The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay

by Vivendi Universal

Product Features

• Pltinum Hits

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00019HNN2
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches ; 5 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: June 2, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,220 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: Xbox | Edition: Standard

Xbox Live Aware

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Out of left field..., June 17, 2004

By 

Matthieu P. Raillard (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay (Video Game)

As any gamer worth his or her salt will tell you, 99% of games based on movies are atrocious. They are usually rush jobs meant to cash in on a new release (see: Matrix for a recent example) and, in essence, trick the buyer. That is most assuredly not the case with Riddick. This is one of the 10 best XBox games ever, and many are saying that it's oodles better than the actual film!

The strength of Chronicles is its immersive, story-driven environment. I was a bit skeptical about the first person view (First person shooters on consoles tend to be really hard to control due to the absence of a mouse and keyboard combo), but I was surprised by how well it worked here. In many ways, this game is part Role Playing, part stealth, part shooter and part Adventure. The environments you explore are really, really well done (atmospheric is the word), and the play of light and shadow is the best this side of Splinter Cell.

GRAPHICS: 9/10. Very, very good. In my mind, only Morrowind and Splinter Cell surpass this game for overall graphical brilliance. There are some anti-aliasing problems during some of the cinematics, but gameplay is smooth.

CONTROL: 9/10. There are some annoyances, such as inadvertantly pressing the crouch or shine-vision buttons while fighting, but they are mostly minor. The control scheme is unobtrusive and once you get the feel of the fighting controls, you'll have a blast.

SOUND: 8/10. I wasn't bowled over by either the music or the sound effects, but everything is in keeping with the dingy, grimy world you are in. The voice-overs and acting are really well done, though.

GAMEPLAY: 9/10. Awesome. Everyone says it's too short, but I think that's because the game is so good that you want it to last longer! The production values are top-notch (you feel like you are watching the real Vin Diesel), and the story is good. It's not exactly Shakespeare, but it's a suspenseful journey through a very well rendered environment. There are plot twists and some really scary or tense moments, the level design is for the most part excellent, and the missions themselves are varied and nonrepetitive. I would have liked a bigger world (GTA 3 and Morrowind have spoiled me) with more side-quests, as well as more weapons, but hey.

Overall, this is one that I recommend to just about anyone. Parents beware!!: this is a very violent videogame, and contains tons of profanity. It deserves its mature rating!

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive, awesome, addicting... & definitely an MA game..., June 4, 2004

By 

Jakeymon (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay (Video Game)

For some reason, my girlfriend thinks that Vin Diesel is the best actor ever... but she doesn't really care for xbox games. So in the spirit of compromise I came home with the game the other day. It was as a joke because most of the time licensed games stink and the whole escape from prison thing kinda beat.

Well, I was wrong... this game is not beat at all. The graphix are very good - the lighting especially. The sound is such that I'm contemplating upgrading my home theater to really hear it. It's one of those games where the controls are easy to grasp right off. And the things you can do with those controls are foul in the best possible way. You really get to play out your most outrageous, stone killah fantasies on this game; stuff that would make Schillinger from OZ twitch with terror.

There are a lot of cool touches to this game. I like the stealth aspect - mainly because its worked into the gameplay so stealth isn't the total point of the game. But best of all I like how many options you have to get things done. There's no right way to do things in REfBB. Just lots of deliciously wrong ways. And I don't just mean choosing to break the guards' necks loudly or silently, either - though that choice is one you'll have to make quite a bit. I mean the routes, the approach, and the way you interact with the world in general.

The world you're in when you're playing REfBB, by the way, is pretty freaking terrifying sometimes. There are no friendly places. That's all I'll say on that.

Some aspect of multiplayer would have been nice (my girlfriend would like to follow Vin, I mean Riddick, around on screen all night long) but I don't know how it could have been done. Seems like running around a prison setting with 15 other Riddicks hiding in the shadows would get lame.

Finally... this is very much an MA game. I'm sure there are some kids and teenagers who'd enjoy this one, and even some who can handle it. But that's not gonna be a big number, because this is an unremittingly violent game and the gore is... everywhere.

So if you can handle it... and you want a challenge that has more playability than a 1-P has a right to have... and you're open to Vin Diesel (the guy's a riot, really)... and you have several hours to spend in a dark, smelly, violent place... then you know what to do.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT GAME!!!, June 16, 2004

By 

Rocco (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay (Video Game)

Finally, a movie franchise that kicks out a GREAT GAME.

Riddick has:
1) Awesome graphics (some of the best seen on Xbox)
2) Great controls
3) Cool shadowing effects; you play as a first person shooter, but seeing your shadow crouch over a body to pull it into a dark alley is incredible, the movements are as fluid as a real movie.
4) THERE IS ACTUALLY AN ORIGINAL STORY!!! Missions abund, actions is a plenty, and the story is not a rip off of the latest Riddick movie where you end up just doing the same things you saw on the big screen.
5) Atmosphere and music are compelling.
6) Voice overs from the various actors are really good and Vin Diesel does a great job.
7) It is a bit short, but I prefer going through 20 hours of REAL FUN than 80 hours divided into 4 hours of fun and 76 hours of moronic tasks.

BUY THIS GAME!

Expecially if:
1) You are a sci-fi fan.
2) You liked Half Life.
3) You are bored of the latest "only stealth" games. This game has both stealth and action to it.
4) You are a Vin Diesel fan.
5) You know games. This is a great one, a must have.

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