PSP^TM

PSP^TM is a new handheld video game system that allows users to enjoy 3D games, with high-quality full-motion video, and high-fidelity stereo audio. With graphics rendering capability comparable to that of PlayStation 2, PSP features a 4.3 inch widescreen, high-resolution TFT display. PSP also adopts a newly developed compact but high-capacity (1.8GB) optical disc, Universal Media Disc (UMDTM), as its storage medium. With a wide range of accessories and connectivity options, including Memory Stick, USB 2.0, IR port and WiFi wireless LAN, PSP is the new entertainment platform from PlayStation.

About IGNITION ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED

Ignition Entertainment Limited is a privately owned software developer and publisher. Ignition was created by a core team of gaming industry veterans with the purpose of building upon their successful track record within the international games industry, and to bring a fresh new approach to both the development and distribution of original gaming product. You can find more information about IGNITION ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED at http://www.ignitionent.com