Atari today announced that the Magic: The Gathering™ – Battlegrounds for the Xbox® videogame system from Microsoft and PC CD-ROM has gone gold. Developed for Atari by Secret Level, Magic: The Gathering™ – Battlegrounds is set for a November 18th release date. Magic: The Gathering – Battlegrounds is based on the incredibly popular trading card game created by Wizards of the Coast. The game is filled with faithful card game translations of classic creatures, spells and enchantments and presented in a visually stunning 3D game environment rife with real-time strategic fighting, devastating wizard arsenals and intense creature combat.

Product Highlights:

• Xbox Live Enabled -- Magic: The Gathering – Battlegrounds takes full advantage of Xbox Live with a robust set of features including online dueling and chat capabilities, a complete ranking system and statistic tracking. In addition, new creatures, sorceries, enchantments and arenas will be made available to players for download after launch.

• Creatures, Creatures, Creatures -- Magic: The Gathering – Battlegrounds will feature dozens of creatures that can be utilized by duelists throughout the game. Creatures include the Goblin King (red), who improves the performance of any other goblin under player control; the Krovikan Vampire (black) who can “resurrect” enemy units to serve his side after defeating them in combat; the unstoppable Avatar of Might (green), who can trample through defending forces and still attack the opposing duelist; the Warrior Angel (white), who can heal the controlling duelist with the damage she deals in combat; and, Horned Turtle (blue) who acts as a barrier to all ground units.

• Super Sorceries – While creatures get all the headlines an effective sorcery can unleash a devastating, game-ending, world-of-hurt with one simple spell cast. Red features some of the most devastating sorceries with show stoppers including, Inferno, Scorching Missile and Engulfing Flames, which all deal varying amounts of damage to creatures and duelists alike. Not to be left out, the other colors also feature a horde of deadly spells, including Hellfire (black), which instantly kills all non-black creatures; Overrun (green), which grants all green creatures bonuses to attack and defense as well as the ability to trample opponents; Spelljack (blue), which allows a blue duelist to literally steal an opposing players spell if timed correctly; and, Demystify (white), which destroys an enemy duelist’s last cast enchantment.

• Enchanting Enchantments – Just as important as any creature or sorcery, enchantments can easily swing the tide of battle. Gratuitous Violence (red) grants all creatures with improved attacking power; Test of Endurance (white) alters win conditions by granting the first player to reach 50 health the victory; Liability (black) causes damage to any duelist whenever their creatures perish; and, Pendrill Mists (blue), which steals mana from any duelist after a creature respawns in battle.

• Choose Your Battlefield -- Magic: The Gathering – Battlegrounds will initially feature more than 15 arenas to battle in. While featuring similar play mechanics, each arena is unique and relates to key geographic areas found in the Magic universe. Arenas include Maraxus’ Volcanic Forge, Akroma’s Castle Lucetos, Ishan’s Forbidden Fen and Multani’s Everfall among many others.

Magic: The Gathering – Battlegrounds will be available at retail stores nationwide on November 18th for Xbox and PC and will feature an estimated retail price of $49.95 and an ESRB rating of “T” for Teen.

Posted: November 5, 2003