The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay

"One anti-hero that is astonishing"

Introduction - As soon as you pick up the controller and start to play you will be amazed period. This is one of the best first person shooters for the xbox and maybe even ever. If you have not seen pitch black this game does a very good job of introducing our favourite anti-hero Riddick. Nearly every aspect of this game has been has been fine tuned and refined to near perfection and in the paragraphs to come I will go through those aspects thoroughly.
Graphics - The only word to describe this games graphics is marvelous. The graphics engine in this game could literally rival almost any other game for any console. The real time lighting and shadows in this game are amazing and add another realistic effect. The environments in this game are just beautiful, whether it be the dreary jail cells or the hell like mines everything is where it should be and works like it should. The frame rate in Riddick does a nice job of staying above average for most of the game even when you are fighting with multiple enemies. Speaking of enemies they are well done in every way. There are multiple enemies in the game and they all look great whether it be the macho guards or the creepy little malnutritous freaks in the basement.

Graphics score - 10

Sound - Let me just start by saying that the developers of Riddick did a great job of getting voice actors. The cast of voices ( Vin Diesel and Xzibit most notably) in this game do a great job of furthering the jail experience. If you have 5.1 surround sound (5 speakers) you are going to love the sound effects whether it be the creepy guards talking to you, bullets whizzing by your head or the noises you here in the jail. Unfortunately there is no option for custom sound tracks in the game but the sound that was in the game was above par.

Sound score - 10

Controls - By now everyone should be used to first person shooter controls and the controls in Riddick do not stray far from those. There are a few minor things in Riddick's controls that may take a little getting used to but other than that they are perfect. If you do not like the normal control settings in Riddick there are a few more to choose from that the developer has included. The controls in fact are simple to pick up and play but will take you a while to master.

Controls score - 10

Game play - Now for what everyone has been waiting for the game play. They blend the action and story so well in this game. The rag doll physics in the game allow for countless hours of throwing your enemies into a fan and the like.
Now for the plot of the game.

You play Riddick who is the most wanted criminal in the galaxy and you have just been captured. You are brought to Butcher Bay which is a Maximum security prison and what you are essentially trying to do throughout the game is escape. I won't give away the major plot twists but lets just say that you get to use Riddick's trademark and some pretty interesting characters arise as you advance the plot.

Sadly there is no multi-player in the game which severely brings down the replay value. The Chronicles of Riddick does have xbox live aware but that doesn't do much so if you beat the game on all difficulties there is not much left for you to do in the game.

Game play - 9

Over All:

The over all experience of The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay is very enjoyable. Everything you could possibly want is in the game except for multi-player. That is the only reason that I am not giving this game a perfect score.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/22/04