Overview

It is a well-known fact that movies based on games suck, and games based on movies blow. Indeed, this has almost been a law, in the scientific sense. There are so few exceptions that most experienced gamers, by and large, shun any products based off the alternate entertainment medium.

The first time I saw or heard of Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay was at E3. I thought "hey, look, Doom... no wait... Doom 3 engine... no..." and went over only to be surprised it's an Xbox title. It sounded interesting from the sales pitch the marketing man was throwing to the crowd, but come on, it's based on a movie - it'll suck. So, off I went.

Interesting how things work out. Turns out that Chronicles of Riddick, the movie, wasn't so great, but Escape from Butcher Bay, the game based off the movie, was hot stuff - at least on the Xbox. But come on, what do Xbox developers know about making a first person shooter for the PC? A great deal, apparently. I'll say it now: this is the game Doom 3 should have been.

Like Doom 3, Escape from Butcher Bay is a relatively short game that makes heavy use of shadows and darkness. Unlike Doom 3, the darkness and shadows aren't a punishment or a gimmick used to constantly have monsters pop up from closets behind the player after he steps over an invisible trigger. In fact, the darkness is more akin to that in the Thief games - a friend to Riddick.

As the subtitle, "Escape from Butcher Bay" suggests, the game has the player trying to escape from a prison. Not once, not twice, but three times. The escape attempts are done in a logical, sensible fashion and each provides an excuse to change the scenery, as Riddick gets moved from maximum security, to double max, and finally triple max. Along the way, considering the damage Riddick does, one wonders why the warden Hoxie just doesn't do away with him, but thankfully for the story (and two movies), Riddick survives.

The writing does stumble along mostly because it seems rushed. Half the people already know you, and half of those are willing to help you for no particular reason. It's generally bad for immersion, but since the plot plays such a small part throughout the game, it doesn't do much damage to the overall experience.