Chronicles of Riddick

[MJ]

can anyone tell what exactly the high definiton pack looks like (parts it consists of) and how good it actually works?!?

From Xbox US:

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/highdefinitionavpack.htm

[revisedgenocide]

Just completed it. Its not the longest of games but as has been said im thankfull it has not been needlessly padded out like alot of games ive played recently. The last level is a nice shock to the system, the little level before that is also a nice little brain teaser (until the rather strong hint) though its a shame it couldnt have been expanded on a little. Top game.

[IainGamer]

I am stuck on this!

Anyone help with the cryo bit, in the large room with the robots?

Don't want to say anymore so I don;t spoil it for anyone.

This is an excellent game, with a good mix of play styles that work, and stunning graphics that seem to be on a par from what has been shown of doom3 so far.

Cheers

Iain

[revisedgenocide]

Going to need to be a bit more specific iain mate. But il do my best,
If your talking about the room when you just get out of the cryo box basically climb up to the top of either box pyramid closest to the door. Wait for the robots to move away from the door then climb down the pyramids and run thorugh the doors.

[PeteJ]

So far the game has been good, at least until I reached the mines and suddenly it turned really annoying. It feels like I'm doing loads of stupid missions just to extend the life of the game. I'm also being pushed through the game in a deeply linear way, in itself not such a bad thing, but here it is very obvious - certain doors 'magically' opening after I've completed an objective, or suddenly a character tells me the information I need after I've talked to some random person a few minutes away. That said, though the scripting is numorous, it is varied and mostly of high quality.

I think I'm on checkpoint 25 now, so still some way to go. It has been good, but not consistently so.

[JammyD]

I am stuck on this!

Anyone help with the cryo bit, in the large room with the robots?

If I've got the right room:One of the doors will open whan you go up to it, but it looks the same as all the others.

I had a comedy moment in the mines - a guy with a drill is attacking me and I go up the ladder to avoid him. The guy at the top of the ladder spots me and walks forward to the ledge but doesn't stop so he falls of the ledge, on to the guy with the drill below. The guy with the drill attacks him because of this and the guy who fell responds by shooting the guy with the drill.
Result: they both kill each other

[MJ]

My copy arrived yesterday.

It's pretty good and the game's atmosphere is brilliant. When you're having a fist fight it feels brutal. There is lots of really bad language and strong violence that add to the atmosphere that you're in a prison full of scum where it's kill or be killed.

Vin Diesel/Riddick sounds awesome and a real bad a$$.

I'm looking forward to going through the game.

[jim g]

So I finally got the chance to put some time into this and finished it today.

I think it is a great game. The duration is just right for me, I can't be arsed with some games that demand 100 hrs plus, Riddick is like playing through a great action movie. The story, gameplay, sound and grahics are all just right.

Highly recommended.

I will start it again tonite after the footy

[marcus]

Main problem I have with this game is that in the first person combat sections, not only are they still really hit and miss (I dont think that first person perspective combat works at all in videogames) but have the added annoyince of having the night vision and crouch commands as analogue stick-in, Im forever accidentally switching to night mode during these fights.

[JammyD]

Yep, that was my biggest problem in the fights. It was pretty funny actually because I'd knock a guy out without knowing wtf was going on as I'd blind myself every 5-10 seconds by accidently switching to nightvision.

I finished it early this morning, I agree with those who liken it to a good action movie, it certainly feels different as a licenced game.

Overall though, the individual components aren't that great - the combat is a bit poor and the stealth wouldn't make a good game all by itself, it's just the way that it's blended together that makes it a satisfying experience. The length is just right also, having said that I'm petty slow at progressing in most games.

There were a few ladder sections where Riddick absolutely wouldn't go down a ladder unless I was standing to the left of the ledge above it and the aiming with the stun gun was more than a bit dodgy. The biggest failing of the game imo was the scripting, which was terribly obvious and unimaginative.


With some non-clich?d scripting, it could have been fantastic. I find it hard to accept that the old "fix power", "collect item x for character y" objectives are the best that the developer can come up with.

Considering all the effort that went into the characters, I think the lack of meaningful interaction was a huge waste - I would like if the characters reacted to me a bit more and acually did something instead of standing around. Riddick is a good character to build on and given his abilities I feel that the game would have improved massively from some Deus Ex style dramatic scripting. I really just wanted to be able to use his formidable presence instead of viewing it in cutscenes. Imagine if you could get info from other characters by selecting a menacing line of conversation while grabbing them by the neck in real time.

So, not a bad game overall, doesn't outstay its welcome and feels quite dramatic from time to time.

[marcus]

Pretty much agree with that. It sets itself up nicely with a wonderfully gritty feel, notably the cinematic introduction much akin to that of Half-Life where Riddick is incarcerated.

