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Riddick Remake coming from Starbreeze
According to UK magazine MCV, Starbreeze will be revisiting The Chronicles of Riddick after finishing The Darkness. Pro-G reports that the game, reportedly a remake, will be called The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena and that the game will feature a longer single-player campaign, online multiplayer support, and a developer's commentary mode. Frankly, we really dig the idea of hearing developer commentary as we play. Perhaps this is a feature we might see in more new-gen titles. When Pro-G contacted Vivendi Games for comment, a representative wouldn't provide any details but noted that an announcement is expected soon.Anyone out there excited to fight their way through a retooled Riddick?[Via Joystiq]
MCV: Riddick remake coming to 360, PS3
Update: Sierra has confirmed the "reinvention" of Riddick.With The Darkness now a month away from being in their rearview, developer Starbreeze will be returning to its old punching grounds with a remake of the surprisingly good Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, according to UK industry mag MCV. The story has also popped up in Game Informer.Pro-G reports that the game is currently titled The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena and is headed to Xbox 360 and PS3. It's also apparently got online multiplayer and a "developer's commentary mode" which has us praying that Vin Diesel has time to make a special guest appearance. (Spoiler alert: He does.) Vivendi apparently wouldn't confirm the story to Pro-G, but said that an announcement would be coming soon: We're already turning off all the lights and drinking protein shakes in anticipation.
The Darkness demo slated for early June
A bulletin recently posted by the official MySpace page of the upcoming 2K title, The Darkness, has clarified several details about the new release. The juiciest of these tidbits is the revelation that a demo is slated to be released before the game hits store shelves. The bulletin notes that the demo won't be finished in time to make any magazine covers, so it will download only. Currently, the demo is scheduled to arrive approximately 3 weeks before the title debuts on June 25th, so it should be on Marketplace in the first week of June or so.Also mentioned in the bulletin, a new video has been created, though it has yet to escape the evil clutches of the "certain voluntarily regulatory agencies." We can't imagine what sort of agency would prevent the distribution of horrifyingly violent material, but then again we're to desensitized to judge anymore. The bulletin also reveals that those who pre-order the title from EB or GameStop get an exclusive 2K Sports Darkling that wields a baseball bat. Nice.Here's hoping the demo comes out sooner rather than later.[Thanks, Ben Furneaux]
Box Art unveiled from The Darkness
DAKing420240 got his grubby paws on the box art for The Darkness, which looks mighty fine, albeit slightly on the small side. None the less, we love the art direction on the cover, from the golden glow from all the eyes and logo, the muted palette with the bluish-black overtone. All in all it looks very sexy, and we can't wait to get our hands on this game in just shy of two months. That, and we can't post about The Darkness without mentioning how badass Mike Patton is, as the voice of the title character. Will you be brandishing this on your gaming shelf or does the spiritual successor to Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay not interest you?
The Darkness shall be unleashed in June
Starbreeze's newest title The Darkness has been talked about over and over again. By us, mostly. Screenshots here, plot outline there, you know. The usual. Anyway, it's been released that June 25th will be the tentative release date. This is good because there's that summertime lull in good games (Lair is in May, and Heavenly Sword is... later) and releasing this title in that frame will give it a better chance to get into people's hands -- even if just for a rental.The funny thing is, this announcement was apparently made via MySpace. I don't like the thing, so I'm not going to sift through the crap to find the announcement, but hey. It's a medium to deliver news in the same way YouTube is, probably. That's all we've got to say about this! We'll keep you up on details as they surface.
The Darkness has a birth date ... June 25 US, June 29 Europe
Reader Ben tipped us off to the the official MySpace page for The Darkness -- the upcoming comic-book adaptation by Starbreeze Studios -- which announces "The Darkness has a birth date" of June 25th for the good, old US of A, and June 29th for Europe. Two birthdays is a tad unusual, so we decided to accept June 25th as the game's real birthday.June 25th? That means The Darkness shares a birthday with The Office's Ricky Gervais, Planet's Funniest Animals' Matt Gallant, singer Carly Simon, writer George Orwell, British admiral Lord Mountbatten and, of course, Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. It will be a Cancer, known to be both imaginative and intuitive, but also hypersensitive and moody. Ruh roh, better not piss it off. [Thanks, Ben]%Gallery-2283%
The Darkness trailer creeps out XBLM
The Darkness trailer that was released on the interweb last week is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. So, if screen-door-quality internet streaming video isn't your cup of tea, you can now download it in glorious High Definition. It's definitely worth checking out in HD, too, as the graphical fidelity is top notch in The Darkness. What we're getting at here is that the game looks nice. Well, nice may not be the proper word. Let's see ... gruesome, that's the word! It looks gruesome. Of course, if you're stuck at work and can't download it now, you can always check out the streaming version we posted earlier. Enjoy.Who's planning on picking up The Darkness?
