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    The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay

    Game » consists of 5 releases. Released Jun 01, 2004

    Escape From Butcher Bay is a first-person action-adventure shooter game set before the events of the first Riddick film, Pitch Black.

    Short summary describing this game.

    The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay last edited by Panteon00 on 03/13/24 02:24PM View full history

    Overview

    Escape From Butcher Bay was created by Starbreeze and Tigon Studios, a production company founded by the actor who played Riddick in the film Pitch Black, Vin Diesel. It takes place before Pitch Black, telling the story of Riddick's entering into the worst prison in the galaxy, Butcher Bay, and his eventual escape from it to reach the events of the film. This makes it a prequel and the first fully-told piece of the Riddick story, chronologically.

    Gameplay

    Riddick healing himself.
    Riddick healing himself.

    Butcher Bay is played from a first-person perspective, and although there is a fair amount of gunplay in the game, players will mostly need to improvise with melee combat by using fists, shivs and clubs. In hand-to-hand combat players have the ability to attack and block; blocking late or early will still shield Riddick from some damage, but a perfectly-timed block minimizes the damage the most.

    The perspective occasionally switches to third-person.
    The perspective occasionally switches to third-person.

    For the first section of the game, Riddick interacts with the prison inmates and guards, while he plots his big escape. Riddick completes tasks given to him by inmates and corrupt guards, in order to give him a leg up over others. He does quests to obtain UD Credits (Butcher Bay's currency), Cigarettes, or weapons. The majority of the game is played in first-person, with certain actions causing the camera to shift to third-person, such as climbing or shimmying railing.

    There are also some stealth mechanics in the game. Crouching in a dark spot will cause the view to take on a more fish-eyed look, and the color on-screen will tint blue if Riddick is hidden from enemies. Sneaking out of the darkness and attacking enemies from behind is far more effective and damaging than fighting them head-on.

    Weapons

    Melee

    • Fists - Riddick defaults to using his fists, if no other melee weapon is available.
    • Knuckledusters - These will naturally make your punches more lethal.
    • Shiv - An improvised bladed-weapon.
    • Screwdriver - Another shiv-like type of weapon; the shape is different, but the purpose is still the same.
    • Club - The club is a bludgeoning weapon that can take down enemies with just a couple of well-placed hits.

    Ranged

    WeaponDescriptionClip
    Size
    Ammo
    Type
    Features / Special MovesWielded by
    Tranquilizer GunAlthough not lethal, this weapon will incapacitate enemies with a single shot.1High-voltage Shock DartsFall on your unconscious foes while they're down and crush their skulls with this weapon.
    GunThis is your basic handgun, and it's quite weak. But it's still better than nothing when you can't get close to an enemy.149mm Uranium-core Bullets
    • Maximum Security Light Guards
    • Double-Max Guards
    ShotgunThis semi-automatic, gas-operated assault shotgun reloads pretty fast and is, of course, very useful and effective at close range87mm Tungsten Buckshot
    Flashlight
    • Maximum Security Light Guards
    • Double-Max Guards
    Assault RifleThis is a powerful and fully automatic rifle, but it is however DNA-encoded to the soldier wielding it, so you won't be able to use it early in the game.389mm Mercury Twin-Tipped Bullets
    Flashlight
    • Maximum Security Light Guards
    • Double-Max Guards
    Prototype RifleThe Prototype Assault Rifle is an incredible rapid-fire powerful weapon and uses the same type of ammo as its "twin-gun".149mm Mercury Twin-Tipped Bullets
    Flashlight
    Mini-GunThis Fire Supression Weapon is without a doubt the most powerful weapon in the game, and will mow down your enemies like butter.400010mm Mercury Twin-Tipped Bullets
    • Riot Guards
    GrenadesThese grenades take a little moment before exploding, so make sure to try and calculate your enemies' trajectory before you throw them.
    • Maximum Security Light Guards
    • Double-Max Guards

    Releases

    PC Version

    The PC version of Escape from Butcher's Bay was known as the developer's cut. This version allowed PC gamers to play the game in a higher resolution and added other new elements such as a developer commentary and a new mech sequence. This release is similar in fashion to added bonus releases such as Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence and Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance.

    Remake

    On April 7, 2009, a remake of Escape From Butcher Bay was released for the Xbox 360 and PS3 under the title Assault on Dark Athena. It includes a better graphics engine, multiplayer, and the extended vehicle segment from the Director's Cut version.

    Soundtrack

    The original score for Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay was composed by Gustaf Grefberg and is free to download.

    No numerical order for the tracklist is known, so tracks are listed in alphabetical order instead.

    TrackSong TitleRunning Time
    01
    Beast Within - Action
    01.32
    02
    Beast Within - Sneak
    01.32
    03
    Code Red - Action
    03.00
    04
    Code Red - Sneak
    03.00
    05
    Critters - Action
    02.00
    06
    Critters - Sneak
    02.00
    07
    End Credits
    08.02
    08
    Pope Joe Theme
    01.45
    09
    Prison Break - Action
    02.11
    10
    Prison Break - Action
    02.11
    11
    Showdown - Action
    01.22
    12
    Showdown - Sneak
    01.22
    13
    The Arrival
    03.08
    14
    Butcher Bay Slam (mix)
    02.59
    15
    Desert All Around (mix)
    03.23
    16
    Exploration (mix)
    06.19
    17
    I Can Escape Anything (mix)
    03.05

    Voice Talents

    Escape from Butcher Bay was highly praised for its voice acting and also for the fact that very few actors were asked to reprise roles, thus giving almost every single character a different feel and voice approach. To top it up it is probably worth pointing out that there's a handful of "stars" in the cast.

    PC System Requirements

    Minimum

    • Operating System: Windows 2000 (SP4), Windows XP
    • Processor: Pentium IV 1.8 GHz or AMD equivalent
    • RAM Memory: 256 MB
    • Graphics Card: 64 MB AGP OpenGL 1.5 compatible video card
    • Hard Drive Space: 3.7 GB
    • Sound Card: DirectX 9.0 compatible
    • DirectX: DirectX 9.0

    Recommended

    • Operating System: Windows XP
    • Processor: Pentium IV 2.6 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 2500
    • RAM Memory: 512 MB
    • Graphics Card: ATI Radeon 9700 or NVIDIA GeForce FX5900 or better
    • Hard Drive Space: 4.4 GB
    • Sound Card: DirectX 9.0 compatible
    • DirectX: DirectX 9.0
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