Silicon Knights are having a tough time lately, after suing Epic Games for what was a suicidal decision because they were definitely going to lose, they are now seeing the after effects of that move.

The company has to destroy all their games like Too Human, X-Men Destiny and others having Unreal Engine code. So yeah… head to your nearest store or eBay website and get this because it’s going to be rare soon.

According to this court document spotted by a Neogaf member, they need to do this before 10th December this year. Considering how less Too Human sold, it shouldn’t be a hard task.

But one thing is for sure, the publishers like Activision and others who helped with these games also have a say and they won’t be too pleased with this move. It’s fair to say it does not rest in the hands of Silicon Knights. However, if the publishers oppose, bankruptcy is certain for the studio because they have to comply with court rules and pay off the publishers for the damages.

They also had to pay $4.45 million to Epic Games, so I don’t they they have enough money left to appease the publishers. They can negotiate though, but doesn’t look like it will work out.

Too Human was in development for 10 years and ended up being a massive critical and commercial failure. It’s something that also got the studio boss Denis Dyack banned from Neogaf in a humiliating way, and yeah.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Now that development process has come to light. Kotaku has an incredibly in-depth piece that showcases how, since separating from Nintendo, Silicon Knights fell under a very much tyrannical rule under President Dennis Dyack, who didn’t have any concern for the development of X-Men: Destiny (one source stated that, “SK didn’t take the development of XMD seriously the entire time I was there. Denis is not an X-Men fan either, so he didn’t care much for the license. To him, it seemed more like a job to get us by”), and in fact siphoned off resources from the project for another.

Which, surprisingly enough, was Eternal Darkness 2. “They were working on an Eternal Darkness 2 demo that they could take to publishers. While I was there, they were even siphoning off staff from my team to work on it. Although development on X-Men Destiny was already struggling, one source said that “SK had about 60% of the development team working on XMD and the other 40% working on ED2.”

Of course, rapid departures and the further ruination of the studio’s good name by X-Men: Destiny’s release turned Silicon Knights into a shadow of it’s former great self. And what of that Eternal Darkness 2 demo? “Bad tech, combined with a team composed of people who had not shipped a title since Metal Gear really hurt that demo.” Also, “a lot of key people responsible for the original Eternal Darkness are long gone.”

Currently, the studio employs less than five staff, including Dennis Dyack.

You can pick between three different characters at the start of the game, who each have their own background stories and are just made up for the game. These characters are not what you think though as they are just normal human beings and it is only once you begin the game that your mutant power is revealed to you. This game also takes place in a time where Professor X is dead, which for any fan is a complete bummer just knowing he is not around. That among other aspects combined together made it far from a good game. In fact the game may have come across better without the X-Men title.

While you have the choice to customize your character and evolve them in the manner you wish, it is pretty much the only thing you have control of. What I mean by that is that the game gives you plenty of choices almost trying to give it, its own RPG element by choosing factions to side with among other things. But they make no real difference as the story of the game just ends up being the same. You wind up fighting the Brotherhood and Magneto no matter your choices throughout the game. This is just one of the largest examples of how meaningless the choices are.

You do occasionally get the chance to fight alongside well known Marvel characters from the X-Men franchise, however the AI in the game is at some points laughable, whether in their attempts to defeat you or an AI team member fighting with you. Now the whole idea behind X-Men is that each mutant has their own unique ability and whether you realize it or not, that aspect is one of the things that made the franchise so great. In X-Men Destiny you can choose different suits (which are not impressive looking) and change genes at will, making you kind of a mutt as you have no true classification. So instead of being unique, you end up being a melting pot of many different mutants just by pressing start. This just defeats the ideals of X-Men.

The story is dull as well as the San Francisco landscape the game takes place in. Nothing in the game really stands out or has any real intriguing aspects. There is no skipping the dialogue and the game has no replay value. If you have nothing better to do, I suppose it might be worth a playthrough as it is quite short, but I would not suggest purchasing the game. As a fan of X-Men (and not just the films) the game was a disappointment and as a gamer I would maybe rent this if I had dominated ever single other worthwhile game out there.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

Activision and Marvel’s latest X-Men Action/RPG game, X-Men Destiny is now available at retail stores nationwide! You play a young mutant who is just discovering his powers. As you progress, the choices you make and alliances they forge determine which side of the mutant cause you will align with as well as which one will reign supreme.

You can also play as three new mutants to the series which are Grant Alexander, Aimi Yoshida and Adrian Luca.  You can view the launch trailer here and the full press release below.

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The battle between the X-Men and Brotherhood of Mutants rages on — and your choices will shape the fate of the world!  Available today at retail stores nationwide, Marvel Entertainment, LLC and Activision Publishing, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) X-Men™ Destiny places gamers into the role of a young mutant just discovering their newfound powers; where the choices they make and alliances they forge determine which side of the mutant cause will reign supreme.  X-Men Destiny gives players three all-new mutants from which to pick, and an original story penned by acclaimed Marvel writer Mike Carey, delivering an action/RPG experience where players have ultimate customization of their mutant’s powers, development and “destiny.”

“For the first time ever, gamers can play as a NEW Marvel mutant and make the key decisions that lead to their siding with either the X-Men or Brotherhood,” said David Oxford, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Activision Publishing, Inc.  “The opportunity to play out X-Men Destiny‘s branching story arcs as three all-new characters provides a unique way of experiencing the X-Men Universe — one that we think fans are going to love.”

