Midway taken to AREA 51
Publisher teams up with Stan Winston on new console game
Midway are teaming up with Oscar-winning special effects company Stan Winston Studio to produce the imaginatively titled AREA 51. The game will see players probing the mystery of the eponymous "secret" base in Nevada, which is reputed to house the remains of crashed flying saucers and their occupants. Apparently this highly creative scenario has been cobbled together by a "professional military sci-fi scriptwriter", although Midway aren't naming names. What we do know is that you will get to indulge in both sniping and hand-to-hand combat along the way, with alien creatures to be designed by Stan and the boys. It's a task they're no stranger to, having contributed special effects, animatronics and make-up for movies such as Aliens, Galaxy Quest, Predator and Interview With The Vampire. AREA 51 is already being described by Midway as "sure to be a blockbuster title", but there's a long way to go yet. The game is expected to surface some time in 2004, with PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox versions all planned.