The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

 
  The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay was a part of that rare breed of movie games that didn't suck. Developer Starbreeze Studios created a first person experience that delivered a fully realized environment and immersive stealth gameplay that was true to the Riddick character while not becoming a slave to the movie's license.Yet since the game came out in 2004, a year before the Xbox 360, and carrying the negative connotation of being a movie game, it never really caught on fire like it should have. Thankfully, the gaming gods have given Riddick another chance and Atari and Starbreeze Studios are back with the sequel to Butcher Bay, Assault on Dark Athena , while also updating Escape from Butcher Bay and providing a robust multiplayer mode as part of the package.

Upon starting the game, you can pick either adventure to start, so if you are experienced with Butcher Bay, you don't have to plod your way through the game to start on Assault on Dark Athena, though Butcher Bay is still a fun experience five years later.

Escape from Butcher Bay is a prequel to both the Pitch Black and Chronicles of Riddick movies. Riddick has just been captured by bounty hunter Johns and is being transported to penitentiary of Butcher Bay on an off-world penal colony, where no prisoner is said to have escaped. You take control of Riddick as he plans his escape, while learning more about him and his mysterious "eye-shine" ability.
 

 
  Escape from Butcher Bay was no slouch in the graphical department in it's original release and is often cited as one of the most impressive looking games on the original Xbox. The updated version improves some of the lighting and character models, but still suffers from a few technical bugs. Character models show tearing in cutscenes and have some crazy animations or walking patterns.There's also an abudance of loading times in between areas that become an annoyance since there is a lot of backtracking in your missions.

Since you are trying to escape a prison manned by a small army of armed guards, the gameplay in Butcher Bay is stealth based. Gun play takes a backseat to sneaking and stealth kills. This is where the game becomes its most satisfying and fun. The sneaking does a great job of making you feel like a dangerous predator like Riddick, accompanied by the brutal kills. Sneaking through the shadows as you track the guards, gradually getting closer, only to pounce, snapping their neck or shoving you shiv into their skull in first person is an immersive experience that made the original Xbox game fun and transfers well to the remake.

It'll take you about 4-5 hours to complete Butcher Bay if you don't partake in the side missions, in which you can then move to Assault on Dark Athena.

Dark Athena takes place immediately after Butcher Bay, where Johns and Riddick are now floating through space in cryo-sleep. Their ship is sucked in by vessel, Dark Athena, which is manned by guard drones and mercenaries. After learning that they have Riddick on board, they attempt to capture him to collect on the large bounty. It's up to you to find a way out before you are again sold to the highest bidder.
 

 
  Immediately upon starting, Dark Athena, you can see the difference between the two games. Dark Athena is more shooter heavy than Butcher Bay and faster paced. The drones that populate the ship can have their guns used and melee weapons and guns litter the ship. You even earn your Ulaks, the signature blades on the cover, within 30 mintues of the game starting. There are still stealth mechanics in the game, and you can choose to play the game stealthy if you like, but there is so many tools of destruction at your hands that it's hard to not let loose and go guns blazing.

Aside from the shooter heavy gameplay, Dark Athena also has better voice acting and character animation than Butcher Bay. Vin Diesel and cast provide some of the best videogame voice acting in gaming,  that draws you in to the story and universe. There's one character in particular who's voice acting and animation is just superb. The game is also better looking than Butcher Bay and doesn't show any of the tearing or frequent load times of the previous game. The one problem with Dark Athena is the enemy AI. Drones will run into open areas when fired upon or will make full 360 degree turns before finding their targets. It's a minor detail, but a puzzling one since Butcher Bay's AI was spot on.

Once you're done with Dark Athena, you can dive into the game's Unreal Tournament inspired multiplayer which offers the standard multiplayer modes like Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag, complete with over the top announcer who spouts lines like "Murder Spree". These modes are superseceded by the Butcher Bay Riot and Pitch Black modes though. In Riot, three teams all fight for a power cell that needs to be returned to your base to be charged for 5 seconds. If you die, you are out for the round and kills score you money to buy guns and armor. It's a fun Counter Strike like mode that is faced pace and tense.Pitch Black offers a very different type of game. In it, six players take the role of guards and one is Riddick. The guards start in a room with weapons and then proceed to a darker area where Riddick starts. It's up to the guards to find Riddick, while its Riddick's job to eliminate the soldiers one by one. This mode stood as the highlight for me, as it was tense trying to take the soliders out, while the soldiers where becoming more frightened as there numbers were eliminated. The multiplayer won't replace Halo or Call of Duty, but Pitch Black and Butcher Bay Riot are fun diversions that should be replicated in some form in more games. They are deep, team based modes that extremely fun.
 

 
 Assault on Dark Athena is a great package. Butcher Bay is still a great stealth game, despite it's technical issues, and Dark Athena is a more technically impressive shooter, even if the AI is spotty. Combine this with the fun multiplayer and The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena is an amazing value in these trying economic times.