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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.

Joystiq interview: Ian Stevens, Tigon Studios' head of game production

by Ben Gilbert { Apr 10th 2009 at 12:10PM }

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.]

Gallery: The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

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Rumorang: Riddick dev helming new Syndicate game

by Jason Dobson { Mar 31st 2009 at 5:45PM }

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.

Riddick dev diary drones on about drones

by Richard Mitchell { Mar 20th 2009 at 8:10PM }

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.

Gallery: The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (3/20/09)

Trophies: Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

by Andrew Yoon { Mar 10th 2009 at 4:06PM }

	1 Platinum 3 Gold 5 Silver 45 Bronze	Difficulty: Difficult Online Trophies? Yes Time to Completion: 30 hours DLC Trophies? No
	View Trophy List	Read More About the Game

Gallery: The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

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Riddick assaults Dark Athena April 7 in North America, Europe April 24

by Alexander Sliwinski { Feb 23rd 2009 at 1:00PM }

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.

Gallery: The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

New Riddick: Dark Athena trailer previews plot

by Griffin McElroy { Feb 22nd 2009 at 9:30PM }

Vin Diesel vehicles don't really need much of a plot to be brilliant or successful (see: xXx) -- regardless of this fact, it seems the upcoming follow-up to one of the most surprisingly well put together licensed games ever, Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, has a story we're itching to dive into. A recent trailer teases some of the plot points we'll be uncovering when the game drops April 7.

Here's what we picked up during our first pass through the trailer (embedded after the jump) -- throughout Dark Athena, Mr. Diesel will be "hunting" some "zombies" on a derelict space station, facing off against a feisty villainess, and stabbing anything that hoves into his field of vision. Yep, that sounds about right.

See: Chronicles of Riddick: AoDA HD Trailer Download

Gallery: The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena

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Chronicles of Riddick multiplayer includes 'Pitch Black' mode (no word on grues)

by Christopher Grant { Dec 5th 2008 at 8:59PM }

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.

Gallery: The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

Riddick comes out of hiding in new Dark Athena video

by Randy Nelson { Dec 4th 2008 at 4:35PM }

Starbreeze wasn't cooling its heels while it waited for word on a new publisher for The Chronicle of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, as evidenced by this first video of the game in all its current, two-games-in-one glory. We've seen it in action and can attest to the fact that, yes, it actually looks like this on 360 and PS3 (though it will also be hitting PC).

The video features a couple of elements that we were especially impressed by. The first is a visual nuance, but one that speaks to the effort being put into the polishing of the final game. In the segment where Riddick hangs from a pipe and moves along it, hand over hand, there wasn't one iota of clipping – no "hand through wrist" glitching, nada. The look of the game is extremely solid.

The new gameplay mechanics are impressive as well. The half-man, half-weapon characters in this trailer are "drones" – cyborgs created by the Dark Athena crew from the hapless passengers of ships they've raided. Riddick can kill these enemies and use them as human shields, while using the gun grafted to their arm to shoot. As you'd expect from a real body, it's difficult to push it forward, but dragging it's a snap (which factors into overall strategy). It's also possible to control these guys from a remote terminal, hence the red-hued POV you catch at one point during the footage.

Download in HD (79MB)

Riddick debut trailer is dark, gravelly

by Richard Mitchell { Dec 4th 2008 at 3:00PM }

"The darkness, for me, is where I shine," says Vin Diesel as Riddick, his greatest character (apart from the Iron Giant, of course). While it's clear that his daily breakfast of Gravel-Os probably ruined his chances at a singing career, it's also obvious that Riddick has a bright future in killing people with knives. Put bluntly (sharply?), The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena looks great, as is made plainly clear by the debut trailer above. Given that the game is being made by the same team that made the original (which fared very well), we're hopeful that it plays just as good as it looks. We'll find out when the game ships early next year.

