The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape
from Butcher Bay was one of the unsung heroes of the original Xbox. While a
critical smash and a commercial success, it never really attained the same level
of lavish praise as games like Half-Life 2 or Halo, even though it managed to be
just as groundbreaking within the FPS genre in terms of storytelling, action,
and ambience, and was a prime example of how a licensed game can be done right.
However, developer Starbreeze is looking to try their hand at getting gamers to
check out the great game with this remake, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on
Dark Athena.
Assault on Dark Athena is more than
just a straight remake. Aside from the requisite boost to high-def, the game
will offer multiplayer (an element that the original game was sorely lacking)
and a brand new campaign in addition to the original Escape from Butcher Bay.
The added features are definitely a bonus for those who missed out on the
original game (unfortunately, as the original game isn’t backwards compatible
with the Xbox 360, so this is your one chance, 360 owners), but on their own
merits, the whole package would seem a bit shoddy without the inclusion of
Escape from Butcher Bay. The new campaign doesn’t really live up to the high
standards of its predecessor, and aside from a great multiplayer mode that
effectively captures the feel of the stealth-based single player game, the
online element feels fairly run-of-the-mill. Still, if you skipped out on the
original Riddick game when it launched, then this title is definitely a great
bargain.
The Escape from Butcher Bay element
of Assault on Dark Athena has been left largely untouched, save for HD graphical
boost. For those not in the know, the original campaign is a prequel to the
events that transpire in the Chronicles of Riddick film, which involves the
“hero” (or villain as some would say) being incarcerated at Butcher Bay, a
reputed prison colony not known for escapees. Therefore, it’s up to the player
to employ some pretty crafty dealings and take advantage of Riddick’s special
abilities to bust out. The original title emphasized more cerebral pursuits as
opposed to simply blasting your way from one point to another. You’d often have
to take out enemies using stealth and impromptu weapons like shivs, and often
times avoid combat altogether. Along your journey, you’d have to meet and gain
the assistance of other prisoners or guards on the colony, be it to get into
certain areas or gain access to new items. The story added some new elements to
the Riddick franchise, and offered up some truly compelling gameplay.
However, as a straight remake of the
original game probably wouldn’t fly as a $60 dollar investment (regardless of
how great the original was), Assault on Dark Athena features a brand new
single-player campaign called, well, just that. Assault on Dark Athena follows
the events of the Escape from Butcher Bay story arc, with Riddick and his captor
Johns being brought aboard a ship of renegade mercs led by a person straight
from Riddick’s past. Therefore, escape is the name of the game once again, as
the stowaway Riddick must fight his way to get off of the ship, but not before
settling a few scores.
Assault on Dark Athena is a fun
addition to the original game, offering up more story elements and new gameplay
for fans of the original who couldn’t get enough. However, there are some
noticeable shortcomings, especially when compared to the original Riddick title.
The campaign feels a lot more restrictive and linear than the original game, and
while you will interact with other people on board the ship (who are prisoners,
ironically) this element of the game feels a lot more secondary than it did in
the original. All in all, the Assault on Dark Athena campaign feels somewhat
lacking when compared to Escape from Butcher Bay.
Additionally, the story elements
aren’t fleshed out terribly well in Dark Athena. The dialogue is very cheesy,
and it’s pretty hard to muster up a real desire to help out the prisoners on
board of the ship when every other word out of their mouth is a venomous insult
hurled at you. While the Butcher Bay campaign does a nice job of setting the
stage for the events that unfold in the film, Dark Athena doesn’t really feel
like it brings any compelling story elements to the table.
Aside from the two single-player
campaigns, the game also features online multiplayer for the first time. The
online component offers up several different modes, the coolest of which being
the Pitch Black mode. In this mode, one player will become Riddick, while the
others will have to hunt him down in a completely dark area. While Riddick has
his ability to see in the dark, the others will have to rely on flashlights to
spot and take him down. The downside to being Riddick is that you don’t have
access to any guns, and limited to using your Ulaks for melee combat and stealth
to take out your enemies. Once someone kills Riddick, that player then becomes
him and the game begins again.
While the Pitch Black mode is a lot
of fun, the rest of the multiplayer element falls pretty short. Team Deathmatch
and Capture the Flag play just like you’d expect them too, and the other new
mode, Butcher Bay Riot, a 3-team take on Counterstrike, feels like it ends far
too quickly to be a truly compelling multiplayer game.
Graphically, Assault on Dark Athena
looks pretty good, but not as great as it could have been. The original title
took excellent advantage of the Xbox’s hardware, offering some visuals that were
amazing for 2004. Unfortunately, while the game isn’t ugly by any means and
features a pretty competent HD look, it’s lost some luster in the 5 years since
it released and doesn’t really compete with the likes of Gears of War or
Killzone 2.
The sound effects are well done for
the most part. Vin Diesel’s deadpan delivery is as eerie as ever, effectively
capturing the character’s dark streak and brooding tone, but there are some
script issues (including the aforementioned cheesy dialogue) and some
over-the-top acting from secondary characters. However, aside from that, the
music does a great job of capturing the mood and the sound effects are solid.
The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault
on Dark Athena is a solid action title that undoubtedly gets a boost by having
the original classic Escape from Butcher Bay included in the package. However,
simply off of the merits of the new campaign and multiplayer, the game wouldn’t
be nearly as recommendable without it.
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Gameplay: 8.0
The release benefits by including the original Escape from Butcher Bay in
the package, which was one of the most compelling FPS titles around when it
launched in 2004. Unfortunately, the Assault on Dark Athena campaign isn’t quite
as good.
Graphics: 8.0
The game features a high-def boost to the original engine and a few new
bells and whistles, but what was ground-breaking five years ago isn’t nearly as
impressive today.
Sound: 8.5
While the script is cheesy at times, the voice work, particularly Diesel’s,
is appropriately brooding. The sound effects and score are also well done.
Difficulty: Medium
Concept: 7.0
While the packaging of the original title is a great move, the new campaign
and story elements leave something to be desired.
Multiplayer: 8.5
The new Pitch Black mode is great and a lot of fun, but the other modes feel
old hat.
Overall: 8.0
Assault on Dark Athena is a great deal for players, as it gives those who
missed out on the phenomenal Escape from Butcher Bay the chance to check it out
in HD, with a host of perks. However, based solely on the strength of these
perks, it’s a bit harder to recommend for those who played through Riddick’s
first console game.
