Joystiq impressions: Prototype (360/PC/PS3) April 28, 2008 playstation2 No Comments After a recent demo of Sierra’s Prototype, I came away feeling a little less excited for the title than when I started. I’m still anticipating its Fall, 2008 360/PC/PS3 release, assuming it ships on time. I think it could be an exciting third-person action/mystery. But I’m uncertain about if it will become a cohesive experience by then; I saw well-executed elements but I’m not sure if they will combine.
Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Adventure, Galleries After a recent demo of Sierra's Prototype, I came away feeling a little less excited for the title than when I started. I'm still anticipating its Fall, 2008 360/PC/PS3 release, assuming it ships on time. I think it could be an exciting third-person action/mystery. But I'm uncertain about if it will become a cohesive experience by then; I saw well-executed elements but I'm not sure if they will combine. And
Ritual Entertainment was a computer game software developer established in 1996 and based in Dallas, Texas. It was formerly known as Hipnotic Interactive, during which period they began development of their signature computer game SiN.
Members of the Ritual development team have contributed game assets to other titles such as 25 to Life and American McGee's Alice, and are also the creators of "Übertools" for id Tech 3, which has been licensed for a number of other games.
On January 24, 2007, developer MumboJumbo announced the acquisition of Ritual Entertainment. With this acquisition Ritual's focus on traditional action-oriented games was changed to casual games essentially canceling Ritual's latest game series, SiN Episodes after releasing only one episode out of a planned nine.
The purchase followed months of departures of several key employees including chief executive officer Steve Nix who became director of business development at id Software, long-time vice president and co-founder Tom Mustaine who left to become director of game development for the competitive multiplayer online FPS, Severity for the Cyberathlete Professional League, level designer John Schuch who accepted a position with 3D Realms and quality assurance manager Michael Russell who accepted a position with Meeting Professionals International. Several months after the acquisition, community relations manager Steve Hessel left the company to join Splash Damage.
Prior to the announcement, on December 6, 2006, Ritual announced the appointment of Ken Harward as the company's new studio director
Games developed by Ritual Entertainment
Quake Mission Pack: Scourge of Armagon (1. expansion pack) — (1997) (PC) developed as Hipnotic Interactive
SiN — (1998) (PC (Windows and Linux), Linux on PowerPC) both Linux versions ported by Hyperion Entertainment
Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.² — (2000) (PC (Windows and Linux), Mac (Mac OS and Mac OS X), Dreamcast) Linux version ported by Loki Software, Mac OS Classic version ported by Contraband Entertainment, Mac OS X version ported by The Omni Group
Blair Witch Volume 3: The Elly Kedward Tale — (2000) (PC)
SiN Gold (port) — (2000) (Mac) ported by Contraband Entertainment
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero — (PC) Ritual Entertainment was working on the title in 2002 after Gearbox Software and before Turtle Rock Studios took over in mid-2003
Star Trek: Elite Force II — (2003) (PC)
Counter-Strike (port) — (2003) (Xbox)
Delta Force: Black Hawk Down: Team Sabre (expansion) — (2004) (PC)
SiN Episodes: Emergence — (2006) (PC)
Unreleased
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers — (PC) cancelled
SiN II publisher demo — (2003) (PC) Ritual Entertainment made a game demo to show potential publishers.
References
^ Ritual Entertainment Acquired By Casual Games Developer January 24th 2007
^ id Software Welcomes New Member Planet Quake, Friday, 1 December, 2006
^ Cyberathlete
^ What the Hal
^ Michael Russell Leaves The Tribe - Ritualistic Forums
^ RITUALISTIC || Ritual Entertainment's Online Community Hub
^ Ritual Apparently Not Exploded, Announces New Studio Director - Ritualistic Forums