The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
Encyclopedia
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay is a first-person
action
/stealth video game developed by Starbreeze Studios
and published by Vivendi Games
. Released for the Xbox
and Windows
in 2004
, the game is a tie-in prequel
to the futuristic science fiction
film The Chronicles of Riddick
. Actor Vin Diesel
—who was involved in the game's development—reprises his role as that film's protagonist, Richard B. Riddick
.
The game follows Riddick, the anti-hero of the two films (Pitch Black, The Chronicles of Riddick
), as he attempts to escape from a maximum-security prison called Butcher Bay. Escape from Butcher Bays designers focused on exploring Riddick's character in a prison break setting to differentiate the game from The Chronicles of Riddick. Influence was taken from the film Escape from Alcatraz
, and from video games such as Half-Life and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell.
Escape from Butcher Bay was praised by critics, who lauded its graphics and its implementation of stealth, action and adventure elements. However, they commonly lamented its brevity and lack of multiplayer components. An enhanced remake of the game, included in The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena
, was released in 2009
.
In Escape from Butcher Bay, the player takes the role of Richard B. Riddick
and attempts to escape from a prison called Butcher Bay. The game is played primarily from a first-person perspective
, but the camera transitions to a third-person perspective
during certain scenes. It incorporates elements from video game genres such as first-person shooter
, adventure
and stealth. Unlike many first-person shooters, the game contains no HUD
; on-screen cues are limited to flashes when a new weapon is selected, and small, white boxes that display the player character
's health
when damage is taken. Health can be replenished in predesignated areas throughout the game. Concept art and video files may be unlocked by finding cigarette packs hidden in levels.
The player may interact with the prison's residents, from whom quests
may be received; the player earns information, tools and other rewards by completing quests. Violent conflict often occurs between the player, inmates and prison guards. The player attacks with Riddick's bare hands, or with improvised weapons such as shivs
and clubs
. Combos are created by stringing together punches. A DNA-scanning security system initially prevents Riddick from using firearms, but a limited arsenal later becomes available.
A "stealth mode" is activated when the player character
crouches. The player moves silently while in stealth mode, and can drag bodies out of sight and hide from enemies; the screen's edges are tinted blue when the player is hidden. The mode grants attacks that quickly kill enemies; the player may drop on enemies from above, or execute them from behind. During the game, Riddick acquires "eyeshine
", which allows him to see in the dark. The player must manage the ability; using it in brightly lit areas blinds Riddick temporarily.
universe of the Chronicles of Riddick franchise
, and is a prequel to the films Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick
. The game takes place inside Butcher Bay, a maximum-security prison from which no prisoner has escaped. The facility—constructed on a barren planet—contains three increasingly secure holding areas, and a subterranean mining operation.
The game's protagonist
is Richard B. Riddick (Vin Diesel
), a psychopathic murderer recently confined in Butcher Bay. Riddick is resourceful, and seeks to break out of the prison by any means necessary. His capturer is the bounty hunter
William J. Johns (Cole Hauser
); the two have had previous encounters. Butcher Bay's warden is a man named Hoxie (Dwight Schultz
), while Abbott (Xzibit
) is a prison guard disliked by the inmates. The inmate Pope Joe (Willis Burks II
) is an insane old man, who lives in the sewer tunnels beneath the prison.
) tells Riddick that he "has been blind too long", and he gains his trademark "eyeshine" night vision. Afterwards, he accuses Pope Joe of tampering with his eyes; Joe says that he merely treated Riddick's injured arm. Riddick then continues his escape, while using the eyeshine to his advantage.
