The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (Xbox)

The game is actually a prequel to the film Pitch Black, which means that Riddick is still a highly unpleasant serial killer and there's none of the naff, sub-Dune style mumbo jumbo from the newer movie. The only problem with this is that pretty much the whole game is set in an extremely murky and often rather monotonous looking prison. Monotonous in the most attractive way possible though, as this is certainly the most graphically impressive Xbox game yet seen. The use of light and shade is superb and the models for the all the characters and monsters are some of the best ever seen in a video game.

Perhaps the biggest surprise though is that the now ubiquitous stealth sections are actually the best bit, with Riddick's showpiece ability to see in the dark implemented extremely well. This more than makes up for the odd dull sub-quest, and the relative lack of gunplay, and adds further variety to what is easily one of the Xbox's best games yet. --David Jenkins

1. GRAPHICS-realistic. Lightning effects are superb, creating a dark, spooky atmosphere when needed. The characters are excellent and very real, down to how they walk, how they talk, etc.Rag-doll effects mean that bodies act like real bodies. Riddick looks exactly like Vin Diesel. Textures are superb-from the cold, metallic interior of a jail cell to the elaborate, plush, decorated quarters of the owner of the prison.

2. SOUND-realistic. You often enter a scene and hear people talking to each other, from guards to prisoners. The guns sound realistic, especially the assault rifle that sounds like a beast of a weapon when fired. Shouts of rioting prisoners (or mentally disturbed ones) are realistic, as is the screams of the dying ones (when they mess with armed guards). Music is good, changing with the mood. Breathing of mutanty-freaks or the sound of alien mosnters eating a corpse are also quite realistic.

3. ATMOSPHERE-brilliant. The prison feels like a prison, down to the urine and vomit on the walls and floor, the mentally-distrubed inmates, the gang-warfare between prisoners, the trigger-happy guards who only need a small excuse to pump you full of lead, the strict camera-turret system, which means that if you break a rule, such as fightning with inmates, then a camera warns you, in a typically robotic voice, that "You are in violation" and then either stuns you or shoots you. Later levels when you are in a mine are brilliantly done with very dark scenes.

GAMEPLAY-very good. You can communicate with people by walking up to them and pressing X. The information that they give you is often valuable. Sometimes, for information or for rewards, you need to do jobs for some of the inmates-this is a bit like in GTA:San Andreas. The environment can be interacted with: bodies can be dragged and dumpled down cliffs, oil barrels can be blown up, valves and buttons can be used, overhead vents can be accessed, etc. A basic system of money allows you to buy stuff from prisoners or guards.

WEAPONS: Range from simple (but nasty) weapons, such as knives, screwdrivers, clubs, batons, knuckledusters, to more, heavy-duty weapons, such as pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, grenades, miniguns, etc. You can carry out special attack moves with these weapons, and if you are unarmed and facing an armed guard, you can use their weapon against them by executing a special move on them. Cool feature.

UNITS: other units range from prisoners, to light/medium/heavy armoured guards, to guards in big, robotic suits (very formidable), to small, flying droids, to freaky humanoid mutants (in later levels), to alien-like lifeforms. Basically, a good range of characters to battle.

TIME: The game is not a long game, and I finished it in about a week. But it is a fantastic game, which meant that I wanted to play it again. There are 3 modes of difficulty, and you play whichever one you want.

There are not many bady points, and overall, it is a fantastic game, with amazing graphics, that is worth the money.


You're not afraid of the dark are you?   November 20, 2005
John S
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Film tie-ins are historically, it has to be said, not that great. There are one or two notable exceptions, but on the whole it tends to a case of developers cashing on in a films success and releasing lame lack lustre titles or sometimes something just so awful the people responsible should be lynched. However if someone is really passionate about the source material great things can happen, just look at what Sam Raimi has done with Spiderman for proof of that.

About 4 years ago, director David Twohy released a low budget sci-fi flick called Pitch Black which introduced the character Richard B Riddick. The film did reasonably well at the box office but has since achieved something of a cult status with good reason I might add. Riddick was an anti-hero in every respect describing himself as the ultimate baddass and was brought to life by newcomer and former bouncer Vin Diesel.

Four years later and we come to the release of the first sequel, Chronicles of Riddick. To co-incide with this Starbreeze Studios bring us the game Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. It isn’t necessary to know any background to the character but it would enhance your appreciation if you did.

Ok, so is the game any good or do we have yet another lame tie-in. I must admit I was dubious having read all the hype. Well for once believe what you’ve heard or read about. The intro movie sets the tone perfectly but its only when you actually take control of Riddick that you realize just how good this game really is. The story is basically that Riddick has been incarcerated in Butcher Bay, the toughest slam in the galaxy and its your job to get him out.

The big selling point but by no means the only one are the graphics. You have never seen graphics this good in a game, not even Halo. It is a visually stunning. Thanks to a new process called ‘normal mapping‘ detail and realism have been brought to new levels. Riddick looks like Vin Diesel, and I mean exactly. The detail on the character models is amazing, and there a lot of characters in this game each one with their own distinctive look and personality. The whole environment has an almost organic feeling to it, it all looks so real. Not since Splinter Cell has there been such a good use of lighting which all adds to the whole experience, just watch Riddicks shadow as he creeps around the confines of Butcher Bay, and then theres the sound. Vin Diesel himself brings Riddick to life with his 60-a-day gravelly delivery but all the voice actors in the game do a great job and really bring personality to their character. Cole Hauser reprises his role as Johns the merc responsible for Riddicks incarceration and an array of talents bring the other characters to life.

