Whiptail Interactive, a cutting-edge videogame publisher with titles such as Postal 2 and Gangland (among others) already under its belt, announced today that it will publish Restricted Area in North America. Developed by Master Creating, Restricted Area recently shipped in Germany where it enjoyed a warm reception from both press and consumers alike; being nominated in five categories for the 2004 German Developer Awards, including Best PC Game, Best Game Characters, and Best Story/Gameworld. The action RPG title will ship in the US late in the first quarter of 2005 for the PC.

"We're really looking forward to bringing Restricted Area to the North American gaming audience," said Joe Muoio, President of Whiptail Interactive. "This will be our second release for 2005 and we expect it to do very well."

Restricted Area catapults players into the year 2083 where, as a result of environmental pollution, most of the earth is covered by mutant inhabited wastelands and contaminated deserts. The global government is weak and mega-corporations have become a law unto themselves. Players begin the game by choosing one of four totally unique characters. Their choice determines how the story will play out.

Though an RPG at its core, Restricted Area places an emphasis on action thus translating into faster gameplay for the player. In addition to a challenging, story-driven single-player campaign that has been likened to a futuristic Diablo II, Restricted Area also boasts a robust cooperative multiplayer feature that enables players to team up and engage enemies together.

"After the game´s extraordinary success in Germany we are thrilled to be working with a strong partner like Whiptail Interactive on the international release," said Jan Beuck, Creative Director at Master Creating. "The feedback from gamers worldwide has been fantastic so far and we are grateful to those fans."