Free Radical's fate to be decided this week
by David Hinkle 
{ Feb 2nd 2009 at 10:30AM }
Now, it looks like we'll know on Wednesday if that's to be, as ReSolve Partners, the restructuring administrator handling this dark time for Free Radical, has revealed that the fate of the company will be announced to one and all on February 4th. Hopefully, somebody ends up rescuing the company, because we'd hate to see Free Radical become permanently affixed to our layoffs tag. ReSolve has said that it's prepared to split up technology, IPs, and other assets if it cannot sell the company as a whole, or if the prospect of a more lucrative sale arises.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Maverick Saturn @ Feb 2nd 2009 10:36AM
This is your chance Sony / Micro / Nintendo, buy them while they're going cheap!
DarkCalx @ Feb 3rd 2009 8:17AM
Hell, anyone!
EA, Blizzard/Activision, 2K, SquareEnix...
perfectchaos @ Feb 2nd 2009 10:36AM
don't forget that hit game second sight!
Guibs @ Feb 2nd 2009 10:41AM
Wasn't it Rare that made Goldeneye ?
PSN: Aggie_CEO @ Feb 2nd 2009 10:46AM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Radical_Design
Roto13 @ Feb 2nd 2009 10:51AM
Key members of the Goldeneye/Perfect Dark team split off and formed Free Radical. If you're wondering why Perfect Dark Zero was so blah.
HighFiveJesus @ Feb 2nd 2009 12:02PM
nobody was wondering why perfect dark was bad, they already knew it was a steller game with universal praise.
Roto13 @ Feb 2nd 2009 3:13PM
Yep, because Perfect Dark was an amazing game. But not Perfect Dark Zero.
Wiinterfang @ Feb 2nd 2009 5:16PM
it was still better than Haze...they should reunited again.
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Feb 2nd 2009 7:43PM
Perfect Dark Zero is not all that…Okay you got me there. I blame how they changed Joanna Dark from a 007 sort of agent into a rookie, the brief levels, confusing design and pretty generic multiplayer.
I forgive Rare because Nuts and bolts kicks ass.
Funny but after the argument with longhorn (Okay after I owned him, made him my b*tch etc etc) I decided to play the game thinking it was shit to see if I was missing something. I have this tendency to take other persons points of views (Which also makes me good at my job)
Even with my rage helmet on and dropping F bombs here and there the game managed to put a smile in my face in less than 15 minutes. Is just that funny and with all the games out there trying to be realistic is good to see one that is funny, family friendly and doesn’t insult your intelligence but instead rewards it. I like the challenges you can resolve thinking outside of the box.
I really tried to hate it and think it was sh*t but I just couldn’t but thank you longhorn I promise to myself I would never play this again after getting 100% but the game is still a lot of fun and way better than completing GTA IV.I really don’t get why people don’t like it and pwning n00bs online with the Star Trek Enterprise is really fun.
(The only critic I could think off is that Aerial soccer is incredibly hard and some of my team members were really uncooperative.)
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Feb 2nd 2009 7:50PM
*of.
PSN: Aggie_CEO @ Feb 2nd 2009 10:47AM
Sony is saying focus more on Software right?????
Perfect time for them, but I doubt it will happen.
Maverick Saturn @ Feb 2nd 2009 10:52AM
Exactly, and I think Timesplitters exclusive could be great for them
PSN: Aggie_CEO @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:00AM
yea, not to mention Haze had SO much potential that if it get some funding Haze 2 could be rather promising. that is if they got better writers
Maverick Saturn @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:02AM
Well Guerilla proved that making a comeback is possible if given time, right assistance, funding and advice
HighFiveJesus @ Feb 2nd 2009 12:03PM
haze does NOT need a sequel.
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Feb 2nd 2009 7:57PM
*funding
That's the key word.
Hey look at Bungie they passed from games that used the Doom engine to games that sell millions.
(Now that the problem is that if those devs ever decide to separate without having the rights of the games that made them famous they pass from selling millions to barely selling games.)
Juthan @ Feb 2nd 2009 10:55AM
Haze was red-stickered for $20 the other night at Target, so I bought it. And as no surprise to me, people totally overreacted to the quality of Haze.
Haze is fun. Yes, I said it. Haze is fun.
Sure, it has some of the worst voice acting I have ever heard in a game, sure the dialog is 100% throwaway, sure the protagonist is a tool, sure they took away Mantel from you too soon--I was just getting to love Nectar, too, (but the opposing faction isn't that bad), and sure some of the graphics (especially the fire from the flamethrower) is abysmal, but the gameplay is just fine. Yes, the gameplay--that thing that doesn't involve just the graphics--is fun.
Is Haze worth the full price? Absolutely not. However, it isn't as bad as most made it out to be.
PSN: Aggie_CEO @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:01AM
I paid $15 like 5 months ago for mine. I mean I thought it was ok but the writers did a shitty job. gameplay was fairly well with a few exceptions.
acefondu @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:15AM
I only played the demo, but I really didn't find it fun at all and I was hyped up for this game. I can't put my finger on it, but the game play simply felt off. It felt like the enemies were too hard to spot, sniping felt useless, it just wasn't polished at all. I like to feel like I have control over the outcome. Playing that demo I felt like I was stumbling upon enemies and then dispatching them with no difficulty, and it wasn't fun killing them either. And I couldn't overlook how crappy the writing was, it was THAT bad, and I had just come off my second run through of Crysis that's saying something.
Sir Buzz Killington( The Artist formerly known as Jakka) @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:29AM
7-10 games are considered great.
1-6 games are utter shit you wouldn't touch with a 40ft pole.
As much as I like to rag on Haze to get some cheap laughs, 70/100 on Metacritic wouldn't make both this and Too Human crap if the industry wasn't such a broken piece of shit.
