A Movie Game That Really Delivers

Author's Rating:

Pros: Graphics, Varied Gameplay, Voice-overs, Story

Cons: Short, No Multiplayer

The Bottom Line: 
Short but sweet. Fans of the genre should buy, and others should rent.

Author's Review
Gameplay 5/5: Chronicles of Riddick is a prequel to the 1999 sci-fi movie Pitch Black. Right of the back you think, "Great another crappy movie game." Finally you are wrong. Movie games have almost all been flops, dating back to E.T. for the Atari, but Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay denies all logic and delivers an unforgettable gameplay experience.
Chronicles of Riddick delivers this experience in a wide variety of ways. Although the entire game is in first-person view, the gameplay changes drastically from situation to situation. For most of the game you will be limited to hand to hand or stealth combat. The weapons in these situations range from brass knuckles, to clubs, to knives. Each weapon presents its own opportunity for a unique kill. Knifes allow a stealth kill from behind, as do bare hands; If you are looking for a more face-to-face style of gameplay use clubs, for their ability to create a more complete block. Opportunities for stealth and face-to-face fights are presented in multiple points throughout the game.
In other areas of Chronicles of Riddick you will be equipped with guns for chaotic shootouts or more stealth kills. An electric shock is a good way to stun an enemy and then run up to snap their neck. These guns range from pistols to assault rifle and each feel very realistic. To give a real-life feel to the guns, a laser is used instead of a reticle. This is now seen in other games such as Resident Evil 4. All the weapons in Chronicles of Riddick feel great and play well created a varied and fun gameplay experience.
Along with your fighting and weapon skills you also have the power to see in the dark. By the end of this game the dark will fear you. You can sneak up behind enemies in pitch black and they will never know what hit them. The great thing about this effect is that it doesn't use a green or white base like modern night-vision, but instead uses your powers, which create a purple-based image. Unlike other games with meters or icons, Riddick uses this view to tell you when you are hidden using a change in screen color.
With the wide variety of environments, weapons, and enemies the gameplay in Chronicles of Riddick is some of the best of 2004.

Story 5/5: The basic story for Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay is summed up in one word, escape. In this game you start of as Riddick, a fugitive captured by a bounty hunter and are sent to Butcher Bay, the highest security facility in the world. From here you must survive and find a way out. The story for this game is very well done and will leave you wanting more.

Sound 5/5: Chronicles of Riddick's sound isn't really anything new, but it just doesn't do anything wrong. Everything is on time and sounds realistic, nothing is too loud or too soft, and the voice-overs are the best of any game to date. For those simple reasons, this game has some of the best audio available.

Graphics 5/5: This yet another area where Chronicles of Riddick shines. The player models look great. Vin Diesel's model, Riddick, looks so much like him that it is somewhat frightening. Along with the player models, the environment look detailed and pretty sharp. When you get really close to a wall, they don't look as great, but are still wonderful. The cut scenes also look amazing with beautiful lighting and amazing effects. Chronicles of Riddick also uses dynamic shadows so all the differently lit areas look great. The graphics just add to the emersion of this game and really make it feel alive.

Replay Value 2/5: Here in lies the downfall of Chronicles of Riddick. The game is only around ten hours long meaning you could beat it easily within a week. Even though this game is so good it isn't likely that you will play through it more then twice. That leaves X-box Live to make up for time after the game. The only problem is that is is X-box Live Aware, which is basically a way to see your friends on-line and be able to receive invites. This wouldn't be a problem if the cover was not so misleading in saying X-box Live. After you find this out you'll be wondering if you will ever pick this game up again.

Overall 4/5: The saying short but sweet applies perfectly to this game and is the only reason it did not receive a 5/5. Everything else from gameplay, to sound, to graphics is done with perfection, but since it is so short I can only recommend this as a buy for fans of the genre, but for others, you may just want to rent.

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