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Could...Not...Stop...Playing! A Masterful FPS!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 73 / 78
Date: July 25, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The Chronicles of Riddick- Escape From Butcher Bay(2004). Released on the XBox and PC(Since I couldn't find the XBOX one I'm doing the PC review).

In the past few years, the movie 'Pitch Black' has been hailed as a masterpiece from Sci-Fi fans everywhere, so it's no surprised that a sequel was made, starring, once again, Vin Diesel, entitled 'The Chronicles of Riddick'. In sort of a movie marketing scheme, Starbreeze decided to release a video game that would be a prequel to 'Pitch Black', entitled 'Escape From Butcher Bay', which chronicles(pun alert) Riddick's tenure at the Butcher Bay prison facility, and how he eventually escaped. Deciding to release it as a First Person Shooter, like the game 'Halo', I was enclined to pick 'Escape From Butcher Bay' after reading good reviews, and also that my favorite genre is First Person Shooters. So, did 'Escape From Butcher Bay' live up to my expectations, or fail miserably? Read on to find out....

Game Ratings-


Graphics- Could they be any better? The dark, gritty atmosphere dominated by bump-mapping and beautiful character designs make this one big piece of eye candy. 5/5

Play Control- The control is top-notch, as moving Riddick around, not to mention shooting, is a breeze, and I never found myself frustrated over the controls, except for the last segment where you piloted a Heavy Guard, but I didn't care because it was so fun! 4.5/5

Challenge- 'Escape From Butcher Bay' is definitely a challenge, at some points making you face multiple guards with only your fists, but at other times you can find yourself breezing through the game. There are very intricate puzzles, and that's what makes 'Escape From Butcher Bay' tough. 5/5

Storyline- 'Escape From Butcher Bay' is fun go through, because of the cut-scenes! I love the plot, and its gritty realism coupled with harsh realities make it plausible, even if it's not. Superb! 5/5

Replay Value- Although playing through the game over and over would get old, you are enticed to go back through the game and collect "Pack of Smokes" cartridges which enable you to unlock special features. Not the greatest Replay Value, but not bad...3/5

Sound/Music- 'Escape From Butcher Bay' has great sound affects, and when the bullets are flying, you KNOW! Plus not to mention great voice-acting, and they got Diesel to even voice himself. Unless you care, there really isn't any music, but it in no way takes away from the game! 5/5

Fun- 'Escape From Butcher Bay''s undoubtable strong point is in its fun factor, and I found myself blasting through robots, guards, zombies, and mutated creatures to finish this game in 2 Days! You have an insanely fun time blasting your way through 'Escape From Butcher Bay'!

Overall, 'The Chronicles of Riddick- Escape From Butcher Bay' sports excellence in every field, and this First Person Shooter is a masterpiece, and, while not being as good as 'Halo', still gives the player an unmistakeable feeling of having fun as you blast your way through the game. This game gets very tough at times, and I suggest you pick up an Official Strategy Guide to solve the puzzles and get all the Packs of Smokes.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO FANS OF VIDEO GAMES EVERYWHERE! PARENTS BE WARNED, 'ESCAPE FROM BUTCHER BAY' HAS GRITTY AND GORY VIOLENCE AND STRONG LANGUAGE, SO I DON'T RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE UNDER 18. HAVE A BLAST!

Also Recommended-

Halo-Xbox and PC
Splinter Cell- Xbox and PC
Rainbow Six 3- Xbox

Thanks For Reading!

great great game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 21
Date: August 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Man o Man .. I could write this whole page worth of stuff but it still wouldnt be enough to explain how awesome this game is.
I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY Recommend this game. If i had to rate this game 1-10 i would rate it 10000. Buy it.

Very fun, but extremely violent

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 10
Date: December 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

An extremely fun game, I played it through in one sitting. The system requirements are steep, but if your system can handle it the graphics are outstanding, as well as the art work. The story is also interesting (though a little frustrating at times).

I'm a fan of first-person shooters, and so are my children. I try to keep them away from the most violent games, but in general, most aren't too bad, despite the 'M' ratings. But I was a little shocked at the violence and language in "Escape From Butcher Bay", and think that it should have a stricter rating.

