Riddick remake for PS3, 360

By Robert Purchese Published 18 May, 2007

More content, multiplayer.

Starbreeze has confirmed its working on a next-gen makeover of The Chronicles of Riddick.

Assault on Dark Athena will be available on PS3 and Xbox 360 before the end of the year.

There will be additional single-player content to get stuck into - taking place on board the scavenger ship Dark Athena - and an online multiplayer mode will be included.

Commentary is also expected to feature in a similar way to the Developer's Cut remake on PC, as is the obvious graphical spit-shine to show off the new floating terrafloppy-tehcnotrons.

The Chronicles of Riddick appeared on Xbox, based on the 2004 film of the same name. It took everyone by surprise, not least because the big-screen version starring Vin Diesel was rubbish.

The first-person action [with third-person cutscenes, obviously! - Ed] game displayed some of the best graphics we'd seen, and earned itself a whopping 9/10. Catch up with our The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay review to see why.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (72) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • JayeM #1 5 years ago

    Never got to play the original, I look forward to this! :-)
    Edited by 1 at 18/05/07 @ 16:06

  • souljacker2000 #2 5 years ago

    Yay... 1st 1 did look amazing, didnt really get the hang of it... wana have another go tho

  • Eraysor #3 5 years ago

    The original was brilliant, but it was so good I completed it in one night and took it back the next day.

  • The_Inquisitor #4 5 years ago

    If I didn't already own this game, I would be jumping for joy. It is such a great game. I really hope they spice thing up so I can have a reason to play it all over again.

  • dadrester #5 5 years ago

    i dig!

  • jack_klugman #6 5 years ago

    FIRST person.

  • geepersd #7 5 years ago

    I don't know what to make of this - I loved the game, but I'd prefer it to be added to the back compatible list than be remade - that said I'll probably buy it anyway...

  • #8 5 years ago

    YES YES YES!

  • Darren #9 5 years ago

    If the developers are adding 50% new content and a multiplayer mode, why didn't they just go the whole hog and make a brand new game?!? Did we really need a remake in all honesty? Yes, it was utterly fantastic on the Xbox and PC (I've played through both) but I'm disappointed that I won't be getting a *proper* sequel to be honest... :(

  • Tomnd #10 5 years ago

    great, there goes any hope of it being fixed for backwards compat.

  • Darren #11 5 years ago

    "The third-person action game displayed some of the best graphics we'd seen, and earned itself a whopping 9/10."

    Eh? It was mostly FIRST-person actually with third-person cutscenes and intermissions. I mean, you guys did play it... right? ;)

  • Darren #12 5 years ago

    Ah, didn't see your post, jack_klugman, sorry... you beat me to it!

  • jonsaan #13 5 years ago

    Cool. The original still looks better than some of the supposed 'next gen' offerings. All it needed was some more run and gun action. Hopefully the onlin ewill take care of that!

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #14 5 years ago

    Ah yes, Darren, it appears someone brainwashed me and used my fingers! Have fixed.

    Thanks for your sharp-eyes.

    And, as if to ram home the fact that I have slow eyes - thanks to Jack Klugman as well.
    Edited by 1 at 18/05/07 @ 16:22

  • ZuluHero #15 5 years ago

    nearly bought riddick cheap the other day - im glad i didn't now :)
    Edited by 1 at 18/05/07 @ 16:25

  • bag-in-box #16 5 years ago

    "..not least because the big-screen version starring Vin Diesel was rubbish."
    syntax error. not true! at least not the dir. cut :)

    better than the game imo ;)
    (tried to like it, for a couple of hours, on pc. no luck)

  • richardiox #17 5 years ago

    Riddick is one of the best console FPS ever, a totally different, more immersive experience than something like Halo. Best graphics for an FPS on the xbox too, way ahead of its time.

    Can't believe how commercially under-rated it was. Hopefully this revamp will give it the market it deserves.

  • The-Bodybuilder #18 5 years ago

    control the robot at the end was great, along with the entire game.

    But I'm not sure what to make of this.

  • FrostyPhoenixxx #19 5 years ago

    The film was good for what it is, funny how when one guy says a film is bad everyone agrees for no reason, Same way when someone says a shit game like Shadow of the Colossus is good everyone agrees.

    Sad sheep without there own thoughts or opinions

  • zuljin #20 5 years ago

    @Darren
    "If the developers are adding 50% new content and a multiplayer mode, why didn't they just go the whole hog and make a brand new game?!?"

