Eragon (video Game) - Development and Previews

Development and Previews

On April 18, 2006 Vivendi Universal Games announced that they were to publish a video game adaptation of the Eragon film to be released in December of the same year. It was slated to appear on most of the major game platforms (PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, Game Boy Advance, DS, PSP and PC). The console versions were set to be developed by Stormfront Studios, who had previously worked on the game adaptation of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Amaze Entertainment, who had previously worked on the game versions of Pirates of the Caribbean and Over the Hedge, were to develop the handheld versions. A GameCube version was planned but it was later cancelled. On the same day Vivendi announced that the first possible chance to see the game would be at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in May 2006. On May 11, 2006 it was confirmed by Yahoo that the game had been in development since pre-production of the film.

The game was previewed at Comic-Con 2006, where the public was allowed to play only one level named the Daret Bridge. The enemies consisted entirely of Urgals, and the player had to overcome several obstacles using magic and Saphira. Christopher Paolini played other levels at Comic-Con, such as Spine Mountains. The game was also shown at the 2006 Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany. Actress Sienna Guillory, who plays the elf Arya in the film, made personal appearances at the Vivendi stand to promote the game. In October 2006 it was announced that the actors from the Eragon film would lend their voices to the game adaptation. Specifically, Edward Speleers (playing the title character), Sienna Guillory (Arya), Garrett Hedlund (Murtagh) and Robert Carlyle (Durza) were slated to lend their voices. The main theme music for the Eragon game was released on Shur'tugal.com on November 2, 2006 and can be downloaded from the news story on Shurtugal. Emma Townshend's recording of her song "We Can Fly Away" was also used.