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Ready at Dawn's new game is nothing like 'The Order'
While Ready at Dawn developers were working on The Order: 1886, they saturated themselves in big-budget single-player experiences. The office's gaming nook was usually occupied by one person running through a gorgeous digital world as developers studied 3-D environments, motion-captured facial expressions and cinematic cut scenes. In the end, Ready at Dawn created a beautiful game that was widely criticized for its lack of mechanical or narrative innovation. For many players, The Order was missing something. That thing might have been a sense of pure, unadulterated fun -- specifically for more than one person at a time.
GameStop starts its own game publishing wing
Now that GameStop has dipped its toes into game publishing, it's ready to jump in with both feet: the retailer has launched GameTrust, its own publishing division. The new wing will initially handle titles from existing partner Insomniac Games (of Ratchet & Clank fame) as well as Frozenbyte (Trine), Ready At Dawn (The Order: 1886) and Tequila Works (Deadlight). As you might guess, this isn't a traditional publishing business. GameStop is taking a hands-off approach to the actual content. Instead, it wants to create "exclusive real estate" online and in physical stores to help people discover indie games that might otherwise get missed.
JXE Streams: Fight the werewolves of London in 'The Order: 1886'
Sometimes you just have to walk in blind. Could there be monsters waiting inside the dimly lit alleyways of The Order: 1886's merry London town? Of course! Could the game be god awful? Almost certainly. That isn't going to stop JXE Streams from walking into the game, having never played a single second of it previously, for a solid two hour stream this afternoon.
'The Order: 1886' is the latest in a long line of beautiful, boring games
The Order: 1886 isn't anything new, but man, is it pretty. Every review I've read mentions just how absurdly good-looking the PlayStation 4 exclusive is (out today); that praise is buried under heaps of valid criticisms regarding monotonous gameplay and hackneyed storytelling. Based on what I've played, I'm inclined to agree. Regardless of the pretty visuals, I've yet to be tasked with doing anything particularly interesting. The cover-based shooting is adequate, but I just can't shake the feeling that I've done it all before in better games. What's more, the narrative is incredibly dull: non-interactive scenes plod on for too long, helmed by characters I have zero connection with, spouting rote dialog that's difficult to decipher more often than not. Its just not very good. But it is pretty!
Ready at Dawn: 'Maybe we should reconsider' PSP development
We've heard of buyer's remorse. Even seller's remorse. But mailer's remorse? That could be afflicting developer Ready at Dawn, as the company jokes that it might have been too hasty when it turned its back on Sony's portable and marked all of its PSP dev kits 'return to sender.' The company announced in June that it was "officially done with PSP development," but after seeing both Daxter and God of War: Chains of Olympus among the top 5 PSP games sold on Amazon last week, the studio is cheekily patting its own back."Maybe we should reconsider this whole 'no more PSP games' thing because we seem to be pretty good at it," reads a post on Ready at Dawn's blog. We're inclined to agree, even if it is in jest. With a few more studios like you around, maybe the PSP wouldn't need a life raft to stay afloat.
Ready at Dawn talks abandoning the PSP, piracy and being original
When it comes to developer Ready at Dawn, creating games for the PSP is just so last week. But while the company has closed the book on any PSP aspirations, going so far as to mail its entire stock of dev kits back to Sony, the developer of both Daxter and God of War: Chains of Olympus has played the reason for abandoning PSP development close to its chest.It's a mystery, but mysteries give us headaches, so we tracked down Ready At Dawn's president, Didier Malenfant, to find out why exactly the studio has turned up its nose at developing for Sony's sexed-up portable. "We feel like we've done everything we wanted to do with the PSP," admitted the exec. "We have new projects on other platforms and we like to focus on one thing at a time." Even so, Didier championed the state of PSP development, stating matter-of-factly "Good games sell. Who would have thought?"