Riddick is captured and transferred to the "double-max" security area, where he infiltrates a mining facility. He meets an inmate of great influence in the area named Jagger Valance (Ron Perlman
), who wishes to escape with him. However, Riddick is discovered and caught by the guards. During his transfer to another section, the prison is disrupted by an outbreak of creatures called "Xeno", due to the bomb Riddick planted, in order to create the confusion necessary for his escape, and Riddick attempts to escape with Valance. His plans are foiled again by Johns, and Riddick is placed in the "triple-max" area, where inmates are kept in cryonic
sleep. They are awakened daily for two minutes of exercise; during this time, Riddick discovers a flaw in the system and escapes. He then hijacks a large robot and fights his way through Butcher Bay to reach Hoxie. Tired of dealing with the prison officials, Johns helps Riddick to elude the guards, and the two trick them into killing the warden. They then steal a ship and escape the prison.
. It was developed by Swedish company Starbreeze Studios
, and published by Vivendi Games
and the Vin Diesel-founded Tigon Studios
. Universal Studios Consumer Products Group granted the The Chronicles of Riddick license to Vivendi Games; both companies were owned by Vivendi Universal. Tigon Studios' Cos Lazouras said, "[The game] features an original storyline that provides insight into how Riddick evolved into such a complex character".
In contrast to other film tie-in
games, which often closely follow the events of their source material, the development team of Escape from Butcher Bay focused on differentiating the game from The Chronicles of Riddick. They sought to explore Riddick's character in a prison break
setting, and took inspiration from films such as Escape from Alcatraz
. Starbreeze was also inspired by video games such as GoldenEye 007 and the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series
. The opening sequence, in which Riddick is escorted into Butcher Bay, is a tribute to Half-Life, and the game's hand-to-hand combat was inspired by Punch-Out!!
. Starbreeze focused solely on developing the game's single-player mode, and did not include multiplayer; the company believed that such a mode would require a design team twice as large and another year of development.
Vin Diesel, the lead actor of The Chronicles of Riddick, provided his voice and likeness for Riddick. He and director David Twohy
also contributed to the game's plot and character design; the game's story was developed in conjunction with the film's. Per the filmmakers' instructions, the designers made the origin of Riddick's "eyeshine" vague. Diesel offered guidance to the game's lead writer during voice recording sessions; this included dialogue rewrites to reduce Riddick's lines, as Diesel believed the character spoke too often.
Starbreeze intended for Escape from Butcher Bay to feature more complex role-playing game
systems, but feedback from Diesel and game testers dissuaded them. Starbreeze senior producer Peter Wanat said, "We tried to limit the number of really hard or really intricate RPG elements, and that was a choice because we wanted the game to be playable." Other removed features include an electric bullwhip
for the guard Abbott, and a 25-minute final boss
fight. The game uses normal mapping
, which allows detailed textures to be drawn on models with lower polygon
counts; this, despite an increase in visual fidelity, results in higher frame rate
s.
Escape from Butcher Bay was completed in 18 months. Vin Diesel promoted the game and the accompanying movie at the May 2004 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) video game convention. The game was released shortly before The Chronicles of Riddick in North America, on June 1, 2004; it was released on August 13, 2004 in Europe. North American pre-order
s of the game included a DVD of promotional content, such as a partial interactive walkthrough
and footage from the film. The game's soundtrack, composed by Gustaf Grefberg
, was released by Vivendi as a free download on June 24, 2004.
Following rumors, Vivendi confirmed in July 2004 that a Windows
port
of Escape from Butcher Bay was in development. In October 2004, Vivendi Games formally announced the game, entitled "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay Director's Cut". The game features a higher display resolution
, additional cigarette packs, and new scenes where Riddick steals mechanized riot armor. It includes developer commentary which details the game's creation and design decisions. The game was released on December 3, 2004 in Europe, and on December 8 in North America.
It was revealed in a 1UP
cover story that there was PlayStation 2
version in development but was cancelled.
by Starbreeze Studios for the Xbox 360
and PlayStation 3
(a PC version for Microsoft Windows is also available). Entitled The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, the game was referred to by Vivendi as a "reinvention" of Escape from Butcher Bay; it would include a multiplayer mode and new single-player content. It was planned that Vivendi-subsidiary Sierra Entertainment
would publish the game in late 2007.
