Xboxist

The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena Review

It's been five years since The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay busted out on the Xbox. Now we get a pseudo-sequel in the form of The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena which combines the hi-rez HD version of a remastered Butcher Bay game with a new Dark Athena adventure plus online multiplayer in a smoking triple pack - a great value not seen since the cornucopian Orange Box.

How well does Butcher Bay hold up? Building off the hi-rez assets of the PC version, the 360 iteration is your definitive vessel into the Riddick world. And what a splendidly black and vile world it is, filled with double-cross and neck-snapping catharsis. Riddick is a bad-ass. He backs up his baritone one-liners with conviction and a shiny shiv. You'll be a fool to doubt him.

Conviction is an apt descriptor for the Riddick games. The conviction in the voice acting from Vin Diesel and the entire cast draws the player into his dark and violent criminal universe. When an inmate tries to sell you a shiv he promises will open up your victim like a fish, you believe him. You're sickened by him, but you buy it anyway. Your fellow inmates emote with hand gestures and posture for power but cower when tortured. The prison guards are no better. They're corrupt and beat you when you cross them. No matter which person you're standing by, in prison you're next to filth. Fortunately, you're not locked in with these psychopaths. These dregs are locked in with you -- Riddick.

When you talk about graphics, Butcher Bay continues to rival many current releases. The Starbreeze team really built a solid engine and over the years have maintained it with great reverence to keep it still shining. Their hard work has paid off in spades as Riddick remains unique in a market of bland gimmicky shooters (Fracture, Timeshift, Dark Sector, Legendary, etc.) with nothing going for them but one simple hook.

Riddick stays above the pack by delivering fresh gameplay, good pacing, and a nice mix of genres from FPS to stealth to RPG. A fair comparison is God of War pacing meets Splinter Cell sneaking meets Fallout 3 fetching. There's never a dull moment. Plus, for the first time, console players will get to pilot the riot guard mech.

Dark Athena is not a sequel. Instead, it is a generous helping of expansion pack to flesh out the further chronicles of Riddick. The gameplay mechanics stay the same but you get a new weapon called the dual Ulaks to play with aboard the mercenary ship Dark Athena. The pacing is a little sporadic and the A.I. is spotty compared to Butcher Bay's, but the visuals are improved over the original. The facial acting in the character models are impressive and show a new depth in emotions. For good or bad, there's a lot more gunplay as well. But having played through the first part of the game, it's nice to let loose and see the ground run red.

Online multiplayer is a new addition. It was requested by fans during the original release. Starbreeze answered the call. But like all games with multiplayer jammed in where it shouldn't, here it serves little more than as a bullet-point on the back of the box for its standard, by-the-numbers offerings. The most notable option is the "Pitch Black" mode, which pits you against everyone else and may strike a cord with fanatic FPS gamers. Hopefully multiplayer will entice the final quota of people looking for the biggest bang for their buck to buy this awesome, mature-rated game.

The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena is a great bundle, especially to those new to the Riddick mythos. Featuring three separate chunks of game, it is also a great value. The main attraction remains Escape for Butcher Bay for its groundbreaking mix of gameplay and refined visuals. Assault on Dark Athena is a fun and meaty expansion for those looking to eke out more game while praying for another movie. Multiplayer is bland but competent and is the final leg in a tripod that props the entire Riddick package way above a number of games available on the Xbox 360 and PS3. If you haven't experienced Riddick, there's no reason left to hide.