In summary, a fun and entertaining game, but beware the violence.

This is what a video game should be

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 17
Date: December 19, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I always thought Vin Deisel was a cheesehead and that games made from movies were mostly crappy and thrown together in 10 days. But THIS GAME IS TOP NOTCH!

I'd say this hands down beats DOOM 3, which is too dark most of the time to enjoy the scenery on my newish video card. With Chronicles, I had time to really notice the real-time lighting and shadows. Whats the point of having the amazing character models in DOOM 3 if you have to shoot everything before you can get a good long look and appreciate the art?

This game has a really cool storyline, it's really amazing to look at, it's not watered down for children, and it's pretty open ended as far as what you can do. You can even drag corpses around to hide them from guards. I really haven't enjoyed a game this much in years. You can tell this game was made by people who love good video games.

If your video card can handle it, and you want to play a game that involves more then just shooting zombies, this is it.

This is what a first person action game should be. As entertaining as a good movie, and as interesting and fun as a well made video game.

Great game but one problem

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: December 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is amazing. Heres the score i give for this game.

Gameplay - 9/10: Realy fun and not boring.
Graphics - 10/10: Amazing graphics, even better then Doom 3.
Sound - 10/10: Great sound affects.
Value - 8/10: I think the value is a little to much.

So as you can see this game is awsome.
Except theres one thing you should know.
You will need a realy realy good commputer to play this game. (probebly a super computer, or alienware)
So check system requirments.
But overall this game is great, so i segest to get it.

Wow!! This game is a gem!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 24 / 26
Date: January 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I just happened to be looking through Amazon.com, and I came across Escape From Butcher Bay. Thank God I did. This game is a real gem...one of the best action titles I've played all year. It holds its own with Far Cry, HL2 and Doom 3 or anything else for that matter. I've never been much of a Vin Diesel fan and didn't know much about the "Riddick" character, but this game changes everything. It's a perfect combination FPS, action game and RPG which comes off very, very well (I didn't even know this could be done).

The graphics are amazing -- an incredible depiction of stark metal, rock, concrete and dirt in a "max-max" security prison of the future. Some of the scenes look like the sci-fi portion of 3Dmark03 benchmark.

To add to the game's cinematic quality, Escape is the first title I've seen which has absolutely no HUD on screen. You can bring up information like missions, inventory, ammo, weapons, etc., but it disappears after a few seconds. There is no on-screen reticle (just use the weapon's red laser sight -- and a weapon like a minigun doesn't really need a sight). Health just shows up as white squares which quickly disappear.

Escape has great replay value too. Do you go for stealth (with a few snapped necks from behind or drop them with a non-lethal tranq/TAZER gun and stomp their heads after they go down) or do you try shooting it out (like an RPG your strategy requires some thought/choices)? Do you fight your way "up the ladder" (ever harder "cockfights" to the death against other inmates) to acquire the head guard's key card or do you buy some drugs and get busted on purpose? And there's usually more than one way to get from point A to point B.

The AI is pretty good - both for the guards and the other inmates. The fighting -- especially melee or with fists --is really good. (There's one sequence where you struggle with a guard, and if you press the "fire" and "use" keys just right, you'll turn his rifle around and shoot him in the head. Really well done).

Above all, the gameplay style seems to change just when you're starting to get bored with what you're doing. I have a fairly strong machine which is about a year old, and the game ran perfectly on highest settings. However, I've heard (on forums) that some people are having issues with it (like it won't launch, crashes a lot, etc.). Just something to consider along with the fact that this game is definitely NOT FOR KIDS. There's no sex, but the language is rough and it's very violent (no way to turn this off if you can't handle it).

Finally, my only really serious criticism of Escape is that it's kind of short (about 10-12 hours). From talking with Xbox owners, it seems that the PC version includes an extra sequence where you get to go crazy with an anti-riot suit (two mini-guns). Unfortunately, this doesn't even add an hour to the gameplay. But once you beat Escape, you unlock and get to play a "developers' level" (hence "developers' cut") which is like having the game developers and/or programmers sitting next to you and explaining how different game sequences were done. Very interesting if you're really into gaming. I'd like to see this feature on more games (like how did they DO that?).

