Cedar Falls, Iowa – September 8, 2009 – It’s here! Phantom EFX, the world’s leading developer and publisher of PC-based casual game titles, and independent game development studio 8monkey Labs announced today that their highly anticipated historically-based first person shooter, Darkest of Days, launches today for both Windows-based PC and the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. 

Beginning today, Darkest of Days is available for purchase for $49.99 on the Xbox 360 and $39.99 on PC at most major retailers, including Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Gamestop. Darkest of Days will also be available for purchase online from www.phantomefx.com as well as larger online retailers such as Amazon.com. Digitally distributed copies will be available as well from Steam, Direct2Drive, Digital River and other outlets. 

“For me and everyone else here at Phantom EFX and 8monkey Labs that have been working on Darkest of Days for the past three years, it’s almost hard to believe that launch day is already upon us,” said Aaron Schurman, CEO of Phantom EFX and lead writer for Darkest of Days. “We’ve put our blood, sweat and tears into this game, and we’re extremely proud of what we have accomplished. We feel that Darkest of Days is not only a fantastic game on its own merits, but that it will serve as a breath of fresh air into the somewhat crowded FPS genre and give players across the world a truly memorable, exciting gaming experience.” 

Have you ever wondered what could happen if time travel was a reality? Have you ever thought about the possibility of going back in time to rewrite history for the better? That possibility is a reality in Darkest of Days, where players will travel back and forth through the annals of time to relive some of mankind's most dire hours. By fighting through terrible events such as The Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest conflict of the Civil War, and both World War I and II, the player will attempt to save certain key individuals who were never meant to become involved in these truly monstrous events and save history from those who would attempt to change it. 

Key features of Darkest of Days include: 

• Wreak Havoc with Future Weapons in Antiquity: Something nearly every gamer that’s ever played a shooter based in the past has always wanted is the ability to bring a futuristic weapon back through history and kick some major butt. How differently would Custer’s last stand have turned out if the General was equipped with an M-16 assault rifle? You’ll be able to answer questions like this in Darkest of Days. While not every battle and situation will allow you to wield weapons from the future, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to unleash futuristic fury on your unsuspecting foes.
  

• Brand New Engine: The dedicated team at 8monkey Labs has created an all-new, groundbreaking game engine known as Marmoset. The Marmoset Engine not only breaks from the all-too present Unreal engine FPS clones flooding the market, but also allows for some amazing graphical capabilities. You’ll fight through epic battles filled with literally hundreds of NPCs on the screen at the same time, all with an advanced AI and all without a hint of graphical slowdown and all set against wide-open environments that are lushly detailed and dynamically lighted.
  

• Compelling Storyline: Darkest of Days is a compelling, action-packed first-person shooter to be sure, but it’s not just mindless run-and-gun, blow ‘em up gameplay. You’ll have to not only think about how to approach certain key battles and situations, but you’ll also have to take care when fighting – certain key people that were never meant to die will be marked with a special blue aura. If you kill them, you’ll face dire consequences…
  

Darkest of Days is rated M for Mature by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) for blood, strong language and violence. For more information about Darkest of Days, please visit www.darkestofdays.com. 

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