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Back in 2000, an unknown actor was to star in a small budget film called ‘Pitch Black’ about a criminal on his way to prison, crash landing on a planet and being the only hope for the survival of the remaining survivors due to his unique ability to see in the dark. His name was Richard B. Riddick and the actor was Vin Diesel. “Escape from Butcher Bay” is set before this film and tells the story of Riddick’s dramatic escape from the inescapable triple max security prison of Butcher Bay.
The opening sequence of the game introduces the player to Riddick and his nemesis, William J. Johns on their way to Butcher Bay, where Johns is going to hand over Riddick to the authorities and hopefully make some extra money out of it. This is where you now take over the role of Riddick. Played from a first person perspective with the occasional third person action sequences, you have one goal – escape from this slam by any and all means necessary using brains and brutality.
The first level is more of a training exercise to make sure you (the player) can get accustomed to the controls and to learn what Riddick is capable of with and without a weapon. You will learn to use the surrounding environments to their utmost advantage by hiding in shadows, crawling through air ducts, climbing up ladders, hanging of ledges and more importantly, how to kill. Whilst stealth is the best way to avoid the guards, it is not always possible and you will be able to sneak up behind the guards and break their necks or fight them face to face using your fists, elbows and grapples. Along the way you will be able to pick up or capture several weapons ranging from a shank to a tranquilizer gun to the firepower of a mini-gun.
Graphics & Control:
Whilst there are many things you need to do to keep yourself alive, the controls are very simple to master and do not hinder you when all hell breaks loose. Using the standard controls of moving and looking around, you are able to explore your surrounding areas with ease whilst accessing the one main special feature of Riddick – “Eye-Shine”. For anyone who has seen “Pitch Black”, the “Eye-Shine” is not new as they would have seen Riddick use his special night vision to own the darkness and use it against his enemies. As well as the “eye-shine”, Riddick can crawl around in a sort of stealth mode in the shadows. The scenery takes on a blue tint when you are fully stealth and returns to normal when you become visible, but don’t think just because you are hidden that the enemy cannot find you, because once they spot you, they don’t forget.
The graphics are superb with every character in the game showing a stunning level of detail. Vin Diesel looks like Vin Diesel and not some blocky character model with his face mapped onto it. The game engine features a stencil shadowing model that allows both static and dynamic objects to have realistic shadows, even self-shadowing, all in real time. Also, the game engine supports full rag-doll physics, allowing you to experience a vivid and realistic reaction to combat, as enemies react to weapon fire, both while they’re alive or dead. This game also features a lot of blood and guts with enemies showing the cuts and bruises that you as Riddick have inflicted upon them.
Sound:
All the character speech and dialogue have been done by a vast array of actors including Vin Diesel as Riddick, Cole Hauser reprising his role from Pitch Black as Johns, Kristen Lehman as Shirah and Willis Burks II as Pope Joe.
Being based in a prison you wouldn’t expect anyone to talk posh, and that is exactly what you get, from smart mouth punks to street talking dudes with more than once the occasional swear word being hurled at you. This game has got an adult rating and for good reason. The background soundtrack is atmospheric with the game supporting Dolby Digital 5.1 for all in-game audio and effects.
Longevity:
With such an intense storyline revealing the secrets of Riddick’s past, you will not want to put the controller down until you finish the game. From beginning to end without looking hard for all of the secret cigarette packs which unlock extra content for you to view from the main menu, the game should take about 8 – 10 hours to complete depending on your skill. There are three levels of difficulty but this only increases the number of enemies and does not change the overall storyline so going back and playing it again would probably not interest you unless you want to find all of the 50+ cigarette packs to unlock movies stills, artwork and trailers.
Round Up:
There are not many games that have a fantastic storyline with top of the range graphics and gameplay, but this is one of them. If you are a Riddick fan, than this game is a must as this reveals so much of his past that has only been hinted at in “Pitch Black”. Overall, this game is a definite buy for the fans, and a must for renting.
Pros:
- Intense Storyline.
- Character dialogue.
- Eye-Shine
- Weapons and Hand to Hand Combat.
Cons:
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