Assault on Dark Athena is in fact a game pack. Just like Valves, the Orange Box, from two years ago we are offered another great deal for our money in the form of The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena form Starbreeze Studios.


First off you're getting to replay a HD remake of 2004's spectacular Escape from Butcher Bay. Riddick has been imprisoned on the notorious Butcher Bay penal colony and must escape through a series of brutal fistfights, gun blasting corridor slugouts, sinister stealth crawls and of course, good old fashioned RPG style talkathons.


I won't stay too long on Butcher Bay since it is essentially the same game that came out back in 2004, but with even better graphics (they were no slouch back in the day either). It achieved a plethora of excellent reviews and awards back then so check out some reviews if you're interested. If you have never played BB then this makes AODA a real treat since you're getting two brand new games for the price of one. If you have played it before (like me) then you'll probably already be a big enough fanboy of the game to pay to replay it. I don't regret a thing. BB really is one of the best games released in the last decade. I encourage you to play it.


Now lets move onto Assault on Dark Athena. Taking place shortly after the end events of Butcher Bay we see Riddick's escape craft captured by a giant and imposing mercenary ship (the Dark Athena, *shock*) that is the subject of stark rumours concerning the capturing of roaming space vessels. Apparently these captured ships are never seen again and their crew... never heard from again.


It doesn't take long to figure out what the DA and her crew, led by the menacing Revas are up to. Transforming innocent people into a mindless drone army that they plan to sell on to the highest bidder. These drones make for a somewhat interesting enemy. If their 'eyes' are red it means they are in AI mode. Basically they are dumb twits in this state and make for easy kills. However if those 'eyes' are white then that means a mercenary is in direct control of that drone and they prove to be more of a challenge (not by much though).


The game amounts to an escape again and features more gun fights that BB. Stealth still plays a part and (what I like about these games) allows you to choose most of the time if you want to go in guns blasting, or sneak around the corner and shiv that guy in the neck. Fist fights are again brutal, gun fights satisfying enough and the RPG elements (though not as deep as BB, lack of side missions for one thing) still have some interesting characters to talk to and learn more about.


Graphics are a a small leap above the Butcher Bay remake. Bump mapping makes a triumphant return along with some excellent lighting effects. In the sound department we have some decent music (though not used enough) and top notch sound effects. Nothing sounds as glorious as snapping a drones neck or stabbing your blade through that mercs eye socket. Vin Diesel has some fantastic lines (in both BB and AODA) and does a very good job of portraying his signature character, Riddick.


Finally it should be mentioned that this game has a multiplayer mode. It plays like a very old school shooter (which is good in my books) think UT or Quake 3 Arena. However it suffers from a lack of players and a somewhat laggy system. It can lag for no reason sometimes. It features TD, CTF and a Riot mode (basically FFA). But the real mode is Pitch Black. In it player controlled mercenaries hunt down the one player who is Riddick, whoever kills him become him. Oh and it's always dark and you have flash lights. Makes for some fun games.


Overall, the game is great and I urge you to purchase this fantastic game pack.

This review is for the Xbox 360 release of The Chronicles of Riddick Assault on Dark Athena.

Reviewed by whackeygrunt