Crave has annouunced a new game.

New Game Blends Action, Adventure, and Extreme Sports

LOS ANGELES--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--May 6, 2002--Crave Entertainment, a leading publisher of videogame entertainment products, today announced the addition of Whirl Tour, a title offering a unique combination of action, extreme sports, and adventure, to its 2002 product line-up.

Whirl Tour is being developed with Papaya Studio for the Nintendo GameCube(TM) and PlayStation�2 computer entertainment system.

"Whirl Tour will feature an engaging storyline, addictive game play and Papaya Studio's 2nd generation Utopia(TM) console engine technology. Papaya's slick engine enables the creation of expansive, highly detailed and colorful environments, blazingly fast rendering speed and animation quality leading to incredibly smooth game play. Both the Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2 renderers were written to capitalize on the unique advantages of each platform," explained Mark Burke, senior vice president, Development, at Crave Entertainment.

"Papaya and Crave have the goal of creating a unique and fun experience for gamers. Fast paced, trick oriented action, and open ended exploration will be rewarded not just with points, but by allowing you to save your friends and uncover the mystery of their disappearance."

The Whirl Tour story begins when someone kidnaps six members of an "up and coming" rock band. The player, who starts in the role of the band's roadie, must save each of the band members and uncover the mystery of their capture. The action takes players through eight creative, colorfully rendered, interactive levels, like a castle, amusement park, and oil refinery, populated with pedestrians, traffic, animals and other animated objects. Rather than running around levels, players will utilize a variety of gas, electric, and rocket powered scooters.

Mad skills and puzzle solving are key aspects of the game as players battle enemies, pull off a huge variety of tricks, unlock secret areas, grab musical tracks, and save their friends. As the band members are rescued, they become playable characters, which unleashes additional tricks and scooters.

Whirl Tour will offer seven different modes including two player race, monster trick, split-screen versus, and even a cooperative mode.

The anticipated release date for Whirl Tour is fourth quarter 2002.