Game Review - The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay
This game tells the tale of Riddick, a homicidal maniac captured and confined to live out his days inside a maximum security prison, Butcher Bay. Deadly in close combat and very quick witted, he does not plan on being locked up much longer. Playing as Riddick, I feel confident and cool. He is definitely a character you can have great fun with. The plot is simple to understand but the twists and turns throughout the game kept me captivated to my unnatural hero, Riddick. Whether he is taking on a group of thugs with a screw driver or creeping around in the sewers with 'eyeshine', his home made night vision, you are sure to love the bountiful action elements throughout the game.
Escape From Butcher Bay is set before the popular movie Pitch Black, which I definitely recommend watching for anyone out there. The game focuses primarily on stealth combat. I get a strange satisfaction from successfully sneaking around in the shadows waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The constant fighting can get repetitive. This is because the combat system sometimes feels just mindless and lacks the intensity that the rest of the game has. This is easily made up for with a diverse amount of weaponry, a constant change of location inside Butcher Bay and a interesting set of enemies. Also, no one can resist the epic one liners that Riddick comes out with during the game. He creates this weird and dangerous atmosphere using his dark and disturbing sense of humour.
Starbreeze Studios developed this game along with Vin Diesel's own company, Tigon Studios, and they did a great job. Most of the graphical effects and sound effects may not be anything to write home about but in a game free from any annoying glitches or unbalanced gameplay, you can thoroughly enjoy yourself. They did however include some very nice graphical effects for when you are being stealthy in the shadows or using Riddick's 'eyeshine' ability.
When I played this game and watched the movie, I taught of how cool a multiplayer feature could have been. Putting ten Riddicks in a prison to fight it out in a deathmatch would turn the whole thing into a house of horrors as every shadow could lead to your death. No such multiplayer is available in Escape From Butcher Bay disappointingly but even if they did, it would be dwarfed by the single player campaign. I am glad they did not ruin this title by adding a redundant multiplayer feature especially as it would be at the cost of the single player.
For me, this game is a story and not a time trial game. Do not rush it, just enjoy the stealth and mystery as you battle your way out and the plot unravels and throws you into all sorts of weird places and situations. My favourite quote and one which I believe sets the tone for the whole game happens near the start. Hoxie, Butcher Bay's warden, says, “Already trying to get under my skin, Riddick?”, to which Riddick replies, “It’d be easier … if I had something sharp”.
Beauty: 3.5 / 5
Replayability: 5 / 5
Escape From Butcher Bay is set before the popular movie Pitch Black, which I definitely recommend watching for anyone out there. The game focuses primarily on stealth combat. I get a strange satisfaction from successfully sneaking around in the shadows waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The constant fighting can get repetitive. This is because the combat system sometimes feels just mindless and lacks the intensity that the rest of the game has. This is easily made up for with a diverse amount of weaponry, a constant change of location inside Butcher Bay and a interesting set of enemies. Also, no one can resist the epic one liners that Riddick comes out with during the game. He creates this weird and dangerous atmosphere using his dark and disturbing sense of humour.
Starbreeze Studios developed this game along with Vin Diesel's own company, Tigon Studios, and they did a great job. Most of the graphical effects and sound effects may not be anything to write home about but in a game free from any annoying glitches or unbalanced gameplay, you can thoroughly enjoy yourself. They did however include some very nice graphical effects for when you are being stealthy in the shadows or using Riddick's 'eyeshine' ability.
When I played this game and watched the movie, I taught of how cool a multiplayer feature could have been. Putting ten Riddicks in a prison to fight it out in a deathmatch would turn the whole thing into a house of horrors as every shadow could lead to your death. No such multiplayer is available in Escape From Butcher Bay disappointingly but even if they did, it would be dwarfed by the single player campaign. I am glad they did not ruin this title by adding a redundant multiplayer feature especially as it would be at the cost of the single player.
For me, this game is a story and not a time trial game. Do not rush it, just enjoy the stealth and mystery as you battle your way out and the plot unravels and throws you into all sorts of weird places and situations. My favourite quote and one which I believe sets the tone for the whole game happens near the start. Hoxie, Butcher Bay's warden, says, “Already trying to get under my skin, Riddick?”, to which Riddick replies, “It’d be easier … if I had something sharp”.
Beauty: 3.5 / 5
Replayability: 5 / 5
Comments
Post a Comment