by:	June 20, 2004

The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay is a prequel to The Chronicles of Riddick, which in turn is the sequel to the 1999 motion picture Pitch Black. The game follows the exploits of confessed murderer and anti-hero Richard B. Riddick as he attempts to escape from the toughest prison in the galaxy: Butcher Bay. You don’t have to be familiar with either film in order to appreciate the game and the large amount of time and effort put into it, though. During your stay, you’ll have the opportunity to interact with other inmates and guards, who each have their own unique character models, voices and personalities, and it’s sometimes necessary to perform certain favors for the ones who might be able to help you in your attempt to escape. You’ll grow fond of some inmates, and distasteful of others, which is a huge credit to the atmosphere of the game and its effect on you as a player. Everything in this game comes together to create an experience that you won’t find anywhere else.

The Chronicles of Riddick is mostly played from a first-person perspective, but there’s much more to this game than shooting. It’s rare that a game combines so many different gameplay elements successfully, but stealth, adventure, shooting and hand-to-hand fighting are all executed extremely well. The variety of gameplay styles, combined with an engaging story and some of the best graphics and sound we’ve ever seen on any console, come together to make up one of the best games so far this year. Developed by Starbreeze, the Swedish developer responsible for Enclave, The Chronicles of Riddick represents the ultimate relationship between Hollywood and the game industry.

While your ultimate goal is to break out of prison, you’ll need to learn your surroundings and get to know the other inmates in order to do so. You’ll spend much of your time exploring the prison and removing guards along the way in direct gunfights or with your bare hands, but you’ll also converse and plot with other inmates, collect packs of cigarettes to unlock extras, and take part in other numerous activities. For this reason, The Chronicles of Riddick is more of an action/adventure game played in a first-person perspective than a first-person shooter. Vin Diesel’s likeness and voice are used to give Riddick his unique personality, but all models and voiceovers are equally impressive. It’s apparent throughout the duration of the game that Hollywood strongly collaborated with the developer along the way, and it’s the most impressive example of the relationship between games and Hollywood yet.