Being in the San Francisco, hardly a week goes by where one company or another isn’t promoting something or gathering the nearby media for drinking, appetizers and socializing.

Though last week was supposed to be my relaxing week off while preparing to join the gang here at Multiplayer, I ended by the ocean for a few hours. I was there to see what Brash Entertainment, a publisher formed early last year exclusively focused on producing games based on Hollywood licenses, had for their big coming out party.

Some folks from Brash came by the 1UP offices where I used to work a few months back to discuss the direction of their company and allegedly incorporate feedback from the enthusiast press. I wasn’t present there, but everyone I talked to who was said Brash appeared surprisingly receptive. With that in mind, I decided to give up one of my nights off.

I didn’t drag a camera along, so we’ll need some imagination here.

See the transparent tent in the picture above? Okay, probably not, but try to picture it’s on the right hand side of the building in the center there. The Pacific Ocean is to the right. Still with me? A presentation outlining Brash’s strategy in the coming years was scheduled to start at 6:30, but given that most of the games industry doesn’t come into work until at least 10 or 11:00 A.M. and works past the typical 5:00 P.M. shift, no one was there — but I was! The rest showed up 30 minutes later, so the ensuing theatrics were delayed until then.

As the few in attendance shuffled around with beverages procured from the open bar (a standard at nearly every media event), I set off to see what Brash had to show. What did I find? Did 1UP staff members find me and string me up as a traitor? Read on to find out.

There were only two titles on display. “Jumper”, based on the movie starring Star Wars‘ Hayden Christensen, the ever-present Samuel L. Jackson and The O.C.’s [EDITOR'S NOTE: Sorry, not Garden State!] Rachel Bilson, occupied two displays. Brash’s adaptation is a typical brawler, and calling the game rough in its current state may be an understatement. Teleportation during combat proved the only noteworthy feature. When you approach an enemy, icons appear in four locations and depending on which is pressed, that dictates the direction of the attack. Only an Xbox 360 version was on display, but it’s coming to PlayStation 2 and Wii, too. They didn’t have those versions on display — likely for good reason.

“Jumper”’s blurry textures, constantly hiccuping frame rate and low-polygon character models didn’t inspire much confidence in the final product, which releases next week to coincide with the film. When I later learned from a source close to the project that the development cycle on Jumper was less than a year, the resulting game makes more sense.

Between the occupied bar and ample seating for appetizer munching, the available space only permitted another two displays to accompany their other project, “Space Chimps.” Based on an animated film about monkeys in space from Shrek Producer John Williams (not John Williams the composer), this one didn’t look so hot, either.

Brash admitted “Space Chimps” had some months of development left; it’s aiming for a summer release. As a kids game, “Space Chimps” isn’t offensive, but the invited media wasn’t likely to care much, as evidenced by kiosks inhabited solely by PR reps much of the night. “Jumper” fared better in popularity, with journalists rotating in and out of 10-to-15 minute demonstrations, notebooks in hand. Then again, if you had a choice between “Jumper” and “Space Chimps,” which one would you be gravitating to?

Eventually, Brash chairman, founder and CEO Mitch Davis stood at the front of a giant projector, microphone in-hand. With a reported $400 million in capital lined up, Brash stood a chance to impress here, even if the games on display created some trepidation. Starting with a brief trailer for “Jumper,” Brash moved on to tease a previously announced “SAW” title. Before the presentation, I’d predicted to EGM’s Shane Bettenhausen — who publicly declared me a traitor — that “SAW” would be a perfect Wii game. Combine the motion controls of “Manhunt 2″ within a mini-game-centric narrative — voila! Adding fuel to my own fire was a Photoshop’d picture depicting a Wiimote in the hands of a “SAW” victim, shown on the projector behind Davis.

The trailer tried to humorously insult the attending media. I didn’t record any audio, but to paraphrase, the creepy puppet from the series appeared and said: “For years, you’ve been wasting your life writing about games. [pause] No longer.” You could hear more than a few confused chuckles in the audience. To make matters worse, the game’s using Unreal Engine 3, which means my Wii speculation went out the window. D’oh. The trailer ended with a release date of October 2009, likely timed to a film sequel. That would put the series at Saw VII, for those keeping score at home.

“Space Chimps” was briefly shown, but Brash quickly moved on to their secretive 2010 release, whose trailer showed a game clearly rooted in Greek mythology — minotaurs and all. Brash wouldn’t divulge the license or the Japanese developer working on it, but with Codemasters in possession of “Jason and the Argonauts”, we’re guessing “Clash of the Titans” from Game Republic, the studio behind “Genji.” Why Game Republic? The trailer predominantly featured a huge crab, duh! The audience seemed to react best to this one, even if nobody quite understood the secrecy or why they were showing it so early.

Maybe there was a good reason, though. Brash may have already realized their first wave isn’t going to make a splash critically, and by showing a trailer for a title they’re clearly committing a lengthy development process to, as well as handing it to what we’re to assume is an established studio, they’ve already learned from some year one mistakes.

Following that, the event wrapped the way most of them do. A gaggle of writers jetted off to update their respective news sections in hopes of being first to post, while the vast majority stuck around for a few more drinks and to mingle. In the hours before I left, my conversations revealed there really are folks at Brash who want quality licensed games. Thing is, working on licensed IP means those involved require many different people to agree on the same thing. When the stamp of approval for a new feature must go through a publisher, sometimes multiple Hollywood studios, actors and countless others all at the same time, eventually the wheels can start to fall off. That’s their story. How it impacts game quality… well, we’ll see.

Whatever’s in 2010 appeared promising based on the trailer, but it’s “Jumper,” coming not long after Brash’s first entry, “Alvin and the Chipmunks” last November, that will be establishing the world’s first impressions for how Brash intend to be different. Will gamers be willing to take another chance with them in 2009 and 2010?