In December 2007, Activision
and Vivendi Games merged
to become Activision Blizzard
; the new company announced the dismissal of Assault on Dark Athena, Brütal Legend
, Ghostbusters: The Video Game
and others from its roster in July 2008. The titles were put up for sale to other publishers. In September 2008, Starbreeze Studios confirmed that the game was still in development, and that it was nearing completion. The following month, Atari reportedly paid a flat fee for the publishing rights to Assault on Dark Athena and Ghostbusters: The Video Game
; Atari later confirmed that it had picked up both titles. The company also stated that it had struck a deal with Universal Studios
to develop more Chronicles of Riddick games. Assault on Dark Athena was set for an April 2009 release in North America, Europe, and Australia.
games. The Xbox version of the game sold 159,000 copies in August 2004, and was among the best-selling games on any platform during June 2004; it was later re-released as a Platinum Hits
title. Conversely, the PC version sold 32,500 after six months on shelves.
Escape from Butcher Bays gameplay was compared to first-person shooters like Far Cry
and Half-Life
, and to stealth game series like Splinter Cell, Metal Gear
, and Thief
. Reviewers enjoyed the variety of gameplay elements: Game Informer
s Jeremy Zoss noted that "every aspect of play is expertly implemented", and GameSpot
's Greg Kasavin believed that the game "effectively and innovatively combines excellent shooting, hand-to-hand combat, stealth, and adventure elements". While the game's stealth mechanics were praised, certain critics received its first-person shooter elements with less enthusiasm. Reviewers applauded the control scheme, such as the Xbox version's analog stick
-based hand-to-hand combat. The implementation of Riddick's eyeshine ability was also generally praised, but Computer and Video Games
believed that it was no different from night vision goggles in other first-person shooters, and said that it "could've been developed into so much more."
The game's visuals—particularly the Xbox version's—were acclaimed, and compared to those of Doom 3 and Half-Life 2
. GameZone
's Michael Lafferty said that the game's graphics "[take] the genre to the next level". The textures and lighting were cited as high points, particularly because of the gameplay role of shadows. Character models and facial animations were considered highly realistic; much praise was given to those of Riddick. GameSpot appreciated the developers' attention to graphical detail; they noted that recent bullet-holes glow red and smoke, but gradually cool and darken. Certain reviewers complained about graphical glitches, such as "seams" and "clipping", and gave as an example the visibility of bullet tracers
through walls. The portrayal of Butcher Bay was considered convincing, and 1UP
's Shawn Elliott compared it to the settings of the Alien franchise
.
The audio of Escape from Butcher Bay was generally well received, and critics praised its voice acting; the performances of Vin Diesel and Cole Hauser were given special commendation. In regard to the music, FiringSquad's Douglass Perry stated, "It's not good enough to sweep you away[,] but it's also not bad enough to stick out like a sore thumb". IGN said, "The music isn't memorable, but it's not bad". The Sunday Herald Sun called the voice acting "Surprisingly good".
The game's length was commonly criticized. Reviewers noted that it could be completed in eight to fifteen hours, and IGN said, "If you consider around 12 hours of gameplay short, then Riddick is just that." Several reviewers were displeased by the game's lack of multiplayer components; Computer and Video Games referred to it as a "missed opportunity". Game Informer said, "Since the main quest is short [...] and there is no multiplayer, it’s not a ton of game for your money."
. The PC version was IGN's PC Game of the Month for December 2004. IGN later ranked it 12th on its list of the 25 greatest Xbox games of all time. Game Informer placed Escape from Butcher Bay as the 8th best on their list of 25 greatest Xbox games of all time. Escape from Butcher Bay was nominated for GameSpot's Game of the Year award for 2004, but it lost to World of Warcraft
. Computer and Video Games called the PC version the 98th best PC game of all time. Billboard's
Digital Entertainment Conference nominated Riddick as its Best Character in a Game and a Golden Joystick Award for "Unsung Hero Game of the Year". GamesRadar placed Escape from Butcher Bay in their "Top 7 movie games that don't suck" list, and said that "Escape from Butcher Bay was a triumph on almost every level."
