The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena Reviews

  • SashamorningSashamorning3,580,152
    31 Mar 2010 04 Sep 2018
    46 12 0
    When the original Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay came out on the original Xbox, I was surprised by the great reviews it got (especially since I thought the movie was meh). I picked it up anyway, and was treated to one of the best shooters I've ever played. It's just that good, and the visuals are great.

    The mood is edgy, the plot is dark, and Vin Diesel's voice acting is fantastic. On top of that, the gameplay is great, with interesting levels and side missions. It combines stealth with melee and shooting action. The shooting comes later... this IS a prison after all, and when you begin, the guns are DNA coded so that you can't use them. That's why your shiv is so important.

    I was incredibly disappointed when years went by and a patch was never released so I could play Riddick on the 360, but was excited when I heard that Starbreeze was improving it and adding a second campaign.

    There's a fair amount of stealth, especially once you get your eyes shined. Stay out of the light (a meter lets you know how visible you are) and assassinate your foes from above or behind. When you do get guns, make sure you take them out quietly, lest you get a group of them on your tail.

    There are also some memorable scenes. I'll never forget one in Dark Athena (the 2nd campaign) in which you need to climb through a cargo area, climbing on and around cargo crates while avoiding spotlights. Butcher Bay's ending is trippy, too. Just when you think it's over, it isn't, and I love that Starbreeze likes to play with its audience.

    The multiplayer is surprisingly fun, although at this point, with so few people owning it, I doubt you'll have the opportunity to play much without preset matchups. There's a "tag" game where one person is Riddick, can move faster and see in the dark, and kill silently. When someone finally kills the Riddick player, they become Riddick. Lots of fun in a claustrophobic atmosphere.

    The achievements are pretty straightforward, although there are some grinding ones. (Not only 1000 kills, but 10k. Not only 100 match wins, but 1000. Not as bad as some games (*cough GOW cough*), but still, with so few players online, it's really a grind. The other achievements are story related, with some side quests and collection achievements. The collection achievements aren't terrible, though, since you can tell which ones you have, and can cross-reference the rest with an online guide.

    All in all, I can't fathom why this game didn't get more attention. I picked it up at full price, and was never disappointed. I still play the campaign occasionally. Right now you can pick it up for under $20 easily, and to me it's worth buying, not just renting.
    4.5
  • CyphateCyphate395,093
    29 Apr 2009 29 Apr 2009
    25 4 3
    The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena: the uncomprimising, slightly ominous Riddick is back in another action/stealth adventure as he finds himself taken aboard a mercenary ship where he must call upon all his cunning and some unlikely allies to sneak, stab and shoot his way to freedom.

    Dark Athena was a huge prospect for me. I stand firmly behind my belief that Butcher Bay was one of the best originals, with graphics and gameplay that can stand up to some of todays games. But reading around hearing people complain about the new melee system, and the game not living up to hype concerned me slightly. But I shrugged these off and eagerly sat down to play.

    The game includes a remastered version of the original Butcher Bay, and upon playthrough I found no problems with the melee system at all, the game was as excellent as I remember and I was thoroughly pleased with the whole game. So, with high hopes and expectations I moved on to Dark Athena...

    The gameplay is excellent, in theory. The sneak system is simple, dark is good, light is bad. The movement of Riddick is great, with simple controls and a universal Y button that interacts with inportant things, such as bodies and buttons. The weaponry is very good, a nice selection of guns, clubs, knives, and Riddicks Ulaks, which are a nice addition to your arsenal, and my favoured weapon throughout the game.

    The melee system is much more difficult than Butcher Bay, but I do not believe it is 'broken'. After a bit of work I beat Iron lord, and beating Jaylor in a fist fight was quite easy I thought. HINT: I found the best way to fight, is to not block, and as soon as the enemy moves their arm, sidestep right and punch, that's Riddick's quickest attack, you should get it in before they do.