Controls are intuitive with the X button performing a variety of tasks dependent on what you’re doing at the time. For example, pressing X whilst standing next to a box will make Riddick climb up on top of it. This action as well others like climbing ladders or crawling into vents are all viewed in the third-person and the transition is seemless and works well. The left thumbstick moves Riddick whilst the right is used for the camera, standard in most FPS’s. The right-trigger is used for firing weapons and throwing punches in unarmed combat, whilst the left is used to guard. Other features include stealth mode, the addition of the trademark eyes (see Pitch Black) which allow Riddick to see in the dark, (available later in the game), and my personal favourite, turning an opponents weapon against them for a devastating attack, I wont spoil this little gem for you, in close quarters just press the right-trigger at the right moment and you’ll see what I mean.

There are missions to undertake, extras to unlock, a whole host of characters to interact with, some great weapons and so many other cool things about this game that I could go on for hours. The game does carry an 18 certificate and the language reflects that not to mention the depiction of graphic violence, (I can hear the outcries already). The only bad thing I can say about Chronicles of Riddick is that it is quite short and there are loading times to contend with but the quality of the game is so high I can live with that.

Easily one of the best titles for the X-Box and an outstanding achievement from Starbreeze Studios.


wow!!!   August 11, 2005
Dom (England)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

i cant say i was expecting much from this but oh my god does it deliver, the graphics are superb close to doom 3 but with a slightly dodgy frame rate in some parts (not that this does anything to detract from the game) the voice acting is great, thisd game feels like u are playing a film, the story is great. it took me while to complete the first time (due to a part in the mines, easy if u know how a total c*nt if u dont) but as soon as i complated it i started agen and it took well about 5 hours, great replay value ( i thnk i might go and start it again as soon i have finnished this review) my only problem with this game is that if u are used to first person shooters then the movement feels a little floaty and wierd at first but it doesnt take long to get used to.the the style reminds me of deuse ex but about 1000 times better, the first person fist fighting is great a good range of attacks and bloody as hell, great. the gun work is odd at first but takes little time to get used to. the sections of doing missions for your fellow inmates is great fun and just wen u start to tire of not having a gun, BAM along comes the next section and u can get a gun and go shoot those damn guard n whatnot to hell. by far the best singleplayer game i have ever played, beats halo/2 campaign hands down. simply awsome game, get it now.


Better than Halo 2   March 9, 2005
Jamie Carson
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

WOW, what a game.

I wasnt really expecting that much from this game, being the studios first game and being based on such a dissapointing movie. Lucky the game features an all new plot set before Pitch Black. The story is really involving and does not dissapoint. Vin Desiels voice and likeness are featured in the game, and really help to emerse you into the world of Richard B. Riddick.

The graphics in this game are amazing, no annoying pop-up textures like in Halo 2. They do a great job of getting across the gloom and depression of the Butcher Bay Prison.

The game play here is varied and very involving. Most missions can either be tackled by the use of stealth or by simple run and gun tactics. A few times the game may force you to use one option or the other, but these are few and far between.

The stealth dynamics are really welll handled considering this is a 1st person game. When you are hidden in stealth mode the screen takes on a blue tint and when your not it turns red. This makes for some very interesting and dramatic stealth kills.

The sound is well handled too, with all the voice overs putting alot of depth into the characters voice. This again helps you to become imersed in the game.

Overall this is a very enjoyable game. Not a straight out and out FPS, but still highly enjoyable. I enjoyed this alot more than Halo 2. The only down side to the game is that its quite short, but its not really a problem. There are lots of things to collect and extras to unlock so this also increases the replayability.

5/5


Better than Halo 2.   January 12, 2005
Mr. Jamie Reeves (London, UK)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This is in my opinion the finest game released in 2004 on the Xbox. The graphics are excellent. The AI is exceptional and the gameplay is perfect.

For those who are fans of Pitch Black or Chronicles of Riddick this game actually provides a good intro story to the movies, including how Riddick really got his eyeshine (as mentioned in Chronicles, he didn't pay 20 menthol cools for them), in fact at home the box for this sits on my DVD shelf near the Chronicles of Riddick movies, as it really feels like an integral part of the saga.

But back to the game. The hand to hand fighting mode in this is great, without changing from the FPS you can give the guards and other inmates a good slapping and it really feels like a proper brawl (being able to kick might have been nice, but never mind), another good point on hand to hand fighting is the ability to grab a gun off an armed opponent, disarm them and blow their brains out (takes a bit of practice but it really is worth seeing).

The storyline is good (the ending is far better than the tragedy at the end of Halo 2), the voice acting is good as well with Vin Diesel providing the voice of Riddick (also listen out for the voice of Dwight Schultz - AKA Murdoch from the A Team, or Lt Barclay from Star Trek TNG, and rapper Xzibit), and the intro sequence is probably my favourite from any game ever created (with the probable exception of Ghostbusters on the C64).

If I had to think of a weak point to this game I would have to say that it is a bit on the easy side, and I think most seasoned gamers will go through this in 1-2 days, the rest of us mortals may need a couple of weeks depending on how much time you get to play games.