#preview
The makers of El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron don't clutter their game with health bars and point-counters.* They don't put anything in the way of the beautiful game they're creating, one of the head-turners at PAX East in Boston this past weekend. More »
When I played El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron at last year's Tokyo Game Show, I was told I was playing a toned-down demo version, the difficulty mellowed to allow the public to make its way through the demo.
That was not the case in the version shown during GDC this week. In fact, my avatar Enoch got his ass -- well-appointed in limited-edition Edwin jeans -- handed to him. But as he says in the event of his (near) defeat, "It's okay. No problem."
#elshaddai
In upcoming action game El Shaddai, a pre-fall Lucifer guides players. He's got God on speed dial and looks cool. Now, he's big-headed and "cute". Oh dear. More »
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, Ignition Entertainment's action game about Enoch and his time-traveling pal the devil, has now been completed. The visually dreamy fighter is on track for an April 28 release in Japan, with releases in North America and Europe to be detailed by the publisher "shortly."
Also short: the supply of Edwin's El Shaddai tie-in jeans. Ignition noted that both the "Enoch" and "Lucifel" styles of jeans were sold out within the first three minutes of sale. That suggests either a lot of excitement about this game in Japan, or that they were really nice pants. Ignition will announce "strategic partnerships" with more companies for promotions worldwide, following this success.
UTV Ignition confirmed today the closure of its East and West Coast US operations, with all future development and publishing to be handled from its UTV True Games studio out of its offices in Austin, Texas.
The company also revealed that its (once considered canceled) sci-fi FPS, Reich, "remains in development" in Austin, where "key personnel along with additional new hires will create a new internal development team." Additionally, UTV's Tokyo-developed title, El Shaddai, will be released in Japan on April 28, with a European and North American release announcement coming "shortly."
#elshaddai
In action game El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, hero Enoch and guardian angel Lucifel don some heavenly denim. You can buy those same jeans — well, you could before the internet went bananas. More »
More trouble for Ignition Entertainment -- after the recent closure of its London studio and the subsequent cancellation of WarDevil, it looks like Reich is headed for the same fate, as the company's Florida studio is now closed, according to a report from Gamasutra. Unconfirmed reports say that all of the studio's 70 employees were let go by the company and escorted off of the premises by executives and police officers. Calls to the studio went unanswered, although a rep from Ignition says that Reich is still being worked on, but that the company is "refocusing it in the right direction."
If the rumors are true, that just leaves Ignition offices in Tokyo and Los Angeles, with El Shaddai left standing as the main title in development for the company. Even if Reich is still in development, rumors say it's cost the company as much as $23 million so far. Quite the disaster indeed.
After playing the TGS demo for Ignition Entertainment's starkly unique action game, El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, we were intensely curious about ... well, how it came to be. It's such an unlikely combination of action, platforming, art and Biblical themes, that we honestly couldn't figure out how someone could come up with it.
According to director Sawaki Takeyasu (who started at Capcom doing art for Devil May Cry, and moved to Clover Studio and then Platinum Games before starting his own company, Crim) it was an equally unlikely combination of corporate edict and personal idiosyncracy. Find out about its origins, as well as the game itself, in our interview.
Joystiq: The first thing I wanted to ask about is the style: it's very abstract. How did that style come about?
Sawaki Takeyasu: The art style in the game is based on three major points: the intention is to, before that, it's not that I tried to make it eccentric and make it stand out. We wanted to make it simple, a simple visual. The second point is that it's a constantly changing screen, so that even if you leave the controller for a few minutes then it's still moving, it's always moving. Another thing is variety in levels. There is so much variety and different styles of levels, so that you can be constantly entertained and so that we can bring refreshment and change throughout our gameplay.
Are you over your initial shock about Ignition's El Shaddai, the abstract, psychedelic third-person action game based on the Bible's Book of Enoch? Now that you've assimilated that into your worldview, prepare to have your mind blown once again: this Bible-themed game includes co-marketing with jeans.
An Ignition rep explained to us that Lucifel (a certain fallen angel you may have heard of, who goes on to a measure of infamy after the game's time) is capable of traveling through time at will, and enjoys the 20th century, bringing back styles from the era into the distant past for himself and his pal Enoch. This includes the jeans both wear, which are Edwin brand. In turn, Edwin will offer special El Shaddai styles of its jeans in Japan, on display in glass cases at TGS.
The rep was careful to explain that El Shaddai wasn't conceived as a vehicle for clothing marketing -- we believe this, given that one of the in-game "models" is, you know, the devil, which can't be one hundred percent ideal.
El Shaddai is the most bizarre possible amalgam of seemingly random elements: simple, casual-friendly controls, exciting action, thoroughly abstract visuals, side-scrolling platforming ... oh, and Bible stories. And pants. I don't know what publisher Ignition Entertainment envisioned for its first internally produced, original retail game, but there's no way in Hell this was it.
El Shaddai, though, is much more interesting than most of the games at TGS -- you know, those games that show evidence of having been made by sane people.
Previously, Ignition Entertainment had tentatively dated its super bizarre action game, El Shaddai, for "2010." Given the impending closure of that release window, the publisher has revised that time frame to "Spring 2011." The new date was revealed in a TGS preview of the game published by Famitsu.
Ignition has also released a grip of new images sure to impress those among us with a proclivity for naughty anime -- we especially covet the totally accidental upshirt shots (like this one). Ignition is said to be focusing its Tokyo Game Show efforts on El Shaddai, so expect to see more on the game in the coming days.
Deadly Premonition and El Shaddai publisher Ignition Entertainment recently underwent a bit of restructuring, leading it to adopt part of the moniker of its parent company, UTV Group. The publisher, henceforth named UTV Ignition Entertainment, will now focus on delivering downloadable titles on digital platforms including PSN, XBLA, Steam, Facebook, Google Games and the App Store.
The change was made to satisfy "a demand to market and publish games at more inclusive price points that maintain the same level of quality as their boxed counterparts," UTV Ignition chairman Hassan Sadiq explained in a recent statement. We suppose that's an admirable goal, though we'll never forgive them for missing the perfect opportunity to name their business "Remix to Ignition." For shame, you guys. For shame.
#clips
The second part of Ignition's epic trailer for El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron gets up close and personal with Lucifel, a suave archangel destined to become the foremost fallen. Oh, and porklings. More »
Part two of the debut trailer for El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron has been released. Much like the first part of the trailer, it doesn't do much to explain what the heck is going on, but it's positively dripping with style. No, seriously. It's dripping. Get it away from the rug.
Ignition's upcoming adaptation of the non-canonical Book of Enoch wasn't playable at E3 last week, so the game's debut trailer (posted after the jump) is one of the few sources of info we have on El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron thus far. Of course, that info is pretty bizarre: You're a priest who's tasked with finding seven fallen angels -- a task made more difficult by said angels' hordes of followers. There are also a number of perilous platforming segments, which we doubt were taken directly from the original religious text.
#e3
In Ignition Entertainment's El Shaddai, you're guided by a pre-fall Lucifer who carries a cell phone with God on his speed dial. Then things get weird. More »
#e3
In Ignition Entertainment's El Shaddai, you're guided by a pre-fall Lucifer who carries a cell phone with God on his speed dial. Then things get weird. More »
#screens
For another glimpse at Ignition's El Shaddai: Ascension Of The Metatron, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game that could use a punchier title, come here. See how the unusual looking game with a Devil May Cry pedigree is shaping up. More »
#clips
This snowy, super short teaser trailer for El Shaddai: Ascension Of The Metatron has appeared on the internet for you and me to look at together. So let's do just that. More »