    Superficially, the game is good, the characters are sharp and the environment, although very flat, is passable at least. The physics, however is where all of the problems lie. Constantly there were bullets and rockets flying through walls and crates, which really ruined the game in my eyes, because it seems like such an elementary thing that they've neglected, and it really lowers the tone of the whole game.

    The storyline is the best part of the game, it's always difficult to take an existing character and put them into a new situation, but it's done very well, and the continuation from the previous chronicle is excellent, and I would definately recommend playing Butcher Bay first just so it's all full circle.

    the achievements are very online orientated, with me only ending up with 400 for completing both campaigns on hard, without collectables. I missed a couple of a achievements and frustratingly, the difficulties are not stackable, so you'll have to play through both again for the medium achievements. It's approximately 600 in campaign achievements, and the rest online.

    The multiplayer is reasonable, all the standard modes are accompanied by a Pitch Black mode, which pits up to 5 mercs against a single player as Riddick, with his Ulaks, in a 'killer stays on' format where the merc to kill Riddick, becomes him. The mercs having unlimited respawns and scores counted on a points per kill, with bonuses for streaks. The other Riddick-unique method is called Butcher Bay Riot, which is effectively a 3-way CtF, collect the power cell, and put it in the generator.

    In Summary, this is an excellent game tarnished by a few problems. The multiplayer is good, the story is excellent, and the general feel of the game is top notch. This game is a definate buy, but my own experiences force me to drop my rating just a little. 9/10
    5.0
  • ryanlegend95ryanlegend95201,119
    29 Oct 2012 29 Oct 2012
    5 4 0
    Riddick was awesome on the original Xbox. Is it still awesome even by today's standards is the question here folks? We'll find out in this review.

    Riddick is a mysterious character indeed. You just don't know who he is. Is that a good thing or a bad thing. I don't really know but whoever he is. He surely is a memorable and entertaining character.

    External image


    Welcome back Riddick.

    This game is a reboot of the very popular Riddick Escape from Butcher Bay game which was released on the original Xbox in 2004. It was an awesome game back then and it still is today. If you think that's enough then the game also has a brand new campaign called Assault on Dark Athena. Telling from the name you can tell that this campaign is more action packed than the other one. You could say that you have 2 different games in one disc. They both are decently lengthy and both a joy to play...kinda.

    The Chronicles of ryanlegend's review starts now.

    Graphics:
    Both campaigns are good looking. Even the reboot of the first game looks good. With its rebooted look the character models look great and the lighting is spectacular. Starbreeze really did a good job at shaping Vin Diesels dome shaped head.

    External image


    The perfect slap head for the perfect escape.

    However the animations are starting to show their age now and they need improvement. The textures are mostly good but some are blurred but overall impressive. The atmosphere for both games is extremely believable in a futuristic way. The game actually looks very identical to the first Darkness game but that is because it uses the same engine. There are some visual glitches though. Sometimes you will see holes in the character models which does spoil its look and this happens quite often especially on Assault on Dark Athena campaign. Other than that the game looks good and runs well with occasional frame rate issues and very little screen tearing.

    I give the graphics an 8/10.

    Sound:
    This game can easily earn a 9/10 by just listening to Vin Diesel's voice. His voice suits the part and he does a splendid job at those famous one liners that he did in the films. Everyone else in the game also has done a good job but some do sound a bit stiff but mostly well done. The sound effects for guns and explosions are good but could do with a little more oomph. The slashing sounds from sharp melee weapons is extremely satisfying. The soundtrack is nice.

    I give the sound score a 9/10.


    Gameplay:
    The gameplay is largely the same as the first game on the original Xbox. Which is good cause it was quite unique however they could've changed it a bit for the Assault on Dark Athena campaign because it's more action packed than the other. they could've done a better gunplay for it but hey. What you get is what you get. You can't have everything you know. The game is also quite difficult due to low health and super strengthened AI. The difficulty is like a trial and error sort of thing so it kinda depends. It's not much of a problem on the first campaign because it's more stealthy but on the second campaign it is a bit of an issue due to the overwhelming fire fights. The AI is also quite stupid at times which does spoil the fun. Other than that the game is still a classic.

