SpawnPoint - Where Game Begins

December 22nd 2010: The wait for Christmas is usually long and frustrating – but fans of Doctor Who and the BBC's ground-breaking series of Adventure Games have today received an unexpected gift: the release of Shadows of the Vashta Nerada, which is now available to download for free from the BBC's website (www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho).

The episode is one of the most spectacular Doctor Who adventures yet, taking place entirely under water, and featuring a 50-foot alien shark as the main enemy.

Kicking off immediately following the cliff-hanger ending of episode three, Shadows of the Vashta Nerada sees the Doctor and Amy materialise just south of London (and about a 1000 miles to the left) inside an aquatic sea-bed colony called Poseidon.

Executive produced by Steven Moffat and written by Doctor Who writer Phil Ford (The Waters of Mars, Torchwood), the game sees the return of Matt Smith and Karen Gillan in digital form – as the Doctor and Amy face their biggest adventure yet.

"We're going to end Series One of Doctor Who: The Adventure Games with an enormous splash," says Phil Ford, writer of Shadows of the Vashta Nerada. "The episode is set entirely under water. Which is great because it's been one of my ambitions to have the Doctor and Amy threatened by a fifty-foot shark-like monster – and thanks to the magic of the computer games, that ambition is fulfilled. Now to build an actual, working, real-life TARDIS..."

Shadows of the Vashta Nerada is the concluding episode in series one of the Doctor Who: The Adventure Games, which have been produced a team drawing on the very best talent from TV and gaming. The interactive episodes are executive produced by Steven Moffat, Piers Wenger, Beth Willis and with Anwen Aspden (BBC Wales Interactive), alongside Charles Cecil, one of videogaming's most revered creators. The games are being developed by Sumo Digital, one of the UK's best game designers. Stories and scripts are from Phil Ford (co-writer Doctor Who 'The Waters of Mars') and James Moran (Doctor Who, Torchwood Children of Earth).

Shadows of the Vashta Nerada is now available on PC and Mac from the Doctor Who website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/theadventuregames). The game is available for no extra cost to UK households. Users outside the UK can to purchase and download it on the same date – details available on the Doctor Who website.
Doctor Who: The Adventure Games will return in 2011.