Vivendi Universal Games' Black Label Games has acquired the worldwide console rights from Crave Entertainment for "Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter(TM)," the eagerly anticipated first-person shooter about a former government ranger seeking revenge.

"Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter" immerses players in a universe of huge corporations and futuristic gunslingers as Mace seamlessly moves between first-person action into space flight combat tracking quarry and unraveling a deep and very dangerous mystery. The title is being published for the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo GameCube(TM) and Xbox(TM) video game system from Microsoft with a scheduled release in March 2003. According to the agreement, Electronic Arts will publish the PC version worldwide.

"'Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter' is representative of the league of premium games featuring compelling content and characters that we are aligning under the Black Label Games brand," said Torrie Dorrell, general manager of Black Label Games. "A first person shooter with an engaging storyline and seamless transitions between first-person shooter combat on land and in space, the game reaches beyond any product in its category." Both the console and PC versions of the game are being developed by Warthog Entertainment, producers of the highly-acclaimed "Starlancer" and "Star Trek Invasion" games.

Backstory
"Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter" takes place hundreds of years in the future, where both human and alien settlers are rapidly colonizing the galaxy. The player will assume the role of an ex-Special Ops officer, Mace Griffin. Against a backdrop of corporate, political and religious intrigue, Mace Griffin is framed for being involved in his comrades' deaths. After spending time in prison, he becomes a bounty hunter, a vocation that gives him access to classified information and a means to aggressively pursue his search for the people who framed him.

Features
"Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter" offers a wealth of innovative features, including the following:

• Seamless transition between first-person combat and space flight action
  
• An epic story with the pacing and drama of a blockbuster movie
  
• Consistent flight control and weapons management systems in both space and on the ground
  
• The ability to pilot six different ships from alien fighters to massive carriers
  
• Lifelike Non-Player Characters (Artificial Intelligence) react depending on their intelligence, bravery, health and weapons
  
• Diverse missions that may be story-driven or incidental creating a dynamic and realistic universe
  
• 10 different player weapons and 11 different spaceship weapons
  
• An array of diverse environments offering different physics, obstacles, inhabitants and creatures. Examples include gas refineries, alien cattle ranches and temples located on planetoids, space stations and ships.
  

"Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter" has not yet been rated by the ESRB.