Thursday 20-May-2004 4:21 PM Starbreeze Studios' FPS that's stunning on Xbox is "up and running" on Sony's console Starbreeze Studios' Xbox-bound first-person shooter The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay is also in development for PS2, we can exclusively reveal. A reliable source operating close to the developer has informed us that the version for Sony's console has been in production for a few months, and is "already up and running and looking fairly solid on PS2".
Movie tie-in titles are usually so-so affairs, but Escape from Butcher Bay, which is loosely connected to films Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick, has surprised many, the Xbox rendition of the title impressing with not just its looks but also fluid and enticing gameplay that combines gunplay with stealth elements and hand-to-hand combat.
Although we would expect gameplay to more or less remain intact in Riddick on PS2, Sony's console simply can't compete with Xbox's brute power - meaning we'd expect a significant hit to the graphical gloss we've seen in the Xbox version.
As this stage it's currently unclear whether or not there is a publishing deal in place for the PS2 version. Certainly, there was no official word from E3, and Starbreeze may have begun development off its own back with an aim of taking a solid version to Vivendi for its consideration.
Equally plausible, given the inexplicable lack of hype from Vivendi in the run up to the June release of the Xbox version, is that the publisher didn't realise it had such a potentially huge hit on its hands until late in the day, and is trying to make the most of the situation by turning it multiformat. Since the game is undoubtedly one of the finest looking console games we've ever seen, plus great fun to boot, PS2 owners should be crossing their fingers.
Querying Riddick publisher Vivendi earlier today about the exisitence of the title on PS2, a spokesperson responded with "no comment". Developer Starbreeze remained unavailable for comment at the time of writing. As soon as we hear more, we'll let you know.
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