The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (Xbox 360) Review

Posted by Adam Larck on 05.04.2009

Atari puts one of the best features in that a game has had in a while, but does it help the game out overall? Find out inside.



Title: The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Starbreeze Studios, Tigon Studios
Genre: First person shooter, stealth
Players: 1 (2-12 online, system link)
Rated: M for Mature

Atari has put one of the more interesting features I have seen in a while in The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena. Not only do they include the full game Assault on Dark Athena, but they also completely remastered their original game from 2004, Escape From Butcher Bay. While I would love more developers to do this, it almost seems like the team took away one part of the game to add to another.

Graphics

The graphics are very … dark. In a game based around stealth in the dark, I expected this. However, at times it seems like the darkness could have been lightened from being pitch black, into maybe more shadows. It seems like their tried to use deep black to farther utilize Riddick’s eyes in AODA.

Overall, the graphics do look great in single player. Riddick is detailed great, looking very close to Vin Diesel. The creepy health machines still look detailed, as do many of the textures in the game. The game also gets bonus points for the redone visuals on EFBB. Giving it the same treatment as the new game was a good touch, and shows with the great update of visuals in the prison complex.

However, these points get taken away in the multiplayer mode. While the environment still looks good, the characters seem to have taken a graphical hit. The soldiers for each group look generic, only getting different names and maybe a different face to separate them. The biggest disappointment to me was the Riddick from multiplayer mode. After looking so great in the single player mode, I expected great things in the multiplayer. However, every time I saw him in Pitch Black mode, he came off looking deformed to me. I do not know what the huge difference was about between the two modes, but keeping his texture looking the same would have been great.

Gameplay

The gameplay for both single player games are the same. It is a first person shooter, but has many stealth elements tied in with it to tie the game in with the darkness setting. A lot of the time, especially early on, running and gunning are not an option. It is quite a bit into both games before even getting any kind of gun. Until then, players have to make do with a shiv, hairpin or his Ulaks, depending on which game is played.

Going back to the stealth part of the game, to give Riddick (and the players) an advantage in the dark, the game gives specific ways to see in the dark. In EFBB, most guns you start to pick up later have lights attached that can be used to see where you are going. However, this can really destroy the stealth aspect, as the enemies can use the lights to, and your own light easily gives you away. In AODA, Riddick can actually use his eye augmentation. This is great since it does not give away the location, but it sometimes makes the screen too bright depending on where the character is at, forcing them to turn the ability off.

Contrary to one of my preview concerns, stealth is playing a much bigger part in the game. I find myself sneaking around a lot of the time. While some players may consider this slow and boring, figuring out new ways to get by guards or how to take them out is great in my opinion.

There are also a few other similarities between both games. Both feature tutorial levels before starting their full game, and both offer collectables to get in game. The first game, EFBB, has the player collecting cigarettes, while AODA has players collecting bounty cards. Both collectables unlock concept art for both games.

In the multiplayer side of the game, there are two game modes I want to focus on: Pitch Black and Butcher Bay Riot. In Pitch Black, one person is Riddick with Ulaks in a pure dark map, and the rest of the players are guards. The guards start with a pistol, but before they jump down into the darkness they can grab a shotgun, submachine gun or assault rifle. The guards try to kill Riddick, and whoever does becomes the next Riddick. This continues until someone reaches the point limit. While this is a new twist on cat-and-mouse gametypes, I started to see a trend that the Riddick player would either die immediately, or would stay alive for four or five minutes. There seemed to be no middle ground in Riddick’s survival.

The other gametype, Butcher Bay Riot, is actually a three group game, where it is mercenaries vs. guards vs. prisoners. It is an assault type match, where players have to score an energy core into one of the opponent’s nodes, or just kill the other two teams (only one spawn per round). The thing that caught my attention was that it starts off the rounds like Counter-Strike. Players buy guns (only one gun can be bought), ammo, armor and a data card that bans other people from picking up a downed player’s gun. It is a fun mode, but a good level of strategy with a team is required to live and attempt to win. My team had a 4-1-0 lead at one point in a first to five match, but lost to the last place team after a player joined them and a strategy was quickly made using the second place team as bait.

Sound

Vin Diesel voices Riddick once again, and having the actual actor do the voice is great. Unfortunately, nothing is really memorable for the sound. From the guns to the enemies yelling at the player to the music, it all sounds nice, but nothing will stick with you after the game. I think that more memorable moments in the games would have really helped this out.

Lasting Appeal

The game definitely has lasting appeal for a while. If you go in only expecting one game to play, having EFBB to play after the new game will give you a lot more hours of gameplay. Not only that, but going through both games for all collectables adds even more play value.

Along with this, the multiplayer modes are a breath of fresh air from normal types. While it has the usual death match, team death match, etc., the new modes are worth a good look at. At a time where good new game releases are few and far between, this is a great game to tide gamers over till the next big releases.

Fun Factor

When I was stealthing around levels, I was really enjoying myself in game. Using trial-and-error to figure out the best way to beat an area was great. However, some parts just go from trail-and-error to luck, which then takes the fun out of a game for me. If I have to get lucky to get past a certain area of a game, it just takes the game out of my hands it feels like. Still, I enjoyed this game overall.

The 411:

Overall, the game provided a good amount of fun in a time where good games are sparse. Including the original game was a stroke of genius. If you were a fan of the original or just a fan of first person shooters in general, give Riddick a try out. Its unique multiplayer modes give a welcome change, and could tide you over until the next big wave of games hits.

Graphics	8.5	The graphics and characters look good in the single player mode. If only the multiplayer characters could have been better, this could have been great. The remastered original game keeps this grade still high.
Gameplay	8.0	The stealth gameplay is nice, but it seems like most of the elements were taken directly from Escape From Butcher Bay. The unique multiplayer types are nice, but more unique elements in the single player is what was needed.
Sound	7.0	Vin Diesel voicing Riddick was a good touch, but the sound is very forgettable. There are no really defining moments for the sound, which is disappointing, especially when you have two games in one.
Lasting Appeal	9.0	The new game by itself would give much lasting appeal, but when you add a second game in for free and new multiplayer modes, this score gets a huge boost.
Fun Factor	8.0	The stealth was tremendous fun for me, but when luck started feeling like it played a big part of the game with the enemies walking patterns, I got annoyed quick. Luck has never made a game great, and it does not here either.
Overall	8.1   [ Very Good ]

Screenshots
All 22 Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena Screenshots