Hammer & Sickle: Tactical Role Play at the dawn of WWIII

BASINGSTOKE, ENGLAND (23rd November, 2005) - Following the international success of NIVAL INTERACTIVE'S SILENT STORM series, strategy games publisher CDV ENTERTAINMENT, set to take players back to 1949 in their latest title: HAMMER & SICKLE. This high quality tactical RPG for the PC will be available from 24th February 2006, exclusively distributed by KOCH Media in the UK.

Hammer & Sickle is a single-player tactical RPG set in the spring of 1949. The player assumes the role of a top Soviet spy on clandestine duty in the British-American controlled sector of Germany during the early years of the budding Cold War. In a world where no one is quite who they appear to be, the player is trapped in a hellish plot that could trigger a third world war, this time between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective nuclear arsenals. Gamers will have to navigate a web of intrigue and make decisions that could determine the fate of the world.

- FEATURES -

• True RPG Character Development - In true RPG fashion, the player's alter ego can be completely customized in appearance and abilities, and grows in capabilities. Although a secret agent, six distinct secondary professions are available and determine the main character's abilities and tendencies. Characters gather experience and may apply these to more than 25 unique skills ensuring a different experience each time the game is played.

• Extensive Freedom of Action - In Hammer & Sickle, the player enjoys a great degree of freedom as to how to solve the various in-game challenges and multiple endings are possible based upon the player's actions. Players can choose to act directly to achieve mission goals or "do their homework" by completing various secondary missions and information gathering tasks in order to more easily achieve their primary objectives.

• Extensive World War II Era Weaponry - Hammer & Sickle includes some 90 different authentic weapons that look and function as their real-world counterparts from the post-war era, including prototype and secret arms. Weapons may jam and require remedial action, while ammunition is tracked and reloading is required. Shots may be fired quickly with little or no accuracy, while a time-consuming "aimed shot" may result in the successful incapacitation of a key enemy across from long range.

• Time of Day Matters - Certain times of day may make some missions easier to complete. An infiltration of a home to search for secret documents is much easier when the occupant is away for the day (or night). The purchase of weapons or the preparation of forged documents may only be possible during "business" hours. Daylight also impacts combat and stealth, providing a greater opportunity to sneak up on an enemy or to be caught in an ambush.

• A Living, Breathing Game Universe - Player actions and events have a persistent, global impact. A thoughtless act of violence in an isolated area, for example, may unexpectedly bring law enforcement or enemy reinforcements throughout that region. Regions can be explored and most can be visited (and revisited) as the player prefers, with new events triggered as the story unfolds.

• Persistent Tracking of Appropriate In-game Behaviour - There is no "complete this mission and all is forgiven" found so often in other games; actions in the initial missions have a potential long-term consequence. The player's alter ego is a secret agent in "enemy" territory, thus each player action that is inconsistent with that premise will gradually draw the unwanted attention or ire of non-player factions. This reduces the player's ability to forge needed alliances, to maintain stealth and secrecy, and eventually to avoid the escalation toward another world war.

• Sophisticated Dialog and Personality System - The player may respond to characters encountered in a myriad of ways; all interactions and responses have an impact on the game world and on the characters encountered. This includes their initial and subsequent attitude, hostility, and willingness (or refusal) to help. Through player actions and team-member temperament, characters, even within the player's team, may clash with each other causing them to defect, or they may become particularly adept at attracting new allies of compatible personality.

• The Right Object for the Right Task - In addition to observed actions, non-player characters respond to character dress, possession of documentation and the carrying or concealment of weapons. Disguises and appropriate documents may ease the player's progress, while the open brandishing of weapons or missing identification will lessen chances for success or result in arrest by authorities. Objects in the game may be destroyed or employed, hindering or aiding subsequent mission completion by eliminating existing or creating additional problem solving options.

For more information on HAMMER & SICKLE please visit www.cdv.de

PUBLISHER: CDV ENTERTAINMENT / KOCH MEDIA

DEVELOPER: NIVAL ENTERTAINMENT

FORMAT: PC DVDROM

PRICE: £19.99

RELEASE: 24th FEBRUARY 2006

For all UK press enquires relating to HAMMER & SICKLE please contact:

MEDIA CONTACTS:

DAVID BLUNDELL,

HEAD OF PR

+44 (0) 8700 276 530

David.Blundell@kochmedia.co.uk

About CDV Entertainment:

CDV Software Entertainment is dedicated to publishing and distributing top-notch war and strategy games worldwide. The publicly traded company, founded and headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, has its North American offices located in New Jersey and North Carolina, and partners with top-notch distribution partners across the globe. As publisher of critically acclaimed titles like Codename: Panzers, Divine Divinity, American Conquest, Combat Mission, Hammer & Sickle, War Front: Turning Point, Cossacks and the Blitzkrieg series, CDV is Europe's leading publisher of PC strategy titles". For further information on CDV, visit www.cdv.de

About KOCH MEDIA UK:

Founded in 1994, KOCH MEDIA UK develops, publishes and distributes a diverse mix of titles for home console gaming systems, personal computers and the Internet. Based in Basingstoke, the company has distribution contracts with a number of software publishers, including NINTENDO. For publishers not in the UK, KOCH MEDIA exclusively markets, sells and distributes titles. Under its own brands of DEEP SILVER and EUROPRESS, KOCH MEDIA develops and publishes its own range of gaming and educational and lifestyle software. For more information on KOCH MEDIA and its products, visit www.kochmedia.co.uk