    Because 50% new content doesn't equal 50% of the work.

    EDIT: spelling
    Edited by 1 at 18/05/07 @ 16:40

  • JediMasterMalik #21 5 years ago

    Looking forward to it a lot, very good game this. Shame it's a re-make and not a new game though.

  • kissthestick #22 5 years ago

    why is this on the PS3?

  • FrostyPhoenixxx #23 5 years ago

    That's aimed at Eurogamer who have no reason to preach about whether a film is good or not, Riddick was a rubbish film?, what the fuck do you know about films, stick to over rating crappy games like Mario strikers.

    Shallow dumb shit game, that's all that is yet it gets 8/10

  • bit_mite #24 5 years ago

    Wow. Wasn't expecting this, but it makes me very happy. For me, Chronicles of Riddick was right up there with BG&E as the single-player highlight of the last generation.

  • Machetazo #25 5 years ago

    I've heard so much about this, and now I'll be able to see what all the fuss is about. :D

  • Tyronne #26 5 years ago

    make the original backwards compatitble so that I can play the version I already have !

  • spongebob #27 5 years ago

    Sweet. This will be absolutely essential to anyone who missed Riddick the first time. Just don't make the mistake and watch the movies, they're beyond stupid.

  • MoGamer2006 #28 5 years ago

    Is this the future for Xbox 360 and PS3 - crappy remakes of ancient Xbox games? ;-)

  • monkie_king #29 5 years ago

    hope they find time to improve the first-person hand-to-hand combat -- it was horribly imprecise and flaily in the original.

    and more strangling people in the dark, please, Starbreeze.

  • afray #30 5 years ago

    The film was good, if you could ignore the way the visual style looked like Dune almost to the point of plagiarism.

  • Royal Fool #31 5 years ago

    Hmm, the new subtitle for the remake makes it sound like it's a second chapter or a sequel, when it's just a polished re-release. Sneaky.

  • markypants #32 5 years ago

    Glad to see Riddick gets another outing, but really confused as to why it's a remake? Why not make a new game? I'm interested in some new content but not enough to play through it all over again. So as happy as I am to see Riddick still alive and kicking... I won't be buying this again.

    Seems a waste of effort to be honest.

    Boooooooooo

  • GamesConnoisseur #33 5 years ago

    Riddick on Xbox was great, it showcased what Xbox can do. Would prefer that Starbreeze do a new Riddick game rather than a lazy remake that everyone played through?

    Being a completionist I would probably get it!

  • kangarootoo #34 5 years ago

    Probably one of the best games on the XBox, both in terms of visuals and gameplay (except for that shite "maze full of zombies" section of course).

  • kangarootoo #35 5 years ago

    @markypants

    It didn't sell anywhere near as well as it should have, so there is a still a big potential market for it comprised of people who have not played it before. Hardly a waste of effort.

  • kangarootoo #36 5 years ago

    @monkie_king

    I though the H2H system wasn't bad, though it took some getting used to. It felt kind of random to start with but after a while you could despatch opponents pretty quickly with some nifty combos.

  • monkie_king #37 5 years ago

    @kangarootoo, fair enough, it never really got past the button-mashing stage for me, which was sufficient to get through the yard-fight tournament thing.

    i'd forgotten about / repressed the harrowing memories of the underground zombie goblins in the dark in a maze full of poison gas sequence, though -- that really was arse.

    (what is it with FPSes and annoying zombie levels, anyway? HL2's Ravenholme, Halo's Library, Riddick, umm ... I'm sure there are plenty more.)
    Edited by 1 at 18/05/07 @ 18:04

  • Ryuken #38 5 years ago

    No PC remake? F*ckers.

  • Scimarad #39 5 years ago

    Odd idea doing a semi-remake but the original was so good I'll probably get it.

  • kangarootoo #40 5 years ago

    @monkie_king

    I heard the zombie pit was the bit that Vin Diesel designed. Could just be PR bollox, but it would explain a lot of it were true :)

  • L0cky #41 5 years ago

    And there we were complaining that the games industry is going stagnant with constant sequels and franchises. A few years later what have we got? Rereleases of existing games and remakes.

    That's progress.

  • Inquisitor #42 5 years ago

    It didn't sell well enough to justify a remake did it?

    Surely if they were going to do a remake they should have just downscaled it and put it on the ps2. No point doing it on the 360 as most people have probably played it on pc or original xbox and the ps3 has a tiny userbase.

