The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay made a splash on the original Xbox several years ago. The game was truly hailed for its inventiveness and originality in 2004. Starbreeze and Tigon Studios have come together once again to bring the latest iteration in The Chronicles of Riddick universe, with Assault on Dark Athena.

The original game, Escape from Butcher Bay, was published by Vivendi Games, but after the merger with Activision Assault on Dark Athena found a new home with Atari. The first game received high praise from many critics, but sales were not as high as expected. Although, since its release the game has gained a cult following. Atari has released the original game, Escape from Butcher Bay as a companion to Assault on Dark Athena on the same disc. This is great for PS3 and Xbox 360 owners who have never played the game on the Xbox or PC.

Story

Similar to Escape from Butcher Bay, Assault on Dark Athena is more of a side story and is not directly connected to any of the movies. However, Assault on Dark Athena does take place after the first game’s story, so playing the first game might make the overall experience a little more enjoyable. Although, it is not required as both games have their own complete stories.

Riddick finds himself aboard the mercenary ship, Dark Athena against his will. Predictably, the story is mainly about escaping from the ship like in just about every Riddick movie/video game. During his journey, Riddick will have to go up against Gale Revas who is running the mercenary vessel. Of course escape is not the only thing that happens as Riddick encounters many interesting characters such as a little girl named Lynn. There are also drones (half human half machine) in the game that can be controlled by Riddick.

The voice acting in this game is superb just like the first game. There are times when some of the comments made by the characters can be outright funny or vulgar. The story is the main driver in the game as it will make you want to see what happen next just like the movies.

Controls

Escape from Butcher Bay was definitely a great game for when it came out. The game mixed the FPS genre with the stealth action and hack-n-slash genres quite successfully. Many criticized that a hack-n-slash mechanic would not work in first person view, but Starbreeze and Tigon was able to prove them wrong with The Chronicles of Riddick series.

One of the biggest elements in the game is melee attach or hacking-n-slashing. Firing weapons feels more like a secondary option similar to how it was in Mirror’s Edge. Guns can be picked up, but be prepared to toss them for something else frequently. Initially, the only weapons you will be able to pick up will be the guns attached to drones you kill. While picking up the attached gun, you are immobile because you have to hold on to the drone’s body as well.

Gruesome finishing moves can be executed while engaging in close melee combat. However, the big emphasis the game seems to push is assassination by stealth. Even though the game is fairly linear it seems like there are more than one way to complete an objective – either by stealth or by running and gunning.

Visuals/Design

The game is setup so that there are many side missions you can take-up aboard Athena. The side missions range from running errands to assassination. However, the main missions are definitely where the meat of the game is at. Even though the game is technically linear it does feel like the developers tried to focus on offering multiple ways to play through the game.

There is an online multiplayer mode, but it does feel tacked on at the last minute. Probably the best mode in the multiplayer is pitch black. In this mode one person gets to be Riddick and see in the dark while everyone else is fumbling around trying to find you. This mode reminds me of the mode in Metal Gear Solid 4 online where one person controls Snake and sneaks around.

Assault on Dark Athena does look good visually, but nothing to really write home about. Escape from Butcher Bay did get a HD touch up and actually looks pretty good for a game that came out about five years ago. The dark atmosphere does help cover up any pixelations within the game.

Wrap-up

With two full sized games for the price of one, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena is definitely worth the money. The voice acting is top notch and the story is excellent. The game definitely offers something different from your traditional first person shooter and if you are a fan of the Riddick series then you definitely do not want to miss out on this latest addition to the franchise.

Score

4/5

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