Syndicate creator Sean Cooper says he remains skeptical any revival of his 1993 cult-classic title will be able to capture the "essence" of the original. "Every time I've seen a prototype of a new Syndicate it's just been misguided," Cooper told IncGamers.

In October 2008, rumors swirled about the possibility of Riddick dev Starbreeze reviving the Electronic Arts property. Last March, GI.biz stated that "sources confirmed" the rumor was true. No official announcement has ever been made.

According to Cooper, Electronic Arts has attempted to revisit the real-time tactics title many times in the past, citing memories of failed prototypes brought to his attention. However, Cooper fears EA won't be able to capture what made the original so popular: "The essence of the game was killing people - and that was it," Cooper said. "If I have to kill everyone, I will. That to me was the essence of the gameplay."

Syndicate was developed by Bullfrog Productions, a company co-founded by Microsoft Game Studios Europe creative director Peter Molyneux. In 2006, Syndicate was included in the PSP-exclusive compilation EA Replay -- unfortunately, it was a terrible version.

Speaking with Develop, Starbreeze Studios CEO Johan Kristiansson discussed his feelings about game development, specifically as it relates to independent studios. The subjects of the interview range from the decision to release Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena in April -- the game debuted at #2 in the UK but failed to make the top 10 in North America -- to the advantages of using established franchises versus creating new IP. Perhaps the most interesting part of the interview comes near the end, when Kristiansson discusses the differences between the independent and corporate development environments.

According to Kristiansson, corporate development environments can stifle creativity, as decisions are made more slowly. He stated that independent developers have "a stronger feeling of ownership-attachment to their properties," adding that indie studios can develop "a more tightly knit team" over time.

"An independent studio is always going to be more creative," said Kristiansson, noting that publishers should allow developers to maintain control over production. He concluded, "If indies are too close to their publishers, that can also damage the decision making process and the overall game quality."

Despite staying well outside the game media's chronicles of ridicule, Starbreeze's Vin Diesel star vehicle (note: not the one that's about him driving vehicles) failed to appear among the NPD group's list of top sellers for April. According to the NPD's Anita Frazier, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena sold 100,000 units across all platforms during its debut month. Oddly, the NPD data includes figures for March, even though the official North American release was on April 7th.

Since Starbreeze's previous effort, gothic comic adaptation The Darkness, broke into the top ten in June 2007, Riddick's performance may seem disappointing, especially in the face of positive word-of-mouth and a relatively quiet release month. Without a new tie-in film to generate buzz, the impetus fell on Atari's marketing -- and it seems to have failed to convince gamers that Vin Diesel still has some gas left in him.

Atari hadn't responded to our calls at the time of publishing, nor our suggestion to feed Vin a spicy burrito.

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.

Ian Stevens has a lot on his plate. Between launching two games this month in Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena and Wheelman and working on Vin Diesel's dream game (not to mention two games still in the concept stage named Melkor and Perrone), we think this gentleman could really use a vacation.

Busy as he is, he was nice enough to take time out of his schedule last week to speak with us about a few things. Number one on the agenda: What is it exactly that Tigon Studios does? If Starbreeze developed Riddick and Midway Newcastle developed Wheelman, where does Tigon fit into this mess? His answer just might shock you!

[Disclaimer: Ian Steven's answer will likely not actually shock you, but you may find it interesting. So there's that.]

This is an exceedingly weird release. On the same disc, you've got an older, graphically-juiced version of the classic Escape from Butcher Bay paired with Assault on Dark Athena, a modern take on the same game, but one that never feels like anything more than an expansion.

So, as the game's targeting a lot of different audiences, I thought I'd write short, separate reviews for each of these groups. I know, it's totally Web 3.0.

If you played and liked Butcher Bay: You're going to want this. You can't play your old version on your 360, and besides, the new version looks great. The one thing you may have forgotten from BB that hasn't aged so well? Load times. Seriously, when you're going from one area to another in the prison, it's brutal. We're talking 13 to 15 seconds every couple of minutes in some sections. The good stuff's still there, though. Melee combat is satisfyingly brutal, voice acting's great, and the stealth is really intuitive and well-handled.

For some, the April 7 release of Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena can't come soon enough. To help ease the pain of waiting, we present two new trailers from the game (viewable after the break). The first clip shows our anti-hero storming one of the ship's generators, while the second clip showcases the many enemies that try to get in Riddick's way. Oh, you silly NPCs ...

If you want your experience to be extra authentic, shave your head, turn off the lights, and don some shades while watching. Around the office, we call that Vin-O-vision.

Source - Generator room gameplay
Source - Riddick's enemies vignette

A new report suggests that Starbreeze Studios is working on a new Syndicate game, with Electronic Arts set to publish. Word of the Riddick and The Darkness dev's involvement with the title first made the rounds last October. Possibly related is a new casting call posted on superannuation for actors in an upcoming "futuristic" Starbreeze/EA title called "DART," which according to the post will be set in a "high tech city."