  • space_ace #43 5 years ago

    \o/

    wait... is this the reported "sequel" or something else?

  • foamy #44 5 years ago

    Omg! Great. The Chronicles of Riddick has gotta be one of the best FPS's ever.

  • Nikanoru #45 5 years ago

    Ok, I'm confused. Why in the hell does this game already need a remake? Would you people be just as receptive if they were remaking, say, Halflife 2? What's the point?

  • Calo #46 5 years ago

    Ill stick with my Keyboard and mouse thanks. but its great they have the power to enhance an already great game!

  • The-Bodybuilder #47 5 years ago

    @ frostypheonixxx

    Are you a film critic? Aren't people entitled to thier opinion, especially after watching a film?

    Or are you one of THOSE people that tell other they aren't allowed to state thier opinion on something unless they've been involved in it themselves?

    Oh and yes, the second riddick film is pap IMO. Which is a shame as I loved pitch black, and I know a bit of the background story to the riddick character, and think he has/had potential to be a great iconic character like rambo or the terminator.

  • Genji #48 5 years ago

    "That's aimed at Eurogamer who have no reason to preach about whether a film is good or not, Riddick was a rubbish film?, what the fuck do you know about films, stick to over rating crappy games like Mario strikers.

    Shallow dumb shit game, that's all that is yet it gets 8/10"

    :-D

  • tjs #49 5 years ago

    I'd settle for a patch that made the PC version playable with newer drivers...

  • Cyclone #50 5 years ago

    Actually bought the PC version on ebay last night. I'd be pissed off; if it had cost me much more than the fiver I paid for it that is. :)

  • sonsonate #51 5 years ago

    how about (1st person possessive)dick instead of riddick?

  • Pablo2k5 #52 5 years ago

    *sarcasm on* w00t, I must rush out and buy a PS3 so I can play 3 year old games!!! *sarcasm off*

    What a load of old sh1t.

  • Machetazo #53 5 years ago

    Nikanoru: "Would you people be just as receptive if they were remaking, say, Halflife 2? What's the point?"

    So, you don't believe take-up on "The Orange Box" for 360/PS3 is going to be particularly high, when it's out towards the end of the year?

  • StixxUK #54 5 years ago

    Sequels > remakes.

    That said, it is a tremendously replayable and bloody great game.

  • Lutz #55 5 years ago

    Please put different control styles in please; they were criminally missing from Butcher bay.

    Ta!

  • GamesConnoisseur #56 5 years ago

    I already commented that they should do proper sequel instead of remake, but quite a lot dissed the remake in general, so that include Resident Evil remake on Gamecube and other remakes on different platforms?

    Though I consider Riddick 'too fresh' for a remake, need to be more than just a generation apart and also the time passed need to be more than couple of years! Riddick was well done on Xbox so a remake would not be that far different on X360 but yes great for those who hasn't given it attention it deserved especially on PS3.

  • Triggerhappytel #57 5 years ago

    I already own this on Xbox, but have to admit I would be wholly tempted to buy this re-invention when it's released.

    Will probably wait until it's about £20 or less.

    Great game, though. A 9/10 through and through.

  • Vin #58 5 years ago

    Fucking sold.

  • Nikanoru #59 5 years ago

    So, you don't believe take-up on "The Orange Box" for 360/PS3 is going to be particularly high, when it's out towards the end of the year?

    Oh, so that's going to contain a remake of HL2? News to me.


    Riddick was well done on Xbox so a remake would not be that far different on X360

    There we go. Idunno what to compare it to. It's like, hey guys spiderman 3 is out, lets re-film the spiderman 2 movie! Again, what's the point?

    No, instead look at the Resident Evil remake and compare it to the original. That's something with merit.

  • Hugundo #60 5 years ago

    "and an online multiplayer mode will be included."


    Make this innovative NOW!

  • Overlush #61 5 years ago

    Sheesh, if Mario can get remade every year (in 12 different ways) why can't Riddick?

  • Nikanoru #62 5 years ago

    Sheesh, if Mario can get remade every year (in 12 different ways) why can't Riddick?

    Har har. Oh look I can be clever: Mario Strikers is a remake of Mario64 lol! See what I did there?

    It doesn't even work as sarcasm dude. What was the point? Try again.



    Because of what I explained already, clearly enough for any tard to understand, that's why.

  • Overlush #63 5 years ago

    I wasn't being sarcastic. Try again.

    Mario IS remade in god knows how many ways each year (Tennis/Football/2D Platform/3DPlatform/RPG/Party/Golf etc.) so WHY can't Riddick be remade?

