The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay (The Chronicles of Riddick - Escape from Butcher Bay (PC))

Member Name: antaz

Product:	The Chronicles of Riddick - Escape from Butcher Bay (PC)
Date:	22/08/05 (132 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Stunning Graphics, In Depth Game Play, Good Storyline

Disadvantages: Nothing new or groundbreaking.

The Chronicles Of Riddick: Escope From Butcher Bay (EFBB) is an FPS (First Person Shooter) for the PC.

It is based around the "Pitch Black" and "Chronicles of Riddick Movies". EFBB is the prequal to Pitch Black. The Chronicles Of Riddick is set after Pitch Black.

You play the role of Riddick, a cold blooded killer, from an extict alien race names "The Furians". Your psyiology is that of a human, but Furians posses incredible fighting skills and strength.

The game begins as you arrive at a prison colony named "Butcher Bay". Your ultimate objective is to escape. Throught the course of the game however, Riddick discovers more about himself, and gets involved with the other prisoners, and the guards, for both good, and bad.

The Graphics in EFBB are stunning, and almost compareable to that of "Doom 3".

EFBB has a very detailed fighting system. Not only can you use firearms such as...

Assualt rifles
Shotguns
Grenades
Miniguns

...And many others against your oponents, but also a variety of low tech weaponry that you should expect to find in a prison. Some of these include...

Steel pipes
Shivs (Home made knifes)
Baseball bats
Your own fists!

There are also two vehicles in the game that you can pilot...

Riot guards (Heavily armed riot control suits)

And...

Heavy Guards (AI enchanced two legged tanks)

This adds a lot of depth to the gameplay.

Some of the main points about combat in EFBB are...

Stealth: Stealth is a major part of EFBB. Simply running around shooting everything will only get you so far. By using tactics and stealth, you can avoid detection by guards and security cameras. You can also even use the darkness to hide in the shadows, and sneak up on your enemies, grabbing them from behind, and snapping their necks, amongst other things.

Hand to hand combat: The hand to hand combat system in EFBB is surprisingly rich for a FPS. With fists, bats and shivs, different attacking moves can be executed. Stabbing, uppercutting, hooking and jabbing are all possible, as are combinations there of.

The enemies you will face in EFBB are diverse. One moment you may find yourself toe to toe with another prisoner, the next, engaging in combat with prison guards, and riot control machines.

All in all EFBB is a great game. Its refreshing approach to FPS gameplay keeps you interested, and the storyline and character interactions get you really involved with the game.

The only downside to EFBB is that fact that it provides nothing groundbreaking. By groundbreaking, i mean nothing new. FPS hand to hand combat, and stealth, amongst the other features i have mentioned, have all be used before. However, in defence of this statement, this is the first game i have encountered which combines them all so well.

I would reccomend this game to anyone who enjoys FPS games, or stealth games, for sure. If you generally do not enjoy FPS and stealth games, but enjoy a rich stroyline, and good character interaction, i would still suggest that you consider trying this game, if only for the storyline.

Summary: Great Graphics, Fun and Interesting Gameplay, Great Storyline.