bit-tech Shopping: Vivendi Universal The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay (Xbox)

Rating: 8

Time with product: 2 Months

Strengths: High details levels! Smooth Controller! Budget pricing! Highly fun gameplay!

Weaknesses: Better Online play please!

Summary: As from til this day! We All know movie to videogames is total crap... with a few exception... and this game is one of those exception... I was kinda bland to give this game a try... even after the great reviews from magazine... I didn't like the movie.. much.. after much debate I got my hands on this game..And my initial thought? WOW! this Game is freaking amazing...! the game is better than the movie.. and that is rare... it's gotta be 1 of the best top 10 XBOX 1st person shooter out! Level is highly detailed! the game engine was running at a smooth 60 FPS... no slow downs at all... AI is 1 of the best of any game... sound effects... that game truely takes full advantage of the xbox.. so you won't see a PS2 version.. that for sure...Controls in this game is also top notch.. no lag or glitchy feedback.. smooth as silk... Still story isn't the greatest.. but the gameplay makes up for that...4 OUTTA 5 STARS!

Rating: 10

Time with product:

Strengths: Amazing looking. Deep for a FPS. Mood and lighting is perfect. Voice acting is perfect.

Weaknesses: Overly violent at times. (it gets old as you see tons of it)Can be hard to see whats going on as its awfully dark at times.

Summary: Movie games are supposed to stink. Movie games based on lousy movie games are supposed to lay in bargain bins for the rest of their days. Riddick does neither. It is one of, if not THE best movie game ever. How good is it you ask? It actually made me WANT to see the movie! (despite rather tepid reviews) The enviornments and sounds are perfect. You really feel like you are struggling to gain your freedom and your life hangs in the balance. The stealth parts are fun, the action is intense, and it never feels forced or canned. Its a great game that everyone (who is of age ;-) ) should try. Youd be missing out if you didnt.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 2 Days

Strengths: (1) Amazing graphics (2) Feels like you're controlling a movie (3) Smart choice to base game on new story rather than create a retread of either existing movies (4) Great story and gameplay

Weaknesses: (1) Graphics look better on regular TV as opposed to HDTV

Summary: The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay is a fantastic game. There are many things that this title does right and the best thing is probably that it presents a new story in the Riddick mythos. It is an engaging experience from start to finish, and you want to know what happens next. The Riddick character is great as a video game character and Vin Diesel, of course, does a superb of job voicing him. The other characters and dialogue are very well done, too. The gameplay is a mix of FPS, stealth and hand to hand fighting and is executed really well. You will feel pretty tough after you suprise a guard and turn his gun back on him, forcing him to shoot himself. Riddick is a tough-as-nails character, and as such, the mature violence level and language feels appropriate. This is a definate must-have and one you will want to keep in your collection and play every once in a while, even after you've beaten it.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 5 Months

Strengths: Amazing graphics, great fighting mechanics.

Weaknesses: Too short.

Summary: The Chronicles of Riddick is one of the best looking games of the Xbox. The lighting and textures look great and the characters look like their real life counter-parts. The voice acting in this game is right on. Vin Diesel's voice and likeness is used for Riddick, Xzibit plays Abbott, a prison guard, and Ron Perlman plays Jagger Valance. Over all, TCOR has one of the best voice acting in a video game.The game plays great. The stealth action is well done. FPS shooting is standard, but still fun. The hand-to-hand fighting is great. Using the analog sticks and the triggers to throw punches in different directions. It gives a nice feeling of throwing punches.Escape From Butcher Bay shows you what a futuristic max security prison is like. And is a great game in almost every way. One downside is the length of the game. And the fact that there is no online mode.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 2 Weeks

Strengths: Excellent use of a license

Weaknesses: Probably could have used some multiplayer options

Summary: Not since Goldeneye has a game based on a movie few seemed to enjoy turned out this good. Riddick blasts it's way on the Xbox with amazing graphics, tight controls, and an engaging storyline. Riddick may look like a standard fps at first but much like the Deus Ex games, you can accomplish your goals in several different ways. The game leaves you with the option to tackle the situtation and still keep the game moving at a nice pace. High production values means you'll find surprisingly good voice acting that really helps build the game's dark atmosphere(and it's rated 'M' for a reason). Really, the only serious flaw I can find is the lack of multiplayer for the type of game it is but really, there are TONS of shooters out there with strong multiplayer options to get your fix at.