    Seems like a sensible game to remake IMHO: it was a unique, cult classic on a non-market leading platform that was ahead of it's time visually and it has stood the test of time. Why not bring it up to date and expose it to a wider audience?

  • Nikanoru #64 5 years ago

    Mario IS remade in god knows how many ways each year (Tennis/Football/2D Platform/3DPlatform/RPG/Party/Golf etc.)

    Hahaha oh man. So you were serious? I'm trying to say... something about it, like make some outrageous analogy, but I can't actually think of anything more silly than what you just said. Wow.


    As for the Riddick thing, I'm baffled. How in gods name is it normal that you remake a game that practically just came out last week (as in, completely remake like they're apparently doing, not just a rerelease with some extra features)? Why would you remake Prey already? Or Halflife 2? Or Oblivion? Sure, they're free to do whatever the hell they want, not saying that, just saying it's very weird. And also that it's very weird that you think it's not.

  • DutchDemons #65 5 years ago

    wow, someone is pissed of that there's a remake coming...

  • Overlush #66 5 years ago

    "How in gods name is it normal that you remake a game that practically just came out last week!"

    It was released three years ago.

    "Hahaha oh man. So you were serious? I'm trying to say... something about it, like make some outrageous analogy, but I can't actually think of anything more silly than what you just said. Wow"

    Ditto.

  • Nikanoru #67 5 years ago

    It was released three years ago.

    Your point? Yeah, games get remade within that time all the time right? No, of course not. And with good reason: why would you spend all those resources when the game isn't even going to look much different? Look at some screens. What are you going to do with that, using current technology? Add more crates?


    Ditto.

    NO U




    wow, someone is pissed of that there's a remake coming...

    Nope, just "weirded out" as kids like to say these days, partially because of the people who gobble it up.

  • Overlush #68 5 years ago

    My point? That your statement of Riddick being "a game that practically just came out last week" was sensationalist BS and incorrect to the tune of about 150 weeks.

    You do seem rather vexed about all this old bean.

    I, on the other hand, will be enjoying the delights of reworked versions of Riddick and Ninja Gaiden on my PS3. I'm sure that I, and the other people who never experienced their delights on the relatively unpopular Xbox, will have no trouble whatsoever in seeing the point in their appearance on our console of choice :)

  • Nikanoru #69 5 years ago

    My point? That your statement of Riddick being "a game that practically just came out last week" was sensationalist BS and incorrect to the tune of about 150 weeks.

    [/rolleyes] It was a hyperbole. The game is fairly new. Have you even looked at the screenshots I linked? You haven't answered. Just look at it. What are they going to do with those graphics to warrant calling it a remake?

    Remember the Resident Evil remake? Now there was something that had a point.

    As for your last comment, that changes nothing about the argument, does it. I've never even played the game myself, FYI. ;)

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #70 5 years ago

    If it genuinely has 50% more content, then it is a sequel, just with the original thrown in. There's plenty of story between Riddick's escape from Butcher Bay and his recapture before Pitch Black for a new FPS campaign.

    It might be nice if they let you play the new bits from the beginning if you've already completed the first game. Although exactly what they'd do about the Director's cut's robot suit bits remains to be seen.

    For the record, I thought the second Chronicles of Riddick movie was gloriously camp and silly, in the same so-awful-it's-enjoyable vein as the Dungeons and Dragons movie. It did kind of ruin the vibe from Pitch Black, though, which was a shame.

  • Roamer #71 5 years ago

    Aye, Pitch Black was great - Chronicles of Riddick not so much. Can't see why they'd remake this though, seems really strange since it's so new. Couldn't really get the hang of it myself, so I'd never buy this.

  • Overlush #72 5 years ago

    "As for your last comment, that changes nothing about the argument, does it"

    How is me highlighting the fact that Riddick will now be available to non Xbox owners (i.e. a MUCH wider audience) NOT an answer to your persistent "why is this being made" trite?

    I suppose you think that every single Bluray and HDDVD movie is a waste of time and that you've never bought a DVD that you once owned on VHS? Is re-issuing classic Books or Comics is a waste of time too?




    Edited by 1 at 21/05/07 @ 11:41

  • Nikanoru #73 5 years ago

    Now that's not a very good comparison. I've mentioned before, I find this more akin to completely re-filming a movie three years after it's been out. That is, assuming they'll do what the article implies with a "remake". Just odd.