Surprise, surprise! A movie tie-in that's actually good!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: January 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I remember seeing The Chronicles of Riddick last summer in the movie theatres. I thought it was a pretty good movie...not great, but decent for what it is. Around the same time I heard that a game was being developed for the X-Box that would be tied into the movie. At the time I thought that it was a useless marketing ploy and cash grab. Good games based on movies are nearly non-existent, so how good could Escape From Butcher Bay be? Apparently it was very good, as many video game reviewers gave consistently high marks over and over again. When word got out that a PC version of the game was coming out, I had to see how good the game was for myself. Well, I gave it shot...and came out pleasantly surprised. With fantastic graphics, great voice acting, and fast-paced action, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay can easily be one of the best sleeper hits for the PC.

The basic story has you playing the role of the intergalactic criminal known as Riddick. You arrive at a triple maximum security prison known as Butcher Bay, and now you have to find a way to escape. The first thing I noticed about this game is the high quality of its graphics, especially considering that this game was ported from a console system. I would even go as far as to say it almost looks as good as Doom 3. The lighting and shadow effects are a sight to behold, and will help guide you to where you can properly hide and use stealth. The character models in this game are incredibly well done, as they use high quality textures for a realistic appearance, and it looks like the developers also used motion capturing to re-create realistic movements. However, my only problem with the models is the lip-synching when they are talking, because the mouth movements don't seem to match up with what is being said.

The sound in this game is pretty well done, although not as impressive as the graphics. The game could have benefited from a wider variety of music, but what is there serves the game adequately. The main highlight of Escape From Butcher Bay's sound is the voice acting. Vin Diesel, who plays Riddick in the movie, does a superb job as Riddick in this game, and he is also supported by a team of great voice actors. I have said in the past that voice acting in a game does not have to be crappy, as it so often is, and this game shows that good voice acting can easily enhance a person's experience.

Now let's talk about the most important part of any video game, the gameplay. After playing through Escape From Butcher Bay I can safely say that it won't beat Half-Life 2 in terms of originality, but it is definitely a step above Doom 3's standard run-and-gun gameplay. This is mainly because of the delightful inclusion of stealth tactics. While you could conceivably just run up to a guy and start wailing on him with your fists or shooting him with your guns, I often found it more satisfying sneaking up behind a guy and snapping his neck. Also, because the game is a First Person Shooter, it does not take long for a player to get used to the control scheme, which is a huge plus. The gameplay also benefits from a story with a strong narrative, as well as a host of interesting characters, which allows the player to more easily relate to what is going on in the game world.

My only real beef with this game is its lack of replayibility. Since it has no online multiplay there is no real reason for me to come back and play again, other than trying to find cigarette packs to unlock game features (which to be honest I would have found tedious). The lack of multiplay is a shame since the game's mixture of both fast-paced action and stealth would have made for some interesting matches. Still, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay is a very good game that any fan of shooters or action games in general will enjoy. It is an understatement to say that it is a diamond in the rough, so don't miss out on this game.

My ratings are:
Graphics = 10/10
Sound = 8/10
Gameplay = 8/10
Overall = 8.5/10

Riddick Rocks

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: January 31, 2005
Author: Amazon User

While the movies that this game branches from are mediocre if good at best, the game comes out of nowhere with dazzling graphics and gameplay. There was little if any hype leading up to this title yet now it satnds alone as possibly the best first person shooter of 2004. Better even than say Doom 3 which while having decent graphics and gameplay falls slightly short to this newcomer from Starbreeze Studios, one look and touch of this game and your hooked and unlike Doom where you basically blow everything to "hell" (pun intended) you have to solve puzzles and use stealth all the while in Riddick. So if you don't have this game and are skeptical get it or play it and it will surprise you.

Good things come from Sweden

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 7
Date: February 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Butcher Bay is a first rate adventure/shooter. The game world's detail shows a fully realized world. The game play keeps itself pretty simple like the interface, but draws you into the excitement without interrupting the suspension of disbelief.

Though replayability is limited, the "director's commentary" is a novel (in video games- though I'm interested it Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault for it's similar feature) and welcome insight into many aspects of a video game's creation, covering executive decisions, technical accomplishments, reviewer and player reactions, influences, and much more.