“A great story delivered by Mike Carey, coupled with a game landscape that allows players to make key decisions that shape their journey, is a combination we’re really excited about and think fans of the Marvel Universe will be as well,” said TQ Jefferson, Vice President of Games Production,  Marvel Entertainment.

Fighting alongside and against some of Marvel’s greatest X-Men characters, including Magneto, Cyclops, Wolverine and Gambit, gamers will evolve their mutant skills through X-Men Destiny‘s upgrade system, allowing them to mix and match X-Genes and abilities from various X-Men and Brotherhood characters such as  Iceman’s freeze powers and Emma Frost’s diamond skin.

X-Men Destiny‘s three new mutants — Grant Alexander, Aimi Yoshida and Adrian Luca — are brought to life by the voices of some of young Hollywood’s most popular talent:  Heroes icon Milo Ventimiglia, Sucker Punch and The Hangover Part II actress Jamie Chung, and Friday Night Lights star Scott Porter.

X-Men Destiny was developed by Silicon Knights for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Wii™, and have been rated “T” (Teen — Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes and Violence) by the ESRB.  Development studio Other Ocean created the Nintendo DS™ version of the game, which is rated “E10+” (Everyone 10+ — Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes) by the ESRB.

For more X-Men Destiny information, check out the HeroHQ community at www.facebook.com/herohq.

Activision Broadcast Media Center

Members of the media can visit Activision Publishing’s Broadcast Media Center to download broadcast quality video, web-ready video and high-resolution images.  Broadcast Media Center:  http://www.activisionvideo.com/.

About Silicon Knights, Inc.

Located in the Niagara Region of Ontario, Silicon Knights is dedicated to creating groundbreaking video games.  Our aim is to completely engage and immerse gamers by combining the very best elements of technology, art, audio, game play, and story.  For each game, we blend these elements until the result becomes greater than the sum of its parts.  We seek to create a compelling and detailed world within which the game player can become absorbed into a seamless and compelling experience.  Silicon Knights is the developer of such popular games as Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes, and Too Human.  More information on the company can be found at www.siliconknights.com.

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years.  Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing.  For more information, visit www.marvel.com.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Activision Publishing generally uses words such as “outlook,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “might,” “remains,” “to be,” “plans,” “believes,” “may,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimate,” future,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “project,” “remain,” “scheduled,” “set to,” “subject to,” “upcoming” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Activision Publishing’s titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Activision Publishing’s ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms, declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Activision Publishing’s products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware (including peripherals) and related software, industry competition including from used games and other forms of entertainment, litigation risks and associated costs, rapid changes in technology, industry standards, business models including online and used games, and consumer preferences, including interest in specific genres such as music, first-person action and massively multiplayer online games, protection of proprietary rights, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, licensees, licensors, vendors, and third-party developers, including the ability to attract, retain and develop key personnel and developers that can create high quality “hit” titles, counterparty risks relating to customers, licensees, licensors and manufacturers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates and tax rates, and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities and potential challenges associated with geographic expansion, and the other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

MARVEL, X-MEN, and all related characters: TM & © 2011 Marvel Entertainment, LLC and its subsidiaries. Licensed by Marvel Characters B.V. www.marvel.com. Game © 2011 Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision is a registered trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

Silicon Knights® is a registered trademark of Silicon Knights, Inc.  All rights reserved.

All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.

Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox LIVE are either registered trademarks or trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.

SOURCE Activision Publishing, Inc.

 

Check out this launch trailer for X-Men Destiny.

The game comes out 14th October on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, DS and Wii.

For more on X-Men Destiny check this out.

Learn more about X-Men Destiny with the help of these new two new behind the scenes video: X-Genes and Choice.

The game releases on the PlayStation 3, DS, Wii and Xbox 360 mid October.

For more on X-Men Destiny, check this out.

Check out these brand new trailers from the upcoming X-Men Destiny.

The all-new X-Men Destiny casts players as new mutant recruits in a rich, branching storyline that features a deep element of choice and gives players ultimate control of their destiny.

The game is due at the end of this month on DS, PS3, Wii and X360.

This game is published by Activision and is expected to be released by end of this month on DS, PS3, Wii and X360.

For more on X-Men: Destiny please click here

Activision has announced US launch dates for Silicon Knights’ X-Men Destiny and Beenox’s Spider-Man: Edge of Time.

You’ll be seeing more of the X-Men on September 27th, with Spidey arriving later on October 4th.

Thanks to Joystiq for the info.

Activision and Marvel have announced voice characters for Spider-Man: Edge of Time and X-Men Destiny.  Both games will be playable at this year’s Comic-Con.

Spider-Man: Edge of Time game will feature film star Val Kilmer as Walker Sloan, Smallville and V mainstay Laura Vandervoort as Mary Jane, and Katee Sackhoff.

Heroes icon Milo Ventimiglia, Sucker Punch and The Hangover Part II vixen Jamie Chung and Friday Night Lights star Scott Porter will bring three all-new playable mutant characters — Grant Alexander, Aimi Yoshida and Adrian Luca in X-Men Destiny.

“These amazing casts of talented Hollywood actors help bring the rich storylines of Spider-Man: Edge of Time and X-Men Destiny to life,” said Vicharin Vadakan, Director of Marketing, Activision Publishing.  “Players this fall will get to control the destiny of their own mutants or save Spider-Man and through this voice talent feel like they are part of the action.”