Daxter plushie is incredibly adorable
What an adorable Daxter plushie. It's so cute you just want to grab it and squeeze the life out of the thing. It's a really sweet ode to the weasel-like hero. In case you're wondering, this cuddly little snuggle toy was made by Deviant Art member Chao-Fangirl. We wonder if she'll make us one of her plushies. Maybe she will ... if we ask really nicely. [Thanks Max! Via That Girl's Site]
Nega-review: God of War: Chains of Olympus
"Chains of Olympus doesn't quite live up to the other God of War games." (4) "Ready at Dawn didn't mess with the franchise's proven formula whatsoever, which is ... one of our ... gripes for the game." (3) "Gameplay-wise, nothing much has changed ... You still run around and beat the beejezus [sic] out of enemies and then meet up with the occasional boss fight." (5) "I wish that Ready at Dawn had added something new the canon rather than just re-using what's been done in the past." (7)"The game feels a bit too familiar ... [and] at times you do feel like you've played the game before." (7) That said, "the game is missing some of the features from other God of War games. ... you won't find the ability to use your blades on grappling points, the Icarus Wings, Rage of the Gods, rope traversal, rope swinging, a fourth magic, etc." (4) "I find myself disappointed ... that the game doesn't quite have the same feeling of showing you something new around every corner that the previous games did." (4) "The game is also brutally linear: you're constantly running from point A to point B, stopping to administer the occasional beatdown." (5) It could also be described as "a very linear experience, (3) that "may be a touch linear." (9) "Toward the end, combat got pretty repetitious, relying really heavily on the mechanic of blocking you into a room and not letting you out until you finished taking down the waves of enemies." (1) "It would have been nice to have seen a little experimentation here or there to mix things up. (3) "Altogether, ... the game feels like a bit less of an adventure and more of a straightforward action game." (4)
God of War: Chains of Olympus goes gold
We typically don't do posts when games go gold, but Ready at Dawn's declaration that God of War: Chains of Olympus is ready to print on UMDs has two things going for it. First, GoW: Chains of Olympus is arguably the most high-profile PSP release outside Japan EVAR. Second, well, there are just some awesomely fun photos of the team's celebration after the game was finally done.Ready at Dawn's jamboree also means that Chains of Olympus should most definitely make its March 4 release date. Don't have a PSP and still need to get your Kratos on? If the rumor mill holds true the game will see its day on the PS2 at some point in the future. Congrats to the team at Ready at Dawn, may your hangovers be kind and gentle.[Via PSP Fanboy]%Gallery-3184%
PSP's Daxter sells 2 million copies in 2 years
Developer Ready at Dawn, currently preparing God of War: Chains of Olympus for March 4 release, announced its freshman effort Daxter has sold over two million copies worldwide. Sure, two million sold for a game which released in 2006 isn't an insane sprint in terms of sales, but it's a marathon victory. The game certainly benefited from being bundled with new PSPs last year, but the developer says Daxter saw its best sales in nearly two years during December '07.Ready at Dawn notes that it can only look forward to GoW: Chains of Olympus doing better than its first project. Considering our experiences with Kratos' handheld adventure so far, there's not too much Ready at Dawn needs to worry about.[Via PSP Fanboy]
Okami Wii-ports for duty on March 25
You people should be thanking Ready at Dawn for providing you with a means of escape from the unforgiving and surprisingly creative torture we had planned for all Okami skippers. By purchasing the "exact" Wii port of Clover Studios' beautiful swan song when it releases on March 25th (the date Capcom says it's "currently driving towards"), you'll earn yourself a chance at redemption. And by the time you're actually playing it on March 26th (the intro is a bit on the long side), you'll thank us for pointing you to the best Zelda game in years.
PSP God of War's boosted clock speed comparison
God of War and its sequel for the PS2 had a reputation for being the dreamiest guy in school -- the Zack Morris of the system, if you will. So it makes sense that developer Ready at Dawn would want their latest project, God of War: Chains of Olympus, to hold a similar honor for the PSP -- and since the release of firmware update 3.50 for the system earlier this year, Sony has made their job much, much easier.The firmware update unlocks the system's true capabilities, upping the system's measly 222MHz processing speed to a respectable 333MHz. It doesn't make your old games look any better, but developers of new games on the system can reap the rewards of the 50 percent processing speed boost. Just check out the video comparison of the game running at the two different clock speeds above, and see how Ready at Dawn gussied up their handheld take on the PS2 swan song.
Ready at Dawn drawn to current-gen consoles
With work on God of War: Chains of Olympus coming to an end in March, developer Ready at Dawn is already planning an excursion beyond the PSP's portable realm. In a lengthy interview with 1UP, the studio discusses how easily the Greek-on-the-go got the green light thanks to the hard work put into the well-received Daxter. "The first meeting just went like 'we should make a God of War PSP game' and they were like 'yeah you should.' And that was pretty much it," quipped the game's director, Ru Weerasuriya.Once Kratos is out of the way, Ready at Dawn hopes to put on a similarly impressive show on that system you currently have chained to your television. "This team is ready to move onto something pretty big, and we've [been] planning it for quite a while, and this team needs to show what they're capable of doing on next-gen or current-gen." Expect to hear more about Something Pretty Big as soon as the team gives Okami its deserved second chance on the Wii. [Via PSP Fanboy]
Ready at Dawn raises sun on Okami for Wii
The rumors were true and Capcom is porting PS2 gem Okami to the Wii, now it's time for some details. 1UP reports that Ready at Dawn, developers of the depressingly pseudo-delayed God of War: Chains of Olympus, will handle the porting. Capcom was looking for a developer to port Okami to the Wii last year as "the PS2 release suffered from shipping amidst the flurry of next-generation consoles." At GDC '07 execs from Ready at Dawn expressed their admiration for the game to Capcom's senior director of research and strategic planning -- they got the offer within a week.There's no word if additional content will be created for the Wii version; Capcom says that all depends if Ready at Dawn gets the primary game finished in time (they can use extra time to add stuff). Okami is expected in the first half of '08.