The attention to detail in Butcher Bay elevates this game to a 5 star game. Here are some specifics that I enjoyed:
1) A realistic flashlight! For once, the flashlight isn't a round spot of white light kinda shining in front of you but leaving the periphery in darkness. BB's flashlight effect fades realistically into a cone of light, illuminating all around you and fading into the distance.

2) Shadows. The shadows are rendered based all each source of light and it's intensity. Seeing your shadow move as you do, grow on a wall, fade due to walking past a light, then recede as you continue down the hallway is remarkable.

3) No daft voice acting that makes you cringe. While the characters are certainly of the comic book persuasion, the voice acting through out the game is consistently of a very high quality. The variety of accents serves to add depth to the characters.

4) Understated music. The music is used appropriately without drawing attention to itself. No techno, no H4rd c0r3 Rock and Roll or heavy metal, or anything else to remind you that Riddick is one bad assssassin.

To be fair, there are a few features that I would have liked implemented in Butcher Bay. First, there should have been a mini-game that lets you take dead bodies and "butcher" them. Over time you could expand your clientele and even create new cuts of meat unlocking new, sharper knives. After all, this is "butcher" bay- let's not have false advertising. Second, to make up for the fact that there is not a single female in the story (unless some of those guards are hiding something) an "enlarged breast tissue" feature would have made some of the more difficult parts a little more relaxing. It would also have tied into "butcher mode" rather well. Finally, I'm all for cool looking riot gear, but why wasn't there an "underwear" mode? I would have enjoyed playing through the director's commentary mode more if all the characters were in their underwear.

In any other game I wouldn't even bring these finer points up, but I don't want to seem uncritical.

Story based "Adult" First Person Shooter

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 10
Date: February 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

**Not for children**

Butcher Bay happens to fit the niche nicely. After Half-Life 2 there was only really the Call of Duty: United Offensive as a good first person shooter (Doom 3 being an older game now and Far Cry also... you should play all of these if you have not). Riddick comes off the back of a very bad sequel to the surprise hit Pitch Black. Here we actually play a game that should maybe have been the sequel. It is certainly heaps better.

The premise is very good. You are Riddick in a maximum security prison somewhere on a planet with inmates voiced by leading actors and facial expressions that are nearly as good as HL2. The atmosphere of the prison is A+ as you go about the place taking on various missions in the cells (fighting, buying drugs, snubbing out bosses, causing a riot, doing jobs for people) so that you can... escape Butcher Bay.

The menu is astonishing at first as it opens up like a cube and the buttons move around, however owners of ATI RADEON cards may experience some shading difficultly and a few glitches in the cut sequences and models now and again (there a number of shading options to help improve this). Riddick is mostly about stealth moves, like grabbing people from behind and either slicing them or breaking their neck. You can get into hand-to-hand combat where the enemies face actually bruises and bleeds. Clubs and knives have a similar effect. The story breaks nicely at the end of each level where you meet your foes. Riddick banters off some classic one-liners and there is quite a bit of swearing. You can talk to some of the characters and choose your answers.

Once the prison riot starts, you are given weapons to escape the prison and the real rush begins (Doom 3 type fast and furious blasting). Enemy AI is quite good and the game plays very smoothly from start to finish. For all intensive purposes, the game play is very much like DEUS EX but the graphics are a way better. It is surprising how long this game is, given that it just seems like a movie tie-in package. It is not. This is a FULLY FLEDGED first person shooter all the way.

I had difficulty running this on a 256mb card, 3ghz P4 and 1gig of ram on full screen resolution and had to take the graphics down a bit. It seems like this game is more for the 512mb series on the way. Anything less than a 128mb card may not do the game justice.

It seems that high-end graphics "adult" first person shooters are back again! Bottom line is to play it.

Pros:
- Great Story
- Great Graphics
- As good as any new 1st person shooter.
- It is long.

Cons:
- Not enough stealth jump moves.
- Enemy AI can sometimes get a little repetitive.
- Needs a fast high spec machine to run properly.
- Some glitches with ATI users.

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