Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena Reviewed

Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena Developer: Starbreeze, Publisher: Atari

Every year, the industry machine grinds out a perpetual stream of licensed games. Sales of these titles are spurred by the popularity of the intellectual properties, rarely by critical acclaim. Of course, there is the sporadic exception to the rule- Alien 3 for the Sega Genesis captured the menacing sensation of navigating thin air ducts overrun with vicious extraterrestrials. GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo 64 is widely recognized as the title that ceremoniously defied the trend; the title skillfully complemented the license. In 2004, Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay for the Xbox joined GoldenEye in the lonely pantheon of well-designed and well-received, licensed titles.

Unlike most movie tin-ins, Escape from Butcher Bay pushed the capabilities of Microsoft’s last-gen console, and offered an atmospheric, detailed setting marred only by the limitations of the technology. For us, the intermittent load times that occurred when moving throughout the prison hampered the title’s goal of creating an immersive, dystopian setting. While recent Xbox 360 remake (and extension) Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena still interrupts the experience with the occasional loading bar, the tweaks and graphical polish help articulate the brutality of Butcher Bay Prison.

Beyond the high-definition retrofitting of the 2004 title, the game also includes a healthy amount of new content. The disk’s title refers to a complete second campaign set upon a mercenaries ship, that initially mirror’s Butcher’s Bay’s stealthy gameplay, and then morphs into a more linear corridor shooter. Like Starbreeze’s last effort- The Darkness, the developer’s strengths lay not within the moments of ballistic mayhem, but in the more cerebral periods of clandestine elimination, and the subtleties of character development.

When the focus in on messy, visceral hand-to-hand combat, Riddick has no peers. Whereas the Tom Clancy universe prohibits a focus on blood and gore, Dark Athena wallows in it. Stealth kills feel sufficiently brutal, from vicious neck snaps to the repeated puncturing on internal organs. If only the game could delicately mask its fetch quests and errands, which at times feel artificial and contrived.

While the game handles the conventional deathmatch, team deathmatch and capture the flag modes competently, Dark Athena’s Pitch Black mode was the highlight of our multiplayer experience. This well-balanced variation pits a single Riddick against a team of soldiers. While Riddick has to rely on close range weapons like the Ulaks to dispose enemies, he has the advantage of being able to see in the dark. Soldiers have firearms, but are forced to use flashlights to see into the darker corners of the game. Although it’s a subtle variant of Splinter Cell: Double Agent’s spies versus mercenaries gameplay, it is surprisingly engrossing and enjoyable.

Both Butcher Bay and Dark Athena are strong graphically, with moody lighting, and impressive textural detail. The visual richness skillfully contributes to the sense of menace within the game. Using a shiv to stab a prisoner’s well-rendered face is disturbing, losing little intensity across frequent recurrence of the animation. The game engine’s one weakness appears to be rendering follicles- hair looks unrealistic and seems lacking in polygonal detail. Sonically, the title’s exceptional, star-powered, voice work is convincing delivered and adds greatly to the game’s sense of misery, although Riddick’s steady stream of one-liners feels forced.

As a package, Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena offers gamers a plethora of content, with two realized single player campaigns, along with a multiplayer diversion. Fans of the stealth-action genre that missed the original Xbox release of Butcher Bay, will unquestionably want to purchase this value-laden disk. Veterans who fled the prison’s confines may enjoy the high-def renovation, but may be disappointed that second campaign’s gameplay doesn’t match the quality of its predecessor.

About Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

40 comments

  1. William Wallace

    I’ve been debating on picking this up since I still own the original. If it ever goes on sale, I’ll own it.

  2. About time you reviewed this? How long did you play it for?

  3. I hope Vin gets a few bucks, cause his movie career in pretty dead. I’m not surprised they wont be making more Riddick movies.

  4. I played the original and didn’t really like it all that much. Key quests, suck IMO.

  5. Dude in the bottom pic looks way lifeless and zombied out.

  6. Darkness kicked ass, so I’m definitely getting Riddick.

  7. Did you guys play any of the PS3 version? How does it compare?

  8. I got this last week and I’ve been loving it so far.

  9. Sounds fun, but for some reason. Vin Diesel gets on my nerves.

  10. I hate games and movie set in prison. They usually bore me.

    Death Race was a a partial exception because of the car races/wrecks.

  11. Sound bloody and gruesome. I cant wait to play it.

  12. Uncanny valley, man. Good enough for me.

  13. I’ve seen Pitch Black but never played any Riddickgames.

  14. Good review

  15. Couldn’t leave a comment earlier

  16. Is the original game backwards compatible on the 360? if so, I’ll just pick that up on the cheap.

  17. Muck better than Kocktaco’s little review that told me nothing about the game.

  18. I’ll get this eventually.

  19. Thanks for the multiplayer info.

  20. Good review, might pick this up for PC.

  21. Movies that take place in women’s prisons are almost always good however. Shower scenes are the best 😉

  22. Yep, seems like the site was taking a hit yesterday.

  23. Butcher Bay kicked ass. If you haven’t played it, I suggest d/ling the demo and getting off your ass.

  24. Sounds pretty violent

  25. I want this but there are a number of great games on the horizon.

  26. LOL. What about Joyshafts?

  27. How come the 3rd picture is so blurry?

  28. I think that’s what we call ‘motion blur’.

  29. The game almost justifies Vin Diesel making The Wheelman. Almost.

  30. Great review. I wish the original game worked on the 360 but nope. Anyways I may pick this in the future!

  31. this game looks alright, ill probably rent it.

  32. Always wanted to play Escape From Butcher Bay and now I can with updated graphics.

  33. It’s a good game, worth the purchase.

  34. Solid-alchemist

    I really liked the review, and this is one of the games that i have my eye on. I never got to play the original [bucher bay] but have heard its a great game.

  35. Been waiting for this remake. Good to hear the great review.

  36. Escape from Butcher Bay was too good for me to not try this game.

  37. Honestly, I wasn’t very impressed with the graphics considering the engines that are available.

  38. Hmmm, Im not a fan of the graphix, they could have been better, IMO. but if the gameplay is fun, it may be worth it anyways.

  39. Never played the original, but was always interested. Looks good!

  40. Good review, looking forward to playing this one.