2004’s Escape from Butcher Bay on the original Xbox turned out to be a highly successful transposition of a film to a FPS that made good use of all the necessary components that make up the genre. Not only do you get to re-live this Xbox classic on  High Definition display but you also get the new sequel, Assault on Dark Athena, in the package. The new campaign features plenty of stealth and action sequences and the addition of new multiplayer modes adds to the experience. With a lot to live up to, let’s see how the new content compares to its highly acclaimed predecessor?

To begin with, lets start with Escape from Butcher Bay. When playing in HD the game certainly looks better with only a few shoddy textures and character models. Most importantly, it still plays out fantastically as it did 5 years ago with stealth being the core element behind the game. Developers, Starbreeze, struck a perfect balance between gun-play and sneaking around in the shadows.

Assault on Dark Athena portrays Riddick as a stowaway rather than a prisoner aboard a menacing space station full of mercenaries. Once again, eascape is Riddick’s main objective and to do so he will meet a cast of inmates and other characters, making both new and old acquaintances in the process. From here on it is the traditional “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” as you play through a variety of linear sidequests for different individuals. Along with your inventory, these sidequests make for a slightly RPG like gameplay format that has been merged into the original Sci-fi FPS. The sequel should take a good 7-8 hours but is lacking in long term value and once you have played though it once, its unlikely you’ll want to escape for a second time. The story could have been improved as it doesn’t come to a strong enough conclusion to make all your efforts rewarding enough. In this area it falls short of Butcher Bay.

Gameplay plays out on a very similar level to that of Butcher Bay. Crawling down ventilation tunnels and sneaking amongst your foes may come across as sluggish but for the most part, the game is fast and well paced throughout. Since you are hidden away in dark corners most of the time you have the eyeshine ability which allows you to see clearly in the darkness. Although you do get a variety of weapons ranging from combat rifles to hairpins, you would be advised only to use them in the most desperate of circumstances. Like before, the game relies heavily on stealth and creeping up on your enemy and eliminating them in one blow is usually the best option. However, sometimes this is emphasized a bit too much and you will lose track of what you mission objective is. Melee entanglements are some of the best areas of combat as they always offer intensity to the player. Disarming opponents with gory counter moves does require precise timing and is very fun to watch on screen. Still even though it may not be the best approach, gunning down a squad of drones still offers plentiful enjoyment.

AI is mediocre as enemies will sometimes walk right past you without noticing you - Yes the drones follow their own patrol program but it is hard to forgive this when done by human mercenaries.

On a positive note, voice acting and visual presentation is great. R.B Riddick is well suited to Vin Diesel’s fantastic voice acting. The character models on Dark Athena stand out excellently, and evidently, you will see the noticeable differences from Butcher Bay. Texture details are done well where needed but in the dark interiors it is often difficult to see them. Although the graphics may have been breathtaking 5 years ago, you will not be overly impressed by the dismal improvements in Dark Athena. Still,  both games look top-notch on an HD display.

If the 2 campaigns were not enough, online multiplayer makes its first introduction to the series. There are 15 maps for players to use and hopefully more to come via DLC. Naturally you get your conventional game modes such as team deathmatch and capture the flag but Starbreeze has been more creative with the Pitch Black mode that makes it unique. One player is Riddick who can use his eyeshine ability to see in the dark while the rest of the players have to use their torches in order to hunt him down. Although this mode seemed to be the most popular it is hard to predict how long this innovation  will last before it becomes sterile.

For those of you who have not yet played the original, as well as finding it worthwhile and enjoyable, it will probably be the last time you will be able to escape from Butcher Bay. For the rest of you, the added features and bonus material that make up Assault on Dark Athena might be moderately appealing but, with a hefty price tag, there are better action FPSs available. In contrast to Escape from Butcher Bay, Assault on Dark Athena does not stand up to scratch, thus leaving you with an unfulfilling FPS experience.

+  Re-living Butcher Bay is a great bonus.

+ Fist-fights are always satisfying.

+ Excellent voice acting and above average visuals.

- AI is frequently problematic.

- Multiplayer novelty quickly wears off.

- Story is weak in places.

7.7/10

By Ian Ratledge Posted Saturday, April 25th, 2009 5:26 pm