You’ve probably been exposed to Riddick in some form, either with the classic Xbox game or the series of movies starring Vin Diesel. This new 360 release, Chronicles Of Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena, looks to revive the franchise back to life. How well does it fare?
To put it succinctly, not so well.
Dark Athena is actually two games in one. It packs both the new storyline, coupled with the old Xbox title, Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay. The old game still plays as good as it did five years ago. Even with little update and some signs of age (blocky graphics here and there), the stealth-based gameplay remains fun.
The new tale follows on the heels of Butcher Bay, essentially adopting the same formula that made the first title receive loads of accolades during its release. Unfortunately, as any gamer can attest, playing the same game with a different storyline is still the same game – while its fun to trash anyone that gets in your way, the experience brings almost nothing new to the table.
But wait, it gets worse. In Butcher Bay, you were often able to perform missions using either a stealthy or brute force approach, with both being potentially effective when executed properly. In Dark Athena, on the other hand, you are compelled to take either one approach or the other in many of the missions. I know some people actually like that kind of structure – I don’t.
Visually, the game is a stunning feast. The character models are almost life-like and the lighting effects are just grand. That’s something I’ve been noticing with many games on both the 360 and PS3 – impeccable graphics but tired gameplay. Seriously, all the big game review sites should give games like that a zero instead of encouraging them with high points on graphics. What good are visuals when the gameplay sucks?
It comes with a multiplayer mode that’s more standard than innovative. The Pitch Black mode, where Riddick goes up against an entire group, is its lone saving grace.
The decision to cut down on stealth and turn up the action steered it away a bit from the dark gameplay of the original. Overall, the game is enjoyable, though nothing noteworthy. Oh yeah, great graphics.
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