It seems like the infamous H4.5E from IGN combined with fanboys hyping it as the 'next killer system selling app' are main causes of it's downfall.
Lars @ Feb 2nd 2009 1:54PM
Glad not everyone is sheep who just shit all over a game because that's the cool thing to do.
I loved the premise of Haze, the drugs were a really good plot device. The writing didn't pull it off to the extent that it should have... but what game does? The gameplay was a bit lackluster in parts. I mean the guns were fine, but there were some slow parts where you're basically just traveling. Those may have worked well in a game like Half-life, but without atmosphere, they're just boring.
All in all, it was not great, but certainly not as bad as people make it sound.
PSN: Erdie @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:14PM
@Juthan
Sorry, but I picked up Haze for $9.99 and just finished it minutes ago. I can't call this a worthwhile game to play. Even the last level (not spoiling anything) there's enemies ducked behind all the corners, but you can see them. And shoot them. Why would you make it like that? Mind-boggling design choices throughout the entire thing, and I really didn't have any fun, I just felt obligated to play through it since I freaking love their other games. Try this: shoot at someone, even if they're 8 feet away, then step behind something. Every time I did this, they just stood there and waited for me to return. With 85,000 FPS games to choose from on the PS3 and 360 (I counted, honest!) this one doesn't exactly stand out. This is coming from someone who bothered to visit their website, download all the music and print out the album covers on their site for it. I likes mah FRD.
Damian @ Feb 2nd 2009 10:57AM
Microsoft could really use the developer seeing as they basically only have rare, but sony could use the sales, hopefully EA buys them, then everyone can have timesplitters.
Maverick Saturn @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:01AM
F that, Timesplitters will become Timeshitters.
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Feb 2nd 2009 7:48PM
I don't know Dead Space was really good but the story was “awfully inspired” by Aliens, Silent Hill, Scientology and that movie where some astronauts found hell in space and if you want the X-Files.
EA can still manage to do good games but they force into most of their games DLC.
igorponweed @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:16AM
I want EA to buy them. Or even activision! Do you think LucasArts would buy them?
Nytemare @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:32AM
That...would be quite random...
Timesplitters is a great franchise though, I really hope they pull through. Whoever buys them.
Gemini Ace @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:09AM
I don't want to see these guys go out of business anymore than the rest of you, but exactly how long can you ride on the success of Goldeneye? I mean, you're only as good as your last game and Haze was pretty much crap. TimeSplitters was decent, but come on.
Maverick Saturn @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:11AM
Decent? No, Timesplitters 1 and 3 were decent, 2 is still the best FPS I have ever played.
Neuromancer @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:12AM
How dare you sir. Timesplitters 2 was one of the greatest video games ever created by man.
David Hinkle @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:31AM
I'm a big Future Perfect fan, myself. 2 was amazing, though.
Max "Tails" Power @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:22AM
Interesting. When they develop a game exclusively for the PS3, it not only turns out to be an EPIC FAIL, but they also end up on the verge of collapse. There's a lesson in this for any other company that might make a game exclusively for the PS3 (I'm lookin' at you, Square!).
Hyams @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:26AM
I want moar Timesplitters.
Brian @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:43AM
"I want to punch the economy in the face!" :(
Lee @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:37AM
Let them go. Haze was unforgivable.
Tez @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:40AM
Just tell us where Timesplitters goes. I dunno if I'll even bother with the series without the same people behind it, but maybe somebody cool will snag it up who knows what they're doing.
-WorldSpawn- @ Feb 2nd 2009 12:25PM
Who cares about Timesplitters and Haze? I want them to release the new version of Star Wars Battlefront. Check out the new leaked footage on youtube... looks really cool!
Joe @ Feb 2nd 2009 12:34PM
Come on either Sony or Atari. I really think this company would work well with the rest of the playstation brands. As for Atari Phil will help Free Radical get back to there former glory.
Alfred @ Feb 2nd 2009 1:13PM
TimeSplitters is my favorite FPS franchise. All glory to GoldenEye 007, Perfect Dark, and monkeys on fire.
JJBro1 @ Feb 2nd 2009 2:36PM
If Free Radical stays what does that mean for Battlefront?
Roto13 @ Feb 2nd 2009 3:14PM
Yeah, it couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact that Haze was just a mediocre game.
Idiot.
Roto13 @ Feb 2nd 2009 3:16PM
Bah, broken comment system. This was supposed to be a reply to Max "Tails" Power up there.
fred @ Feb 2nd 2009 7:32PM
Happened to me too. I think you cant reply to people with lower than 1 star or something.
Someone run some experiments
Wiinterfang @ Feb 2nd 2009 5:19PM
Are you hearing this SEGA? time splitters for wii.
fred @ Feb 2nd 2009 7:29PM
You're boring. Stop being boring,
fred @ Feb 2nd 2009 7:29PM
OH COME ON I PRESSED REPLY
:[
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Feb 2nd 2009 7:45PM
Wow that's how it really looked? I remember it looked better.In that screenshot looks worst than Halo 3.
PSN: Erdie @ Feb 2nd 2009 11:00PM
Having just finished Haze (literally 2 minutes ago) I really hope these guys get a chance to make another game. Haze is absolutely terrible, to end on such a low note when all their other games rocked is a terrible disgrace.
TimeSplitters 2 and Future Perfect were kickass. The challenges and multiplayer were so damned fun, I don't even want to know how many hours I spent on that game. (Zero as monkey, thank you very much.)
It's hard to believe they even made Haze, it has some of the dumbest AI I've ever seen in an FPS. Coming off of Resistance 2, where enemies track your ass down, to Haze where I can take ONE STEP backwards and they go running around like morons is absurd. It's an embarrassment.