I feel that its good rather than brilliant. Ive already said I dont think much of the hand-to-hand combat, better than Breakdown but thats not saying much in all honesty. Riddick seems to have numerous moves at his disposal which he barely needs to use, Im past the mines now and to date its been a simple case of annihalating enemies over and over again with the Assault Rifle, there is little so far which has forced me to deviate to any extent. Enemy AI isnt advanced either which is a disappointment. I enjoy conversing with inmates, but its much like Shenmue, simply a case of putting two and two together to progress to the next section and requires nothing in the way of lateral thinking. Finally there is the load times which havent been a problem for me up till I reached the mines section where you frequently have to visit new areas and have to sit through numerous long loads.

That said, Riddick is a cool character to use and this actually makes me want to see the movie, I dont rate him as an actor but he was perfectly suited to his character in Pitch Black so I think Ill give it a try. The visuals are sumptious, and look very impressive with my pro-scan enabled setup. Sound too is also superb, the constant chatter in the prison being notably well done, and the voice acting too is decent. Im enjoying the experience without loving the game, its no Half Life, but its infinitly better than the Xbox's closest rival Breakdown..

[PeteJ]

I've noticed the game varies in quality to a huge extent, with particular low points coming just before notible highs. The whole section in the mines was not good and often unfair (the Security Checkpoint room wasn't very nice), however the following sequence was pretty darned stunning and brought back some plesent memories of the most loved Sci-fi films around. In fact, the game is at its best when there are fire fights in complete darkness; pitch black. The lighting and graphics are so impressive that the action becomes incredibly atmospheric and tense, especially when the enemies are coming from all around...

The stealth sections certainly are not terrible, but when given the option the guns are easily the better option. In fact, often the best option is to beat up the enemies rather than try to sneak up on them - though it must be said, running up to an enemy at high speed out of the darkness, catching his swinging gun and forcing him to shoot his own head off is very satisfying.

I have still not finished the game, though I believe I am near the end now. I feel the game is being over rated from many different areas, and I feel this has a lot to do with the graphical strength of the title, however these graphics do conseal a good game with some moments of greatness.

[revisedgenocide]

Id definately agree with the last line of your above post PeteJ. I too lost momentum in the upper mines, though i did enjoy the feeling of lonliness when i was walking around the mines, over dead bodies, when i was switching the power back on. Its a shame the game could not have been consistently excellent, that said it never dips below being a decent game.

[PeteJ]

I'm writing the review of this at the moment, I shall quote what I have so far:

wee

A clear case of writers block, something I'm usually good at avoiding. Darn.

Anyway, to ease my annoyance, I have a question about one of the references to Pitch Black, which happens at a certain point in the game. La spoiler:

When you first try to escape from Butcher Bay, Riddick stabs Johns (great name by the way) in the side with a shiv. Johns almost dies, and hobbles along for his remaining part in the game. When I first saw this cutscene, I though it was a clear reference to Pitch Black, as Johns in the film is always in pain "due to my first run in with Riddick". He missed the sweet spot, and so Johns survived.
Now, to me it seems blatent that in Butcher Bay, this very scene is what Pitch Black was refering too. However, this cannot be, since Johns already knows Riddick and so isn't his first run in. Hmm.
I realise that Butcher Bay was written after Pitch Black by several years, and that Pitch Black may have originally been intended to be a one off, but it feels a bit ham-fisted the way they've tried to throw in references.

In Butcher Bay, Riddick is also a completely different character. The differences may be subtle, however if you rewatch Pitch Black after completing the game you'll see how different they are. The writers have obviously played up to what the audience liked about Riddick in Pitch Black, and have ruined some of the flow of the series in the process. Not a big deal however, as Pitch Black Riddick is actually pretty two dimentional, Butcher Bay Riddick at least has more mystery behind him.

Anyhoo, back to writing Bum and Wee in Word.

[the shape]

Spoily McSpoilero:
I think the language "first run-in" is vague and doesn't necessarily mean absolute first encounter so much as first major experience. For example, I could say my first run-in with the cops was when they pulled me over on I95 for speeding and found four Mac 11s in the trunk. Doesn't mean I have never encountered police before. Anyway, why cling to that one scene? Johns collects an array of injuries at Butcher Bay, does he not? I'd similarly wondered why they missed the opportunity to hint at the beginning of Johns's drug use to medicate these injuries -- would have been some nice continuity -- but I suppose any illustrated drug use is taboo even in a game of Riddick's brutality. Or they forgot.

Also, if it helps, I wrote the review for XBM as a chirpy tour guide, welcoming the reader to Butcher Bay and the workings of the game as though they were a newly incarcerated inmate. Like the video girl in Battle Royale, the bubbly demeanor helps throw into sharp contrast the horrors being described. I'm hoping.

I'm sure you'll do fine, Pete. Though we all expect to see "wee" and "bum" somewhere in the finished text now.