The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena Review
“They say hope - begins in the dark” - Vin Diesel. To gamers, the name immediately conjures up one word: Riddick. Well good news fans - Riddick has made the jump to next-gen, and you are once again in control of the universe’s ultimate badass, Richard B. Riddick. The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena comes packed with the original Escape from Butcher Bay, which was remastered for next-gen consoles, the brand new Assault on Dark Athena, and a first to the Riddick franchise — multiplayer.
Story
Taking place shortly after the events of Butcher Bay, Dark Athena puts you adrift in a ship that is soon captured by a merc-controlled vessel named Dark Athena. Once onboard the merc ship, your main objective is escaping. Being that the game takes place primarily on a ship, there is not a wealth of enemy types. In Dark Athena, the primary enemy are drones - captured humans that the mercs have turned into mindless military machines. During gameplay you can seize control of the drones and use the gun that is fused to their skin. While doing this does make Riddick immobile, the control aspect opens up a climatic game sequence later in the game.
As you move through the ship you come across a prison area that becomes your main hub for the first part of the game. The prisoners assign quests in exchange for helping you escape. While the game has some interesting characters, overall character development is lacking and you never fully explore any connections made in the game. Completion of the side quests allows Riddick to escape the ship, and moves the game down to a nearby planet, and eventually a showdown with the Dark Athena’s captain.
Gameplay
Gameplay in the first half of Dark Athena is reminiscent of everything that was good about Escape from Butcher Bay. No other game does hand-to-hand combat quite like Dark Athena and Escape from Butcher Bay. Weapon variety in Dark Athena is skewed toward hand weapons, and there is a decent variety. The best hand weapon is the ulaks, which are brass knuckle-like and have razor sharp blades attached to them. Armed with ulaks you can perform a variety of stealth kills and counter attacks. Some of the best moments in Dark Athena can be had while performing stealth kills on unsuspecting enemies.
The second half of Dark Athena marks a sharp change in gameplay style - going from stealth-action to that of an average shooter. Weapon variety in the shooter phase is characterized by the normal slate of submachine guns , assault rifles, etc. Riddick does have access to a mining weapon called a SCAR. Using its ability to shoot projectiles and detonate them in groups of five, you can easily beat the game without having to swap weapons. With the introduction of the SCAR and unlimited ammo, Dark Athena quickly turns into your everyday run-of-the mill shooter.
Technical
Dark Athena boasts impressive graphic and sound design. Starbreeze does a great job creating a well-detailed universe with good character and facial animations. Sound design is as good as it gets, especially the voice-overs with Vin Diesel leading the way as Riddick. The remastered version of Escape from Butcher Bay also makes the move to HD. While it has aged well boasting impressive lighting and shadows, you can still tell it was developed originally for the Xbox.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer makes its first appearance in a Riddick game with Dark Athena. You can expect the ever-present multiplayer modes of Deathmatch and Capture the Flag. For uniqueness the developers added in a mode dubbed Pitch Black, which pits one player as Riddick against everyone else playing as mercenaries. Riddick is equipped with ulaks, and the Mercs get a variety of gun choices including sub-machine guns, shotguns and assault rifles. While Pitch Black is fun, the novelty will quickly wear off. With the lack of a strong online community, gamers who are looking for the next great multiplayer game should look elsewhere.
Conclusion
Overall, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena is a decent game. The first half keeps the gameplay that made Escape from Butcher Bay such a hit, but falters a bit during the second half when it turns into an average shooter. If you’re a fan of the original, you should definitely pick up Dark Athena, and if you haven’t played the first one yet, you owe it to yourself to at least rent it.
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