The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay

"Riddick-ulously Good"

Riddick-ulously Good
9/10

If you're reading this review it's probably because of the pun I put in the title. After all, it seems the game hasn't garnered a single bad review by anyone, gamer or editor alike. Funny thing is, if someone did give this game a bad review, they were probably lying to you. Riddick is THAT good. And exclusive X-Box game based off of the loveable anti-hero of Vin Diesel fame, Riddick, based on this, the game sounds like it could have very well flopped. However, from the earliest stages of development Riddick showed promise that allowed us to cling on to it, hoping that this game would make for a better movie-to-game representitive than the terribly hyped and terribly flawed Enter the Matrix.

What makes this game oh so good
--Graphics 10/10: For starters, I've been told that Riddick uses the up and coming Doom III engine. If you're a fan of FPS, then I don't need to tell you how amazing this makes this game out to be. It looks as though everything in Riddick is bump-mapped, and of course, that only makes the game look even better. It's clear that from the get-go, Riddick is easily the best looking X-Box game so far (I think I fell in love even before I started a new game, because even the interactive menu system is sweet looking). However, it's not pretty modeling alone that makes Riddick stand alone, the textures are all masterfully crafted and add to the gritty-awesome experience, this is a sort of game that makes you want more all the time in every aspect of it's self, and that is a good thing. Whoever directed this game did a good job of it, too, because it has all the signs of a good director on it. The colors, the angles, the whole feel, even the title sequence is made out like a movie. One thing that seems to go highly unnoted in reviews is what I think makes the graphics and the feel of the game so surreal is the character modeling. For every character that you meet in this game is someone new, that is to say, you won't see the same person twice, not so long as they're not uniformed with some sort of helmet or mask. Yet every inmate you come across will move differently, look different in their clothes and facial appearance. It's truely an admirable sight to behold, and to my knowledge, Riddick is the only game I've ever played where they put this much effort into all their NPC's.

--Sound 10/10: Who would Riddick be if he wasn't being brought to life without Vin Diesel? The aspirations of the game's director show forth in every aspect, not just it's cinematography, but the voice acting as well. Supporting Riddick you'll find familiar voices like Michael Rooker, Xzibit and Ron Pearlman playing characters in the game (Xzibit is probably the easiest to spot, too). Of course, you'll be able to hear Vin's almost mesmerizingly deep and rough voice as he calmly and cooly says all of his lines and one-liners. They got everything right in this game, even the man Riddick himself. There's no complaining about the assigned sounds in this game either, everything works out perfectly to bring out the best in this game, and the music sets it's pace correctly too for whenever you get spotted or when action is afoot. The soundtrack to this game fits in really well with the environment and subtly places itself in at the appropriate times, and steps back into the shadows to leave you with cold ambiance when necessary.

--Gameplay 10/10: If you weren't already wowed by the amazing graphics in this game then you'll of course be playing this for the long haul because it's so much damn fun. Riddick starts you off with a dream/tutorial (so don't be puzzled when you find out you have to kill the Pitch Black antagonist Johns in the first minute of gameplay) that fully explains how to play the game, so that when you're done, it's like you'll be able to experience the game in it's entirety without anything being detracted by telling you how to do this or that. What makes Riddick so much fun and so praise-worthy is the action keeps on going, doesn't let up, and it's always something new. From the start you'll find yourself immersed in the prison of Butcher Bay, where you'll run around and find out who's who and what's what and how to get out. Shortly after you're witness to the great depthness Riddick involves in it's fist-to-fist/melee combat, unlike other FPS, Riddick doesn't make it as easy as just a single button click to do one action, no no no. In Riddick you're required to take up some fighting skills, learn when to block, the go in with an uppercut, then a left hook, right hook. It doesn't stop there, either as you're presented with more melee weaponry which gives you different options. After prison-yard fighting you'll have to end up doing some sneaking around, Sam Fisher style, which comes and goes often in the game and is a favorable alternative if you want to conserve ammo, or if you have to go up against something with a gun when you don't have one yourself. Of course, it wouldn't be a FPS without a lot of heavy weaponry and some genuinely badass gun fighting. Riddick gives you all of this and even more, puzzle-solving, side-missions (giving it an almost RPG-Deus-Ex-esque feeling at times), extras to unlock, and even a gigantic robot towards the end that you get to pilot as you wreak havoc through the prison offices. When it comes to gameplay, Riddick surely won't disappoint, as many have said before and still debate, Riddick's gameplay is surely something to rival the X-Box giant known as Halo

The unfortunate parts of the game...
--It's not so much what's there that's bad, as what's not there. So far this game has gotten all tens from me, and it's easily justifiable, because for what's in the game... there's absolutely nothing wrong with. Vivendi Universal could have (should have) put more to this game, which is it's only real downfall. With a single player mode being so fun, you'll be decieved when the game's cover tells you it's got X-Box Live. That is to say, it's only 'aware', and for those of you that don't know, that only means that you can connect to see if your buds are online and no more. No fighting over the net, not even downloadable content. This is a real shame...

--Moreover what's a shame is Riddick decides to stand-alone as a unique FPS in a sort of bad way. That is to say, it's one of the only FPS in existence that does not support any multiplayer features. This is so bad it makes me want to cry. While single-player is so much fun, it's a shame that there's no way to have multi-player (a hopeful feature for a hopeful port to PC), and it really feels like it's a system going to waste, for action like this in multi-player, it looks like we'll have to wait for Doom III at the end of the summer.

--Lastly is one drawback that 'shines' for Riddick. That being that this game is s-h-o-r-t. Depending on your level of skill, you can beat this game in six hours your first run through, or maybe even take as long as twelve. At any rate, it's considerably shorter than any other FPS I've played less we're counting demos.

So is Riddick worth the price of admission?
For $50, Riddick is a sweet buy, it's a nice addition to the X-Box library and it looks right as it sits beside Ninja Gaiden, Halo and KOTOR. Of course there are those that think these noticable flaws like being too short and no multiplayer aren't worth the fifty as the game really doesn't offer anything gameplay-wise that will make the single-player anymore different than the last time you played it. The course is linear and you can choose how things get done (run 'n gun or stealth it all the way). Riddick is enough fun to be played through a great many times, the gameplay is that good. However, as I mentioned, there's nothing that makes the single-player experience truely different than from the first time playing it aside from changing from one of the three difficulties. $50 to anyone that wants a short but very sweet single-player FPS that's really purdy. Otherwise, I'd tell anyone else to dish out the five bucks and rent it, for this game is definately worth your while if you want a good game to play.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/19/04