First person (video games)
In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...
action
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
/stealth video game developed by Starbreeze Studios
Starbreeze Studios
Starbreeze Studios is a video game development studio founded by members of the demo group Triton, based in Uppsala, Sweden.-History:The company was founded in 1998, under the name O3 Games. In 2000, O3 Games merged with the smaller company Starbreeze Studios which was then based in Härnösand, Sweden...
and published by Vivendi Games
Vivendi Games
Vivendi Games, formerly known as Vivendi Universal Games, was the holdings company for Sierra Entertainment and Blizzard Entertainment. Vivendi Games was founded as Vivendi Universal Games after Vivendi bought Universal Studios in the early 2000s...
. Released for the Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
in 2004
2004 in video gaming
-Events:*January 20 — Wireds Vaporware Awards gives its first "Lifetime Achievement Award" to recurring winner Duke Nukem Forever.*March 4 — Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Peter Molyneux into the AIAS Hall of Fame*March 22-26 — Game...
, the game is a tie-in prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to the futuristic science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film The Chronicles of Riddick
The Chronicles of Riddick
The Chronicles of Riddick is a 2004 American science fiction film which follows the adventures of Richard B. Riddick, as he attempts to elude capture after the events depicted in the 2000 film Pitch Black, and details his meeting with Jack and Imam, his escape from the prison planet Crematoria, and...
. Actor Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel is an American actor, writer, director and producer. He became known in the early 2000s, appearing in several successful Hollywood films, including The Fast and the Furious and xXx...
—who was involved in the game's development—reprises his role as that film's protagonist, Richard B. Riddick
Riddick
Richard B. Riddick , more commonly known simply as Riddick, is the antihero of three films in the Riddick series, namely Pitch Black, The Chronicles of Riddick, and the animated movie The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury; as well as the two video games The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher...
.
The game follows Riddick, the anti-hero of the two films (Pitch Black, The Chronicles of Riddick
The Chronicles of Riddick
The Chronicles of Riddick is a 2004 American science fiction film which follows the adventures of Richard B. Riddick, as he attempts to elude capture after the events depicted in the 2000 film Pitch Black, and details his meeting with Jack and Imam, his escape from the prison planet Crematoria, and...
), as he attempts to escape from a maximum-security prison called Butcher Bay. Escape from Butcher Bays designers focused on exploring Riddick's character in a prison break setting to differentiate the game from The Chronicles of Riddick. Influence was taken from the film Escape from Alcatraz
Escape from Alcatraz (film)
Escape from Alcatraz is a 1979 American thriller film, directed by Don Siegel and starring Clint Eastwood. It dramatizes possibly the only successful escape attempt from the maximum security prison on Alcatraz Island. The film co-stars Fred Ward, and also features Patrick McGoohan as the...
, and from video games such as Half-Life and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell.
Escape from Butcher Bay was praised by critics, who lauded its graphics and its implementation of stealth, action and adventure elements. However, they commonly lamented its brevity and lack of multiplayer components. An enhanced remake of the game, included in The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena
The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena
The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena is a science fiction first-person action game for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Mac OS X. The game is a sequel to The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, which has been remade and has been included along with the Assault...
, was released in 2009
2009 in video gaming
The year 2009 saw the release of many video games, including several sequels.-Events:-Scheduled releases:List of games scheduled for release in 2009 in North America....
.
Gameplay
Riddick
Richard B. Riddick , more commonly known simply as Riddick, is the antihero of three films in the Riddick series, namely Pitch Black, The Chronicles of Riddick, and the animated movie The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury; as well as the two video games The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher...
and attempts to escape from a prison called Butcher Bay. The game is played primarily from a first-person perspective
First person (video games)
In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...