New impressions of Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

by Richard Mitchell { Dec 3rd 2008 at 7:00PM }

Our PC loving brethren over at Big Download recently got a chance to sit down for a hands-off session of The Chronicles: Assault on Dark Athena. Dark Athena is essentially two games in one, as it is both a remake of the first Riddick title, Escape from Butcher Bay, and it also includes a brand new campaign entitled (you guessed it) Assault on Dark Athena. Fans of the original will be happy to hear that the new campaign can be started from the outset, so it won't be necessary to play the enhanced original unless you want to.

Big Download notes that the entire team that created Escape from Butcher Bay has returned to work on Dark Athena, ensuring that the game is more than just a simple remake. Dark Athena takes place directly after the first game, with Riddick tasked with escaping the Dark Athena, a ship replete with shadows and enemies that need killing. Among the new enemies are Drones, remote controlled androids that Riddick can incapacitate and use as shields. Riddick can also ustilise an incapacitated Drone's gun and, with the help of a control station, can even control Drones directly. This comes in handy should you find heavy opposition or otherwise impassable obstacles. Overall, it sounds like the game is shaping up well for its 2009 release.

Head over to Big Download for full impressions.

Riddick: Dark Athena coming early '09, features new 10-hour campaign

by Randy Nelson { Dec 2nd 2008 at 4:00PM }

click to enlarge

It's no secret that Atari rescued Starbreeze Studios' hi-def remake of The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay after Activision-Blizzard kicked it to the curb. What you don't know – and we didn't know until we recently saw it in action – is that those added "Dark Athena" levels are quite substantial. They've been expended into an entirely new, 10-plus-hour campaign, complete with new game mechanics, full-game production values ... the works.

Starbreeze told us that, despite the game being absent from anyone's radar for quite some time, it never let up on development. In fact, the acquisition of the game by Atari has afforded the team upwards of nine additional months of development time, hence the (essentally) second full game and what the team was visibly ecstatic about: more time to polish every last detail.

The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (Escape from Butcher's Bay is still there, looks amazing, and will incorporate new gameplay and tech developed for Dark Athena) is set for release in spring of 2009. Check back tomorrow for our full impressions of the new campaign.

Gallery: The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

Atari unleashes Tekken 6 and Riddick screens

by Dustin Burg { Dec 2nd 2008 at 2:00PM }

As part of today's press conference, Atari unloaded a bunch of fresh screenshots for next year's upcoming Tekken 6 and Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena. You can view the Tekken and Riddick screens below, but be warned about those Riddick screens. If you thought Gears of War was lacking color, then keep clear of Riddick's drab and dull "color" palette. Actually, it isn't so much a color palette as it is a black to white gradient.

Gallery: Tekken 6

Gallery: Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

Chronicles of Riddick picked up by Atari, now has brand new campaign

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 30th 2008 at 11:45AM }

Atari today announced that it will publish The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena from Tigon Studios and The Darkness developer Starbreeze Studios. The title was previously announced as a graphically enhanced remake of the original Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay that would also feature a new chapter and multiplayer support. According to the press release, not only will the game include the remake of the original campaign, but the new chapter has now been expanded to include "a brand new full-length campaign" as well as the previously announced online multiplayer support. We're just going to guess that might be why the game missed its original winter 2007 release date.

The newly revamped Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena is expected to release in spring 2009. Check out a hi-res version of the first screenshot by clicking the image above.

Riddick remake and (maybe) Ghostbusters go to Atari

by Justin McElroy { Oct 30th 2008 at 8:15AM }

Continuing its long climb back to Phil Harrison-lead relevance, Atari has picked up an Acti/Blizzard merger cast off and might have made a home for another, according to Variety. The company will publish Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, adding not only multiplayer but a new campaign to the original Xbox release. "Originally it was just a remake, but we started thinking more and felt that wasn't super compelling," said Bill Kispert, head of interactive for Universal. Yeah, Bill. No kidding.

Variety also reports that Atari has picked up long-term licensing rights to Riddick to allow the possibility of more sequels. The trade pub says it understands that a similar deal could be in place for Ghostbusters, as was previously hinted by Dan Akroyd, though that hasn't been confirmed yet.

Well, finally, it seems all the Acti/Blizzard orphans have found good homes. ... Wait a minute, who's that sad, long-haired boy in the corner?