The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay

The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay is one of those exceedingly rare types of games that delivers exceptionally high quality through and through and single-handedly ups the ante for all similar games. The fact that it also happens to be based on a movie franchise--something that's usually a bad sign for a game--makes it all the more incredible. You could call it a first-person shooter, but that would be selling it short. This ambitious game is played mostly from a first-person perspective, and it effectively and innovatively combines excellent shooting, hand-to-hand combat, stealth, and adventure elements with a solid story and truly outstanding, highly atmospheric graphics and sound. The game debuted on the Xbox earlier this year, but it has turned out to be every bit as surprisingly good on the PC, thanks to an excellent translation that shows no traces of the game's console origins. Furthermore, some exciting, brand-new extras that are exclusive to the PC version make it worth experiencing even by those who've played and enjoyed the original version of the game. No, the Chronicles of Riddick isn't a highly anticipated first-person shooter sequel. But don't let that make you assume it can't be one of the year's best action games--because it is.




Those familiar with the Xbox version of The Chronicles of Riddick should know that the new PC "Developer's Cut" version is fundamentally the same game, but with a few key differences: Its visuals have been enhanced to be proportionally outstanding even when measured against the PC's extremely high standards; its controls have been optimized to make it easy to pick up by anyone who has played a PC first-person shooter lately; it features a new and exciting gameplay sequence that has been seamlessly integrated into the middle of the story; and it boasts an unlockable "commentary" mode, which annotates the entire game with extensive, often fascinating DVD-style audio commentary from the frightfully talented development team at Stockholm-based Starbreeze Studios.