Though nothing has been formally announced, sources tell GI.biz that the Syndicate series is behind EA and Starbreeze's mysterious Project RedLime, which was originally referred to as a "classic franchise" for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

While that project was said to be "already deep in development" in February 2008, don't expect to revisit the classic cyberpunk series anytime soon. According to the report, the new Syndicate title won't be released until Starbreeze finishes up its current project based on Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne. Until then, the four gentlemen in the corner giving us the crazy eyes will just have to wait.

Atari has released a new developer diary video for Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena. The video centers around the game's story, which the developers at Starbreeze consider the next chapter in the Chronicles of Riddick saga. The video also spends a great deal of time talking about the drone enemy. The drone is essentially a cyborg with rudimentary AI that can also be controlled remotely. Kind of a crappy life, really.

Finally, the video highlights the different ways the game can be played. According to the developers, it's possible to play the game guns blazing or in a stealthier manner. Us, we'll probably opt for the method with the heaviest use of Riddick's razor-sharp "ulak" blades.

Check out some new screens in the gallery below.

Riddick better get all those dark, monotone soliloquies out of his system before assaulting the Dark Athena crew on April 7 in North America, and April 24 in Europe. Atari sends word that The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena will be available for PC, PS3 and X360, with demos releasing in March for the console versions.

Don't forget that Dark Athena also comes with an enhanced Escape from Butcher's Bay, so there'll be plenty of Riddick packed onto the disc come April.

Update: Big Download has word that a PC demo is in the works. No word of when it'll release, though.

Assassin Jason Bourne has been detained by EA, as the publisher announced today it now holds "exclusive worldwide license" to games based on the works of Robert Ludlum. Starbreeze Studios, best known for the Riddick games and The Darkness, is handling the first Bourne title in the multi-year agreement between EA and Ludlum Entertainment.

EA gained the opportunity to pick up the Bourne license after Activision-Blizzard dropped the series to focus on its own machismo spy: Bond ... James Bond. This whole licensing reshuffle also leaves the rumored multiplayer Treadstone title, allegedly in development by Radical Entertainment, in an even more unclear position. There's currently no indication on when the new Bourne game will punch and parkour its way to stores.

We hope we're not alone in this, but we sure miss Vin Diesel when we don't get to see him for a while. The reasons should be more than evident in this new trailer for Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, which we've just lifted from our friends at Xbox 360 Fanboy.

Vin Diesel is a video game character. He's bald, he's buff, he speaks only in low growls and he loves to kill people. All he's missing is a bitchin' rock guitar soundtrack to follow him around everywhere, and we think you'll agree that the above trailer fills that need effortlessly.

We couldn't have been more excited when we heard that one of the most under appreciated original Xbox titles, The Chronicles of Riddick, was going to get a next-gen upgrade. When we heard the upgrade also included an entire new campaign plus new multiplayer modes, our heads nearly exploded. Above is the latest trailer, titled "Desperation," for The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, which showcases stealth action, both hand-to-hand and weapon combat, and more legendary Vin Diesel dialog.

Even with a new 10-hour campaign to its credit, we'd suggest portioning out your time with Starbreeze's shiny remake of The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay when it arrives next spring. According to Eurogamer, Tigon Studios views the upcoming Assault on Dark Athena as an "episodic expansion" to the original Xbox classic, while an actual sequel is still "a couple of years out."

The Diesel-fueled developer calls the theoretical sequel "ambitious," adding that its arrival is largely contingent on whether or not the fans like the upcoming title and "tell us [they] want more." In short, money talks if players want to continue to live vicariously through Vin Diesel's manly virtual physique. Then again, there's always The Wheelman ... maybe.

With new publisher in tow, and new 10-hour campaign out in the open, Starbreeze's more-make-than-remake Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena is barreling towards that early 2009 release with a few more tricks up its sleeve ... well, Riddick rocks a tank-top, but you get the idea. CVG has details about the game's multiplayer modes – yup, they're adding in multiplayer, where the original 2004 release had none. Now, we're with you: not every FPS needs a multiplayer mode – more often than not, they seem like back-of-the-box bullet-point more than integral component – but let's give Dark Athena a chance, shall we?

In addition to standard-issue 12-player deathmatch and CTF modes, Dark Athena boasts an interesting "Butcher Bay Riot" gametype featuring three teams of four players each, ranging from guards to mercenaries to prisoners, each trying to make their way to a "central power cell." More interesting than that: a "Pitch Black" gametype featuring a (get this!) pitch black arena full of grunts armed with little more than a flashlight and a gun, each looking for he-can-totally-see-in-the-dark Riddick. Kill Riddick and you're Riddick next round. Rinse, repeat. With 20 maps "planned" for the final product, it sounds like Dark Athena's multiplayer may be more than an afterthought – but we'll let you know as soon as we see it.