Judge Dredd to enforce the law on PlayStation 2

Judge Dredd vs. Judge Death, from Rebellion to be published on the PlayStation 2 by NDA Productions

NDA Productions, the international development business unit of Vivendi Universal Publishing’s games division (VU Games), will publish Judge Dredd vs. Judge Death, from Oxford-based super-developer Rebellion, on the PlayStation 2.

The game is based on the legendary comic strip Judge Dredd, published in 2000AD every week since 1977. It will be a first-person shooter seen through the eyes of Judge Dredd as he patrols the mean streets of the stunningly realised future metropolis, Mega-City One. Dredd will find himself having to deal with the full spectrum of criminal behaviour, from littering and caffeine abuse to saving the city from the utterly evil Judge Death. The game will use all the power and capabilities of the PlayStation 2 through the Asura Engine, a versatile 3D engine developed in house by Rebellion. The rendering code has been specifically optimised to accentuate the platform’s strengths and capabilities

Judge Dredd vs. Judge Death will feature a unique new storyline, but one that fits in perfectly with the continuity of the comic with a full cast of characters from the Judge Dredd stories, including Judge Anderson and the Dark Judges, and many of the famous Mega-City One locations. The history and character of the Judge Dredd stories will be absolutely central to gameplay. For instance, because Dredd must obey the law he upholds and react according to the severity of all crimes, gamers won’t be able to just blast their way through the game, shooting petty criminals at will (not unless they fancy spending the rest of their life breaking rocks on Titan).

Jason Kingsley, CEO and Creative Director of Rebellion, says, "Judge Dredd has always been an obvious choice as a videogame licence, but no one has ever managed to put across the atmosphere and awesome visual scale of the comics in a game before. Now a combination of our powerful Asura engine and our love for the character will enable us to put out the Judge Dredd game that gamers and comics fans have been demanding for so many years. In VU Games we have a partner with a great deal of experience in publishing and marketing cutting edge games, and we look forward to a long and successful relationship for Dredd and other future titles."

"We are proud to have Judge Dredd vs. Judge Death in development for the PlayStation 2, and we hope it will allow the millions of owners of this console to discover the rich universe of the comics that have been published for 25 years now," commented Dominique Cor, CEO of NDA Productions. ". "

Judge Dredd was recently voted ‘Best Character’ at the British National Comics Awards, beating off competition from Spiderman, Batman and Dennis the Menace.

Judge Dredd vs. Judge Death is being developed for PlayStation 2 and PC, and is planned for release in the second-half of 2003.

About Vivendi Universal Publishing

Vivendi Universal Publishing publishes content in four major languages, including English, French, Spanish and Portuguese, and has strong local publishing brands. As the world's third largest publisher, the Company's key content areas include literature, reference, education and games.

Its Games division, Vivendi Universal Games, is a worldwide leader in multi-platform interactive entertainment. (online, PC and console-based interactive content). Its portfolio of development studios includes Black Label Games, Blizzard Entertainment, NDA Productions, Sierra Entertainment and Universal Interactive. Through its Partner Publishing Group, it distributes worldwide its interactive contents and co-publishes and/or distributes products for a number of strategic partners.

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