Riddick: Dark Athena debuts at #2 in UK charts, only new game to make top 40

by Majed Athab { Apr 28th 2009 at 4:29AM }

Who would have thought The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena would be so successful? In the UK, the Vin Diesel-starring, sci-fi adventure came into the charts at the number two spot, being the only debut entry for the week to make it into the top 40 (obliterating other debut titles like Rock Revolution and Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2).

So, what was the only game keeping Vin Diesel from full-out domination? It's Wii Fit, which still reigns supreme in the Isles. Sorry Vinny, you can't dethrone Wii Fit -- not even with those weird glowing eyes of yours. But hey, fans still love you; they're keeping Wheelman afloat at #22.

Tags: atari, chronicles-of-riddick-assault-on-dark-athena, dark-athena, riddick, shooter, starbreeze, uk-charts, vin-diesel

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Maximun2k10 @ Apr 28th 2009 4:49AM

Someone having issues with rmd.atdmt.com ???

Every time I try to access Joystiq, i get a blank screen and the website try to acess
"rmd.atdmt.com"

Annoying as hell !!!

Premature ejaculation man @ Apr 28th 2009 5:20AM

I looked up the site. Its an online advertising agency.

Looks like you can't connect to the site so it just hangs.

Premature ejaculation man @ Apr 28th 2009 5:21AM

Oh man...You know how companies like putting people on their sites for no actual reason? Check this one out:
http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/714/whatp.jpg
Oh baby!

wallywallas @ Apr 28th 2009 5:10AM

So... Call of Duty 4 sells more than Killzone 2? That is strange... Could it be way way way, cheaper?

NOOK @ Apr 28th 2009 5:36AM

Nope, maybe a fiver. CoD4 is still really pricy in Europe. I actually sold my used 360 version to a reseller(!) last week for 25 €.

Levi @ Apr 28th 2009 8:02AM

CoD4 and KZ2 are both $60 (full price) in the states, I just checked last night.

helghast102 (Valkyria Chronicles and the anime OWN!) @ Apr 28th 2009 10:00AM

every time i go to GameStation (UK) CoD4 is STILL at full price, and pre-owned copies copies are roughly £5 cheaper, hell i think a new copy of KZ2 is cheaper than pre-owned CoD :O

Slam Vanderhuge @ Apr 28th 2009 12:57PM

COD4 is an unstoppable beast...nothing will top it until MW2 hits.

mattclarkie @ Apr 28th 2009 5:10AM

Well it couldn't have sold many units if Wii Fit still outsold it, especially as it is still nearly impossible to get one. Not that I want a Wii Fit.

Swagman @ Apr 28th 2009 5:11AM

Good news for a good game. Too bad Wii Fit is still #1, but that's like saying that too bad Titanic is still the #1 grossing film of all time.

Returning to Butcher Bay after four years away, was nice. The game still rocks. And the new paint job and control scheme, make it all the mo' bettah. I am currently about 2/3 way through Dark Athena, and I actually like it a lot more than Butcher Bay; fighting with the Ulaks are absolutely bad ass. And taking out multiple villains at a time with the new SCAR gun is pretty bad ass too.

All in all, a pretty good game. Glad to see it at the top of the charts.

Starbreeze is reportedly at work on a proper Riddick sequel; a true update to the franchise, as it were. Definitely something to look forward to . . . even if it takes them another five years to get it out.

LaughingTarget @ Apr 28th 2009 10:30AM

You'll be happy to know that Titanic only holds the top in raw dollars. In terms of ticket sales, Gone With the Wind is the king with Star Wars coming in at a close second. Titanic is at #6.

Toby @ Apr 28th 2009 5:20AM

I urge anyone who hasn't played Riddick yet to go and get it. In my own opinion this game for me was much more enjoyable than MGS 4, KillZone 2, GOW 2, etc. The balance between all out shooter and stealth game is unrivalled, and it excells at both genres. I must admit that Dark Athena is in no way as good as Butcher Bay but it does have its moments. Like the Docking Bay stealth section where you have to sneak past a vast amount of drones. It has serious replay value in order to perfect these sections.

I must also stress how good a job Starbreeze have done with the visuals. There first Xbox release of Butcher Bay rivalled the likes of Doom III For a small studio to produce an in-house engine like this is remarkable. These guys had a fraction of the money that Epic and Guerilla had thrown at them.

I have one request for these guys. Make a riddick game with necromongers in!!!!! They are some of the greatest baddies ever imagined! I know Chronicles of Riddick the film was typical Hollywood in terms of narrative, but the universe they created is definatly worth revisiting, perhaps in much more darker way.

Premature ejaculation man @ Apr 28th 2009 5:24AM

I am yet to try out the xbox360 game. Is it worth getting the new version if you played (and loved) the old one a lot?

prodigy69 @ Apr 28th 2009 5:24AM

"Who would have thought The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena would be so successful? In the UK"

I find that a weird thing to say,
ummm why wouldn't it be so successful in the U.K?..

just because I've seen better acting from planks of wood,
doesn't mean we don't like a good FPS :D

cxp3 @ Apr 28th 2009 5:35AM

Accoring to this:
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2009/04/27/top-10-pc-game-charts/1
Dark Athena is in at #8 not #2.

helghast102 (Valkyria Chronicles and the anime OWN!) @ Apr 28th 2009 10:01AM

"PC"

Ghidora @ Apr 28th 2009 5:42AM

thats pc only...

mazza_man @ Apr 28th 2009 6:23AM

After all the news of bad sales, I'm suprised to see Chinatown Wars in there at all. 29th down from 21st. Not that bad.

Blkant @ Apr 28th 2009 6:40AM

And here I thought the EU gaming market had some dignity...

Nigeria @ Apr 28th 2009 6:57AM

UK = Europe

Luxembourg are pretty mad at the moment.

mgsrocks1 @ Apr 28th 2009 7:02AM

Have you even played the game?

Blkant @ Apr 28th 2009 7:47AM

@mgsrocks1

Relax, don't go and get all butt hurt I'm only kidding around :P

And no I haven't, but I personally don't enjoy these tough guy character crap etc... Just annoys me.

Toby @ Apr 28th 2009 7:01AM

@ Premature Ejectulation Man

Hell Yeah! You will love it. And youll play Butcher Bay again, probably on hard if you hadn't already, and realise that it was even better than you remembered it!

mgsrocks1 @ Apr 28th 2009 7:03AM

I haven't played it when it came out on the Xbox because I only owned a PS2 last generation. Downloading the demo at the moment so it's definitely a rental if the demo is fun to play.

Firewarrior @ Apr 28th 2009 8:44AM

Wii Fit Seriously? There's a gym near me with £10 monthly sub, there must be A LOT of shy people here it seems.

Billop @ Apr 28th 2009 8:55AM

Im not surprised. Riddick has been the best game ive played Since MGS4. Its one of the best FPS ever created in my opinion.

Davey @ Apr 28th 2009 8:58AM

Wii Fit still number 1 in the charts? God that's depressing. Oh well, I guess blandness always wins. How can any video game possibly hope to compete with Wii Fit?

helghast102 (Valkyria Chronicles and the anime OWN!) @ Apr 28th 2009 10:04AM

did you say video games and Wii Fit in the same sentence?

Russ @ Apr 28th 2009 11:09AM

This is great news for the folks at Atari. I'm really happy for them. I played the demo but couldn't get into it. I wonder what the head honchos at Activision are thinking? "At least we kept Crash Bandicoot."