God of War: Chains of Olympus hits March 4th
Gamespot is reporting that God of War: Chains of Olympus will hit store shelves on March 4th, 2008. No price or ESRB rating has been announced yet. This prequel to the original God of War seems like a far away release, but thankfully, the UMD demo coming this month with its new unseen level will help pass the time. And if you're not getting that demo in the mail, one (which may or may not be the same as the UMD) will be available on the Internet, and of course, hosted in our demo section as well.
God of War demo disc to feature unrevealed level
The press has only played one level from God of War: Chains of Olympus. Whether at E3 or PAX, Ready at Dawn has been incredibly secretive of its PSP exclusive title. For once, gamers will have the first look at the game, able to see a never-before-revealed level, the Cave of Eos. "In this level, the player is introduced to Eos, the goddess of Dawn. She will reveal events of the story that will lead you further in your quest, but getting to her is no easy task. You will have to defeat a multitude of enemies to progress, one of which is a new take on a God of War classic, the blood-lusting Minotaur. The rewards awaiting you are a new magic granted by Eos that adds to the vast array of mechanics Kratos already posses. But to advanced to the end of the level, Kratos will have to prove himself by using his new abilities to solve a challenge so deadly it could have only been created by the Gods of Olympus."We can't wait. The demo is unleashed to the world later this month.
God of War dev buys homemade God of War PSP
Remember this incredible piece of God of War fandom? This user-modded system caught our eye for its close attention to detail and fine use of "kicking ass." But the story isn't over ... It looks like Ramon Stokes, creator of the system, got a lot more than the winning bid of $1725 in his eBay auction.Chains of Olympus dev team, Ready at Dawn, took notice of Ramon's system and decided to fly him out to their studios "to make sure the PSP wouldn't get damaged during shipping." Yeah, sure.Ramon was also able to play the upcoming Chains of Olympus demo, talk to the development team, and get treated like a God of Olympus. Looks like this God of War hit the jackpot for his fandom (and we're jealous!).[Via Joystiq]
Chains of Olympus will "change the course of the GoW mythology"
A lot of random snippets of information was released in today's chat with the God of War: Chains of Olympus development team. In the chat held for fans, Ready at Dawn revealed a few facts about the game: The game is still on track for a Winter release. Set ten years before the original God of War, Kratos will meet many characters from the previous PS2 God of War titles through his adventure. After the murder of his family, Kratos renounces his service to Ares, and he decides to serve the other gods of Olympus to try and rid him of his nightmares. Voice actors from previous games will return in Chains of Olympus. Linda Hunt will return to narrate the game. "You will have multiple weapons with a new twist on how they integrate into the storyline." The game has been in development since Daxter shipped. The game will have counter attacks -- but whether or not it will be similar to God of War II's Golden Fleece was not revealed.
Naughty Dog director lured to Ready At Dawn by new IP
Former Naughty Dog creative director Daniel Arey has joined the gang at Ready At Dawn to assume a similar role for an unannounced original IP. "When I first got the chance to hear about this new property, I immediately knew I had to be a part of it and get a chance to join forces with the ... talent over at Ready At Dawn," said Arey of the job change.Already compromised of a few former Naughty Dogs, Ready At Dawn should prove an easy transition for Arey, whose 10 years of work at his former studio yielded a pair of successful franchises in Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter. While Ready At Dawn has quickly established itself as a leading developer for PSP (Daxter, God of War: Chains of Olympus), the California-based studio has not revealed which platform it's targeted for this new project.
Ready at Dawn finishing God of War, moving on to new IP
Ready at Dawn instantly hit it big when it released Daxter on PSP. Now, it appears they're putting the finishing touches on their upcoming PSP game, God of War: Chains of Olympus. After God of War is completed, what will Ready at Dawn work on next?It appears they plan on working on a new IP. Whether or not it will arrive on PSP is unclear. However, considering their technical know-how with the platform, we hope that they'll continue developing for Sony's handheld.Dan Arey, former Creative Director of Naughty Dog, has joined Ready at Dawn to work on the new project. Under Arey, Naughty Dog has worked on games such as Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Daxter, and the upcoming Uncharted. "It was actually a very easy decision to make," said Dan Arey, "because when I first got the chance to hear about this new property, I immediately knew I had to be a part of it and get a chance to join forces with the incredible talent over at Ready At Dawn Studios. These guys have taken the time to mature their team, their technology and this new concept. Believe me, this is going to be something special." We can't wait to find out more.[Update: In an interview with GI.biz, Arey talks about Ready at Dawn's multiplatform capabilities. Is he hinting that Ready at Dawn is ready to move on? "With a data driven engine that's platform agnostic, these guys are now in the amazing position to work on any platform they choose ... The great thing about the RAD development pipeline is that it has been cross-platform - PSP / Windows - from the beginning, which means the technology can migrate to any platform."][Thanks, Joe!]