New Darkness trailer emerges
If you can say one thing about Starbreeze Studios, it's that they know how to make a pretty game. Chronicles of Riddick stands as one of the best looking games on the original Xbox, and Starbreeze's latest, The Darkness, looks to do the same for the Xbox 360. GameTrailers has released the latest trailer for the game, featuring some impressive in game footage. Both the environments and the characters show off some serious polish. Everything is sharp, clear, and clean. Even better, the game looks like it might have a story that's worth seeing (the voice acting is top notch, too). Check out the trailer after the break.
Hands-on impressions from The Darkness
The subject line should technically read "of The Darkness" but that doesn't sound anywhere near as cryptic. It seems comic-book fans (or shall we say "graphic novel" fans) have something to get excited about, as IGN released a very glowing hands-on impression of the title recently. Their subtitle is even "Starbreeze delivers the essence of evil like no other" so you know there's something going for this game. Let's break down what they enjoyed: Semi-famous actors/singers lend their talents as voiceovers, perform well. The opening sequence is amazing... in IGN's words: "The opening sequence is like one long Martin Scorsese car chase with no cuts, all sorts of foul language, car crashes, gun fighting, and a stylistic sense of graphic beauty and sheer intensity." The direction, clarity, and style perfectly compliment the source material. While it was played with the 360, the translation to PS3 controls makes it sound like a pretty easy-to-use control scheme. The demon's eyes are your health bar -- the dimmer they get, the closer you are to kicking the bucket. Also of note is the Halo-style health regeneration: sit still without getting shot at, you'll heal up. You get to shoot out lights -- the demons don't like the light... Lots of weapons, coupled with the demon heads, in addition to summoning Darklings up from predetermined locations really give you the sense of having a lot at your disposal -- almost a bit too much. Supposedly things change in later levels. Multiplayer was a load of fun. Playing as a Darkling, shimmying up walls and waiting in dark corners to pounce on an opponent seemed to be a very pleasant feature. Glad to hear it. Well, it seems that IGN enjoys the game. The 360 and PS3 will have a lot of fun with this one when it comes out. What do you guys think? We've posted a lot about this game, but mostly just screenshots. Now that you've got a little bit more info at your disposal, what are your hands-off impressions?
The Darkness gameplay video sees the light
Godfree over at Gamertagradio sent us a gameplay video for The Darkness. It looks pretty slick and shows off the great lighting in the game, which, considering the title, would pretty much have to be. It also displays some of the gunplay as well as The Darkness' powers. We're looking forward to seeing more on this from Starbreeze. Are you going to be watching this title as close as we are until its spring release?
NYCC: Hands-on with The Darkness
Warning: This video contains scenes of extreme violence and gore. It ends with a torture sequence which may not be appropriate for the faint of heart. Viewer discretion is advised.Top Cow's ultra-violent, ultra-cool comic The Darkness is heading to the PS3 and Xbox 360 in the summer, and attendees of New York Comic Con were treated to a special playable preview of the game. The game comes from the developers of the equally dark Chronicles of Riddick on ye olde Xbox, and it looks like Starbreeze is about to deliver another equally compelling and original FPS game. Just like Riddick before it, The Darkness looks to not only borrow from the license, but add a great deal of depth to it as well.The playable build at NYCC offered both single and multiplayer components. The single player demo certainly started with a memorable bang. You're in a Hollywood-style car chase: your comrades are wildly shooting around you, as cars are being flipped, crashed into, and destroyed in a cornucopia of chaos. Although it's basically an on-rails segment, it feels truly engrossing: you have control over your character's view, but you'll have to fight the wind and momentum of the car. It's really quite spectacular.
Shhh ... let's peer into The Darkness
Starbreeze, the studio behind The Darkness, sat down with Gamespot for a little Q&A session. Producer Denby Grace talks briefly about the story, multiplayer elements, and how far in development they are. It's kind of interesting to see how they adapted the story from a comic book series called Resurrection and how the studio put their spin on things. Very cool. We're thinking that The Darkness is going to be one of those sickeningly demented games ... something we'll welcome with open arms. Starbreeze studios knows what they are doing, they did make The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, so what's your opinion on The Darkness and its potential?[Thanks, Jonah]
The Darkness nearing "spit and polish" phase
Developers at Starbreeze have been hard at work on The Darkness, hoping to keep the quality of their titles up to snuff. Following the surprisingly well-received Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay for the XBox, we don't blame them for wanting to create something just as fun. The game's scheduled for release in the second quarter of 2007 for multiple consoles, boasting a step away from generic FPS action and throwing in superhero traits and elements -- it's based on a comic book, after all.Now, you can read the interview to learn more about the game's plot and such (but we don't like ruining it even a little bit) or you can stay here and we'll tell you what makes the Blu-ray/PS3 version of the game pretty neat. Denby Grace of Take-Two says: "Blu-ray offers us around 25GB to play with, so we're looking to license old TV shows, adverts, and cartoons to build entire TV channels in the game. You can actually turn on the TVs in the game and watch a film, watch a TV series, anything you want really. It's a little bit gimmicky, but at the same time, it's a really cool feature." So, um, yeah... that's an interesting choice. Still, kind of cool.As far as multiplayer goes, there's not much talked about in the sense of modes or weaponry specifics, but there is a distinct Aliens Vs. Predator feel to it -- one type of creature you can play as will be able to climb walls, attack with claws, see in the dark... where the humans can use a multitude of guns and scream when they get pounced by... The Darkness!