, but the camera transitions to a third-person perspective
Virtual camera system
A virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in videogames where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; more generally, they are used in 3D virtual worlds when a third person view...
during certain scenes. It incorporates elements from video game genres such as first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
, adventure
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
and stealth. Unlike many first-person shooters, the game contains no HUD
HUD (video gaming)
In video gaming, the HUD is the method by which information is visually relayed to the player as part of a game's user interface...
; on-screen cues are limited to flashes when a new weapon is selected, and small, white boxes that display the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
's health
Health (gaming)
Health is a game mechanic used in role-playing, computer and video games to give value to characters, enemies, NPCs, and related objects. This value can either be numerical, semi-numerical as in hit/health points, or arbitrary as in a life bar....
when damage is taken. Health can be replenished in predesignated areas throughout the game. Concept art and video files may be unlocked by finding cigarette packs hidden in levels.
The player may interact with the prison's residents, from whom quests
Quest (gaming)
A quest in role-playing video games — including massively multiplayer online role-playing games and their predecessors, MUDs — is a task that a player-controlled character or group of characters may complete in order to gain a reward...
may be received; the player earns information, tools and other rewards by completing quests. Violent conflict often occurs between the player, inmates and prison guards. The player attacks with Riddick's bare hands, or with improvised weapons such as shivs
Shiv (weapon)
A shiv is a slang term for any sharp or pointed implement used as a knife-like weapon. However, the word in practical usage is frequently used when referring to an improvised bladed weapon. Shivs are commonly made by inmates in prisons across the world...
and clubs
Club (weapon)
A club is among the simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a short staff, or stick, usually made of wood, and wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times....
. Combos are created by stringing together punches. A DNA-scanning security system initially prevents Riddick from using firearms, but a limited arsenal later becomes available.
A "stealth mode" is activated when the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
crouches. The player moves silently while in stealth mode, and can drag bodies out of sight and hide from enemies; the screen's edges are tinted blue when the player is hidden. The mode grants attacks that quickly kill enemies; the player may drop on enemies from above, or execute them from behind. During the game, Riddick acquires "eyeshine
Tapetum lucidum
The tapetum lucidum is a layer of tissue in the eye of many vertebrate animals....
", which allows him to see in the dark. The player must manage the ability; using it in brightly lit areas blinds Riddick temporarily.
Setting and characters
Escape from Butcher Bay is set in the futuristic science fictionScience fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
universe of the Chronicles of Riddick franchise
The Chronicles of Riddick (series)
The Chronicles of Riddick is a science fiction action/horror media franchise, spanning two live-action feature films and their novelizations, a direct-to-DVD animated film, numerous animated shorts, two video games, an Internet-based video game, figurines and hundreds of instances of fan fiction....
, and is a prequel to the films Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick
The Chronicles of Riddick
The Chronicles of Riddick is a 2004 American science fiction film which follows the adventures of Richard B. Riddick, as he attempts to elude capture after the events depicted in the 2000 film Pitch Black, and details his meeting with Jack and Imam, his escape from the prison planet Crematoria, and...
. The game takes place inside Butcher Bay, a maximum-security prison from which no prisoner has escaped. The facility—constructed on a barren planet—contains three increasingly secure holding areas, and a subterranean mining operation.
The game's protagonist
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
is Richard B. Riddick (Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel is an American actor, writer, director and producer. He became known in the early 2000s, appearing in several successful Hollywood films, including The Fast and the Furious and xXx...
), a psychopathic murderer recently confined in Butcher Bay. Riddick is resourceful, and seeks to break out of the prison by any means necessary. His capturer is the bounty hunter
Bounty hunter
A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...
William J. Johns (Cole Hauser
Cole Hauser
Cole Kenneth Hauser is an American film and television actor.-Family background:Hauser was born in Santa Barbara, California, son of Cass Warner, who founded the film production company Warner Sisters, and actor Wings Hauser. His paternal grandfather was Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dwight...
