The Chronicles of Riddick Assault on Dark Athena

The Chronicles of Riddick Assault on Dark Athena

Vin Diesel’s ‘most ruthless criminal in the universe’ act is somehow tamed for this latest sci-fi adventure on Xbox 360 and PS3.

We approached Assault on Dark Athena with three things in mind: one being that The Darkness was amazing on the current generation consoles, another that The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay was stunning too on original Xbox. Lastly both games are the handiwork of Starbreeze Studios, responsible for The Chronicles of Riddick Assault on Dark Athena. This has to be awesome, then.

The character of Richard B Riddick, first portrayed by Vin Diesel in the film Pitch Black, is a menacing and most ruthless killer. Some of you might remember the scene in which Riddick is bound in restraints for the safety of a cargo ship crew transporting him to prison. His supernatural ability to see in the dark, thanks to unusually sensitive eyes and hence the stylish shades, was a neat twist for Pitch Black allowing Riddick to spot nocturnal monsters on a remote planet. In Escape from Butcher Bay, released to coincide with the theatrical release of The Chronicles of Riddick in 2004, night vision enabled Riddick to make like a ferocious Sam Fisher of Splinter Cell series fame. It was a terrific game mechanic to have fun with.

As with Vin Diesel films, the more simple the better as “XXX” and “Fast and Furious testify”. Try to be too clever as with “Babylon AD” and the suspension of disbelief flies out of the window with the 10-a-penny stuntmen. Basically this is our problem with Escape from Dark Athena, and the main culprit is firearms. Even five years ago the most refreshing aspect of ‘Escape…’ was that Riddick himself was the ultimate weapon. In ‘…Dark Athena’ the tools of choice emerge to be guns and ammo. This risks becoming an also-ran on a platform like Xbox 360 that has countless shooters.

The early stages of Dark Athena are a continuation of familiar themes from the original Xbox outing, which you’ll have chance to experience as a revamped version is included on the disc for newcomers and fans alike to savour in high definition. Riddick proves his worth to other inmates aboard a mercenary ship while formulating an escape plan. In these scenes Starbreeze has fun with the dialogue, and as with The Darkness, doesn’t shy away from gore in Riddick’s preferred close-quarters battles – his crescent blades slicing away painfully at mercenary guards. Vantage points are essential to survey locations and then move in to strike, therefore the environment plays a key role at all times. Again, these are the early stages.

At the point where Dark Athena gives you a shotgun and assault rifle the feel of the game changes to more frantic fire fights. The balance is usually in Riddick’s favour with plentiful ammo available however the control scheme – as with Resident Evil 5 – was designed for stealth and so run-and-gun tactics feel clumsy against a more agile and infuriatingly accurate enemy. Also the night-vision theme becomes redundant later on. We shan’t ruin it for you as it does look spectacular, but the deeply satisfying routines from Butcher Bay are all but bleached from memory.

On balance the inclusion of a Riddick-theme multiplayer mode makes the overall package on Xbox 360 and PS3 worth checking out. Being Riddick while your mates try to hunt you down shows how much potential this guy has as a videogame legend. Just that sadly, in the case of Dark Athena, this is yet to be realised.

3 out of 5