Witness The Birth Of A Classic Series!

For Immediate Release

Hampstead, NC, 30 May 2007

It's 1997. You're in Sweden, where the women may be hot but the winters are cold, and you have some free time on your hands. Do you:

(a) Participate in historical reenactments of the Thirty Years War?

(b) Drink beer until your blackouts last weeks at a time?

® Form a new black metal band based on the teachings of Swedish philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg calling it "Swedenborgasmic Satanas"?

(d) Create a highly addictive turn-based computer fantasy strategy game that signals the beginning of the greatest fantasy game on a computer?

Well, if you're Illwinter Game Design your choice would have to be (d), although in all honesty they may have chosen (a) through ® at some point too, maybe all at once. From what we hear drunk Swedish black metallers in period costume were all the rage in 1997.

In 1997 Illwinter Game Design, best known for their award-winning series, Dominions, released on an unsuspecting world Conquest of Elysium II. The direct descendent of Dominions 3: The Awakening, Conquest of Elysium II is where the addiction originated. Unfortunately, for fans wanting to see how their favorite fantasy series began, acquiring a copy has been difficult, at least until now.

Illwinter Game Design and Shrapnel Games have just made Conquest of Elysium II available to the world as a FREE download. This is the full game, no strings attached. Download and play it forever!

Available for all the major operating systems (Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux-sorry, Sinclair ZX81 users!), Conquest of Elysium II allows gamers to step back in time and discover a true strategy gem that emphasizes gameplay over glitz, and rewards players with a rich tapestry of carefully woven fun. Dominions players will instantly recognize the themes and options explored in the game, although at a smaller scale than they are used to.

Just as Dominions is about choices, so is Conquest of Elysium II. A game of warfare, players can choose from twenty different character classes to represent their faction in the gameworld. Each class differs in traits and powers, with some influencing the battlefield and others controlling vast wells of magic. There are five different societies to play in, akin to the different ages in Dominions, and the world map is generated anew for each game. Besides battling other opponents, neutral creatures are scattered throughout the world. There are over three hundred types of critters, and over one hundred special abilities possessed by them.

Conquest of Elysium II supports up to eight players, although unfortunately it does not support multplayer outside of hotseat play. It is also not moddable, although with the random world generation, the score of characters, various societies, and the Monster Manual worth of denizens, Conquest of Elysium II is a game that can be discovered fresh for years.

Discover it for yourself by downloading the full, FREE game here:

http://www.shrapnelgames.com/Illwinter/CoE2/1.htm

For more information on Conquest of Elysium II, or the latest Illwinter Game Design title, the almighty Dominions 3: The Awakening, please visit us at www.shrapnelgames.com, which is home to a discriminating collection of the best independent strategy gaming on your computer. Besides plenty of demos to download, we also feature two other absolutely FREE games, winSPWW2 and winSPMBT.

For press related information please contact Scott R. Krol at: skrol@shrapnelgames.com

To visit our company blog go to www.shrapnelcommunity.com/blog/

For all other information, please contact:

Timothy W. Brooks

PO Box 488

Hampstead, NC 29443

910-270-9891

tbrooks@shrapnelgames.com