); the two have had previous encounters. Butcher Bay's warden is a man named Hoxie (Dwight Schultz
Dwight Schultz
William Dwight Schultz is an American stage, television, film actor, and voice artist. He is best known for his roles as Captain "Howling Mad" Murdock on the 1980s action show The A-Team, and as Reginald Barclay in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, and the film Star Trek: First...
), while Abbott (Xzibit
Xzibit
Alvin Nathaniel Joiner , better known by his stage name Xzibit , is an American rapper, actor, and television host. He is known as the host of the MTV show Pimp My Ride, which brought him mainstream success...
) is a prison guard disliked by the inmates. The inmate Pope Joe (Willis Burks II
Willis Burks II
Willis Burks II, sometimes credited as Willis Burks or Willis Burks, Jr., was an American television, film, stage and voice actor whose acting career spanned more than thirty years....
) is an insane old man, who lives in the sewer tunnels beneath the prison.
Story
The game begins with the arrival of Johns and Riddick at Butcher Bay. Johns meets with Hoxie to negotiate his pay, while Abbott escorts Riddick to his cell in the "single-max" security area. Riddick familiarizes himself with the facility, and soon instigates a riot; during the confusion, he escapes into the prison's sewer system. Fighting through the sewers against mutant "dwellers", Riddick eventually meets Pope Joe, for whom he retrieves a lost radio. A woman named Shirah (Kristin LehmanKristin Lehman
Kristin Lehman is a Canadian actress and dancer.Lehman was born in Toronto, Ontario, and grew up in Vancouver and trained in classical ballet at Canada's Royal Academy of Dance for eight years...
) tells Riddick that he "has been blind too long", and he gains his trademark "eyeshine" night vision. Afterwards, he accuses Pope Joe of tampering with his eyes; Joe says that he merely treated Riddick's injured arm. Riddick then continues his escape, while using the eyeshine to his advantage.
Riddick is captured and transferred to the "double-max" security area, where he infiltrates a mining facility. He meets an inmate of great influence in the area named Jagger Valance (Ron Perlman
Ron Perlman
Ronald N. "Ron" Perlman is an American television, film and voice over actor. He is known for having played Vincent in the TV series Beauty and the Beast , a Deathstroke figure known as Slade in the animated series Teen Titans, Clarence "Clay" Morrow in Sons of Anarchy, the comic book character...
), who wishes to escape with him. However, Riddick is discovered and caught by the guards. During his transfer to another section, the prison is disrupted by an outbreak of creatures called "Xeno", due to the bomb Riddick planted, in order to create the confusion necessary for his escape, and Riddick attempts to escape with Valance. His plans are foiled again by Johns, and Riddick is placed in the "triple-max" area, where inmates are kept in cryonic
Cryonics
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current technology...
sleep. They are awakened daily for two minutes of exercise; during this time, Riddick discovers a flaw in the system and escapes. He then hijacks a large robot and fights his way through Butcher Bay to reach Hoxie. Tired of dealing with the prison officials, Johns helps Riddick to elude the guards, and the two trick them into killing the warden. They then steal a ship and escape the prison.
Development
Escape from Butcher Bay was announced in March 2004 for the XboxXbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
. It was developed by Swedish company Starbreeze Studios
Starbreeze Studios
Starbreeze Studios is a video game development studio founded by members of the demo group Triton, based in Uppsala, Sweden.-History:The company was founded in 1998, under the name O3 Games. In 2000, O3 Games merged with the smaller company Starbreeze Studios which was then based in Härnösand, Sweden...
, and published by Vivendi Games
Vivendi Games
Vivendi Games, formerly known as Vivendi Universal Games, was the holdings company for Sierra Entertainment and Blizzard Entertainment. Vivendi Games was founded as Vivendi Universal Games after Vivendi bought Universal Studios in the early 2000s...
and the Vin Diesel-founded Tigon Studios
Tigon Studios
Tigon Studios is a video game production company owned by One Race Films focused primarily on games featuring or starring actor Vin Diesel, who also founded the company.-The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay:...
