Erin over at Play-Girlz asked me “what makes Riddick so atypical”? Like I’ve said, it’s not quite an FPS and it’s not your usual movie-to-game garbage. Cough *Spider-Man* cough.

You see, calling Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay an FPS wouldn’t be fair. As we know, first-person shooters are quite an unsophisticated bunch. You point your cursor at bad guys and press the mouse button to shoot.

Riddick, however, is much more than that.

This move-to-game adaptation is a mix of shooting (yes, it’s still there), stealth, melee, and adventure. Sure, the original Far Cry may also have stealth, but the execution of this element in Riddick is quite different.

You see, Richard B. Riddick is also gifted with “eyeshine,” which lets him see in the dark. Add this to Riddick’s ability to hide in the shadows when crouched, and you’ve got yourself a sneaker of a game. If you think you’ll be doing this sporadically, think again. As Riddick, you’ll need to sneak around every so often to survive the numerous dangers of Butcher Bay.

How often do you see a first-person action game with a good melee system? Frankly, I can’t think of one. The closest thing that comes to my mind when thinking of a half-decent melee system in a first-person game is Oblivion. Even that is quite awkward. In Chronicles of Riddick, you can block blows and execute combos. You have to time attacks to get through an opponent’s defense instead of attacking mindlessly.

Interestingly, Chronicles of Riddick is structured like an adventure game in some ways. You’ll be given a quest or three and you can pursue them to your liking. You backtrack at times, and generally interact with more people than your usual FPS. Speaking of people, all the characters you encounter has a unique face and each has something to say. They’re all voiced too.

I admit that these facets of the game aren’t unique. However, each is very well done. They’re so good in fact that when compared with other regular games (i.e. those not adapted from movies), Chronicles of Riddick is easily better than most single player-only titles. I personally found Riddick better than Half-Life 2’s single-player mode.

The Riddick remake sounds promising because of this. If its developers could put together a well-balanced multiplayer and further improve the single-player game, Assault on Dark Athena could be a sleeper hit indeed.

Image for Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay – Developer’s Cut is courtesy of Sierra Entertainment

Post from: EveryJoe

Why Riddick is not your usual movie-to-game adaptation

To survive means to combine different kinds of punches and not let a blow get past your guard. It’s not that simple though, since all your enemies are packing hardware that can punch hundreds of holes through your Furyan hide.

Aside from the combos, sneaking and silent kills become a must. I seriously hope these elements would be included in Assault on Dark Athena. Scratch that, I want Starbreeze and Tigon Studios to further improve the melee and stealth gameplay.

Post from: EveryJoe

The joys of being Riddick #1: Not quite an FPS and it’s a good thing

Well, my wait is over. I finally did manage to get a copy. How? Let’s just say I’m friends with a certain shop owner and I’ve bugged her for a long time.

This game won’t ever escape my radar.

Consider my entries about Butcher Bay as a primer of things to come in Assault on Dark Athena, a remake of the 2004 “shooter.” While the remake isn’t probably something to look forward to when the original was created a mere four years ago, Dark Athena is said to include a multiplayer mode that was disappointingly absent from Butcher Bay.

Let’s not forget that the remake’s single player mode would include the titular Riddick’s escape into a mercenary ship named Dark Athena. Naturally, the remake would also have improved graphics and AI.

Are you stoked for Dark Athena yet? Well, don’t get too excited. There’s not much word on when it’s coming out. Major game sites like GameSpot and IGN provide a terse “TBA” or “TBA 2008” and nothing else.

Until then, I will be spending a lot of time in Butcher Bay.

Post from: EveryJoe

Riddick’s Escape from Butcher Bay can’t evade attention