I’m Not Afraid of the Dark…The Dark is Afraid of Me

Author's Rating:

Pros: flawless combination of stealth and action

Cons: some jaggy graphics here and there, it’s a bit short

The Bottom Line: 
Butcher Bay is a smart, highly polished action title with enough innovative features to impress just about anyone.

Author's Review
That’s just one of the intimidating lines you’ll hear Vin Diesel say during The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. Butcher Bay is a maximum security prison located on a mining planet. No inmate has ever successfully escaped Butcher Bay. But the game’s main character, Riddick, isn’t going to have any of that. Finding a way out is his number one priority.

Gameplay
Gameplay is a mixture of shooting and stealth. The game starts you off in your cell. You have no allies and no possessions. Your first job is to explore the cell blocks and ask other inmates questions. They’ll respond with clues, ask for a favor, or completely leave you hanging. Their comments soon become objectives you must complete in order to move on. Most of them require you to reach a location or talk to an important person. That’s not an easy task since you have no weapons and the prison is crawling with security personnel and torrent/camera devices that watch your every move. But with the help of his environments and stealth tactics, Riddick can exploit the prison’s weak spots.

So here’s where that stealth stuff comes into play. With the click of a button, Riddick can enter stealth mode. During this time, your view of the surroundings increases and the screen turns blue, meaning you are not seen. Stealth allows you to silently kill guards and explore rooms without being heard. But this wouldn’t be a first person shooter without guns. Riddick will stumble upon rifles, shotguns, and grenades. These weapons not only provide the firepower needed to blow the brains out of your enemies, but they also serve as helpful distractions. A majority of the lights in the game can be shot out, giving you the advantage of traveling in the dark. Firing at a canister planted on the wall or hitting a box of explosives causes commotion and kills anything around it.

Several key ingredients separate Butcher Bay from other shooters. For one thing, there’s a nice amount of platforming. The game’s camera shifts into a third-person view whenever you climb on a box or ascend/descend a ladder. There are also moments when you’ll have to shimmy on ledges or monkeybar you way to other platforms. Oh yeah, remember how I mentioned traveling in the dark? During the game, Riddick acquires the ability to see in the dark (eyeshine). And yeah, the game is very dark. So whenever the lights go out, you can activate eyeshine and the screen turns bright purple. Eyeshine during darkness means you can sneak up on guards and avoid being detected by cameras.

Graphics
The game looks good. No joke, this baby is a treat to behold. Prison areas are grungy and cold. Details like bloodstains on walls, flies around trashcans, and flickering ceiling lights are just some of the engrossing graphics. The game’s dark environments also means you’ll be treated to some nice lighting and shadow effects. The character models look super realistic, so realistic you can see your reflection bouncing off of Vin Diesel’s bald head. But one problem with the graphics is that some portions of the game appear fuzzy and jaggy. Walls and characters during some cut-scenes appear very rough. Other than that, this is a great looking game.

Sound
Sound plays a great roll in keeping you involved with the action. Music tempo increases when you’re running for your life, while a gentler musical backdrop calms things down during cut-scenes and stealthy moments. Sound effects are just as important. Glass from a shattered lightbulb, powerful shotgun blasts, and mechanical devices do a great job of wrapping you in the environments. Lastly, the voice acting moves the story along at a great pace and reflects the harsh prison life. Inmates and officers fill the air with vibrant profanity and funny comments.

Overall
This isn’t your typical first-person shooter. Butcher Bay is a smart, highly polished action title with enough innovative features to impress just about anyone. The game’s length, which hangs around the 10-12 hour mark, and the lack of any multiplayer modes are perhaps the biggest flaws. But the story mode is worth every minute. Even after beating the game three times, I still find myself going back for more, and each time I always discover something new. Xbox owners not interested in the genre should at least give the game a rent. For action fans, this is a must own.