Design your own Freedom Force hero and win a spot in the game!

Have you always wanted to be a game designer? Do you think the Freedom Force heroes are lame and you can do better? Have you been secretly creating heroes for years and hiding them away in a notebook under your bed? Well, here's your big chance to show the world your secret talent:

Irrational is giving fans of freedom the chance to design their very own hero to help defeat those pesky Nazis in Freedom Force vs. The 3rd Reich. After taking the opportunity to view the amazing array of original characters created by the fan community, we said to ourselves, "Okay, these guys are getting too good not to include some of their work in the game." The winner's work will be viewed by gamers worldwide; how cool is that? Five runners-up will receive a free copy of Freedom Force vs. The 3rd Reich. All entries must include a brief description of your character, his or her name and special power, and an origin story of less than 250 words. See the Calling All Heroes! contest announcement for more details.

Also new in the world of Irrational, three of our games currently in development will appear at the World Cyber Games Championship Expo in San Francisco. This event will take place from October 7th through 10th and show off many soon-to-be-released games from a variety of developers. There are tournaments, product and game exhibits, open gaming and prizes, which are always a good thing. So if you are in the SF area and want to get a sneak peek at Freedom Force vs. The 3rd Reich, SWAT 4 and Tribes: Vengeance, check it out.

Irrational's Bill Gardner will be there to present Freedom Force, so if you see him you should feel free to ask many, many questions about why Irrational has not come out with System Shock 3. More information on the expo can be found at the expo official web site.

--- Meredith Levine