    External image


    Poor Bastard didn't see him coming

    The multiplayer however is terrible. It's a complete rip off of Quake 3 and the level design is poorly done. It also has odd pacing because of its wonky movement.

    I give the gameplay score a 7/10. Assault on Dark Athena feels a bit of a chore.

    Storyline:
    The storyline for this game is a little misleading at the start simply because you don't know who Riddick is. So what you do is forget that question and just concentrate on the main plot. Then you will be OK. The story is entertaining with many memorable moments. It also has a good sense of humour which I like in a game just as long it's not too silly. The Dark Athena campaign does have some plot holes but you'll get there in the end.

    I give the storyline an 8/10.


    Is it your cup of tea?
    If you loved the original then you will love this.
    If you want a good stealth game then the Escape from Butcher Bay campaign is a good choice.
    If you want a good action game then the Assault on Dark Athena may not be a good choice.

    Summary:
    Good
    -Great stealth mechanics.
    -A good looking reboot.
    -Vin Diesel is back!

    Bad
    -poorly executed action parts.
    -Trial and error difficulty.
    -Tacky multiplayer.

    Overall I think this game is great with plenty to do. The Assualt on Dark Athena campaign could've been better but it's fine by its own right. I give this game an overall score of 8/10.
    4.0
  • TH1S IS SPARTATH1S IS SPARTA99,972
    25 Apr 2009
    16 27 8
    INTRO
    Vin Diesel aka Riddick returns to show off his ability to impersonate Sam Fisher in Assault on Dark Athena. The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena is actually two games in one including the 2004 original Xbox Escape from butcher Bay with redone graphics thanks to the new Athena engine improving texture mapping and shadows past the original Xbox limitations. In addition to Butcher Bay, there is the direct sequel: Assault on Dark Athena.

    STORY
    To briefly sum up the story, Riddick, the main protagonist, is captured by a mercenary and sold off to a high security prison in space named Butcher Bay. This is where the game begins for the player; inside a prison. But there is always more to it than that. Riddick must be willing to help some of the prisoners as well as kill others in order to figure out vital information about the prison and any possible methods of escape. Assault on Dark Athena picks up from where Butcher Bay left off and leaves the player in control of Riddick as he fights his way through a mercenary ship to escape alive.

    GAMEPLAY
    Just as it was back in 2004 version of the game, the gameplay is still focused on using a combination stealth with melee weapons and high tech guns as players try to sneak or shoot their way past futuristic space mercenaries. Since players spend most of the game unarmed or with melee weapons, most enemies early in the game will be armed with knives, clubs, etc. This is where the gameplay begins to fail, while there is an ability to blocking most attacks, the window of opportunity to perform a counter is so small, it is many times non-existence. This can frustrate some as health does not regenerate fully. The health system consists of cubes that can regenerate overtime by standing still not doing anything, unless the cube completely disappears that cube will regenerate.

    MULTIPLAYER
    Online multiplayer varies greatly from the single player experience, there are some common gametypes such as deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag, and Pitch Black featuring a one versus all match in which one player controls Riddick using the darkness to hide and ambush the enemy while the others all team up as mercs to hunt him down with rifles and flashlights. The online multiplayer feels very much like a combination of Counter Strike and Unreal Tournament. As far as achievements go, there is no shortage of variety or secrecy in them. Most achievements are based on completing certain kills with a certain weapon or accomplishing certain match milestones.

    FINAL VERDICT
    If you liked Butcher Bay when it first came out, you'll love this one. If you're a fan of Splinter Cell stealth shooters and don't mind a broken melee system, you might want to rent it. If you like a fast paced multiplayer game with a few different gametypes, you could consider this. If you think Vin Diesel is gay or if you are none of the above then stay as far away from this game as possible.
    3.0