Scary new screens of The Darkness
It seems like The Darkness looks a little better every time we see it. Gamertag Radio got their hands on 21 new screens of the game, and they look sharp. The amount of detail and the use of lighting is very nice. Considering The Darkness is coming from the same people that brought us The Chronicles of Riddick, it's not exactly surprising that they're delivering a pretty game. More importantly, it looks like it will fun to play, too. Throw in some sweet multiplayer and we should have another great 360 title. The Darkness is expected to drop this quarter. Anyone got it on their wish list?
The Darkness meets The Interview
CVG recently sat down with Starbreeze, developers of The Chronicles of Riddick (and the underrated Enclave), to talk about their upcoming 360 title, The Darkness. The interview covers a number of topics, including why Starbreeze decided to tackle a relatively unknown comic and what sort of pressure they feel after Riddick became a huge success on the original Xbox. The developers admit that putting a shooter out for the 360 in the wake of Gears is "intimidating," but they remain focused on presenting the best game possible. They cover all the basic questions about what it's like to develop for 360 and how involved the comic creators are. Our favorite exchange involves the developers discussing the difficulty of bonding with a hitman, the main character of The Darkness. "The Darkness is quite a dark character - a hitman. Although he suffers from the normal trials and issues that we all do.""Yes, like 'Who do I want kill?'"We can all identify with that, right? Hit the read link for the full interview.[Via Digg]
Screenshots for The Darkness revealed!
Goodness gracious, if we were paid a nickel every time we made a statement about how [Game X with a name relating to dark] has been [brought to light, unveiled, revealed, pun about dark], we'd never have to work again. Not really, we'd have like 35 cents. Still. The game's developers have remained hush-hush about the actual gameplay, but have decided to tease us with some screenshots of the comic-book Mafia hitman, Jacky Estacado, and his shenanigans. We're not too sure what's going down in the picture we've got here, but it looks pretty dangerous for Mr. Red Jumpsuit. Anyway, check out the other screenshots and the humorously translated webpage they're on, then leave us your thoughts.
The Darkness, the first FPS with tentacles
More from 1UP, as they have released a video of the behind-closed-doors demo of The Darkness from E3. The game looks pretty interesting, if not earth shattering. The highlight, of course, is the the dark powers of the lead character. Able to see in the dark, summon beasties to kill foes, use tentacles to fling cars about with reckless abandon, and open black vortexes that suck in anything nearby, our hero is pretty slick. One of the more interesting bits in the game is the ability to flip on a TV and see actual video. Seriously, there's an actual Popeye cartoon on the TV in the game. The developers, Starbreeze, claim that this feature is truly next gen and makes The Darkness stand out. So now I can watch TV on my TV. What will they think of next? See the video after the break.
Who's afraid of the Darkness?
Xboxic goes hands-on with The Darkness and seem impressed. They also got their mitts on Splinter Cell: Double Agent, I although I found their take on the latter game a little dismissive. Sure, it's "just another Splinter Cell game," (with plenty of next-gen polish) but since when is that a bad thing?
Creepy pics of The Darkness
Xboxygen has posted some nice -- mildly disturbing -- images of The Darkness, Starbreeze's horror themed FPS. Starbreeze was behind Chronicles of Riddick -- and the underrated Enclave -- so they have quite a legacy to live up to. Hopefully, The Darkness will deliver. If these screens are anything to go by, it looks like it will.Anyone looking forward to this one?
The Darkness Lead Designer favors Blu-ray
PS3Land.com scored some Question and Answer time with the Swedish studs at Starbreeze Studios. Having ironed out The Chronicles of Riddick among other titles, they're now tackling The Darkness (based on the comic) for PlayStation 3.A notable quote from the interview came from when Lead Designer Jens Andersson spoke on his personal experience with developing for the PS3 and the new Blu-ray medium: "Personally, I think Blu-Ray is going to be the thing that will make most difference. Since the start of the development we've been discussing whether or not we will fit the game onto one DVD, and that is not counting all the bonus materials we want to cram onto the disc."So having all that extra space is showing some merit already. There are some in-house readers who would agree with that, based on our previous Blu-ray poll. Now it's just a matter of time before we see the advantages for ourselves.