. Universal Studios Consumer Products Group granted the The Chronicles of Riddick license to Vivendi Games; both companies were owned by Vivendi Universal. Tigon Studios' Cos Lazouras said, "[The game] features an original storyline that provides insight into how Riddick evolved into such a complex character".
Tie-in
A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...
games, which often closely follow the events of their source material, the development team of Escape from Butcher Bay focused on differentiating the game from The Chronicles of Riddick. They sought to explore Riddick's character in a prison break
Prison escape
A prison escape or prison break is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture them and return them to their original detainers...
setting, and took inspiration from films such as Escape from Alcatraz
Escape from Alcatraz (film)
Escape from Alcatraz is a 1979 American thriller film, directed by Don Siegel and starring Clint Eastwood. It dramatizes possibly the only successful escape attempt from the maximum security prison on Alcatraz Island. The film co-stars Fred Ward, and also features Patrick McGoohan as the...
. Starbreeze was also inspired by video games such as GoldenEye 007 and the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell is an action-adventure stealth game, developed by Ubisoft Montreal and built on the Unreal Engine 2. It is the first Splinter Cell game in the series endorsed by author Tom Clancy, and follows the activities of American NSA Black Operation, "Black Ops", agent Sam Fisher....
. The opening sequence, in which Riddick is escorted into Butcher Bay, is a tribute to Half-Life, and the game's hand-to-hand combat was inspired by Punch-Out!!
Punch-Out!!
is a 1983–1984 boxing arcade game by Nintendo. It was the first in a series of successful Punch-Out!! games that produced an arcade sequel known as Super Punch-Out!!, a spin-off of the series titled Arm Wrestling, a highly popular version for the NES originally known as Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!,...
. Starbreeze focused solely on developing the game's single-player mode, and did not include multiplayer; the company believed that such a mode would require a design team twice as large and another year of development.
Vin Diesel, the lead actor of The Chronicles of Riddick, provided his voice and likeness for Riddick. He and director David Twohy
David Twohy
David Neil Twohy is an American film director and screenwriter.-Life and career:Twohy was born in Los Angeles County, California...
also contributed to the game's plot and character design; the game's story was developed in conjunction with the film's. Per the filmmakers' instructions, the designers made the origin of Riddick's "eyeshine" vague. Diesel offered guidance to the game's lead writer during voice recording sessions; this included dialogue rewrites to reduce Riddick's lines, as Diesel believed the character spoke too often.
Starbreeze intended for Escape from Butcher Bay to feature more complex role-playing game
Role-playing game (video games)
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
systems, but feedback from Diesel and game testers dissuaded them. Starbreeze senior producer Peter Wanat said, "We tried to limit the number of really hard or really intricate RPG elements, and that was a choice because we wanted the game to be playable." Other removed features include an electric bullwhip
Bullwhip
A bullwhip is a single-tailed whip, usually made of braided leather, which was originally used as a tool for working with livestock.Bullwhips are pastoral tools, traditionally used to control livestock in open country...
for the guard Abbott, and a 25-minute final boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
fight. The game uses normal mapping
Normal mapping
In 3D computer graphics, normal mapping, or "Dot3 bump mapping", is a technique used for faking the lighting of bumps and dents. It is used to add details without using more polygons. A common use of this technique is to greatly enhance the appearance and details of a low polygon model by...
, which allows detailed textures to be drawn on models with lower polygon
Polygon (computer graphics)
Polygons are used in computer graphics to compose images that are three-dimensional in appearance. Usually triangular, polygons arise when an object's surface is modeled, vertices are selected, and the object is rendered in a wire frame model. This is quicker to display than a shaded model; thus...
counts; this, despite an increase in visual fidelity, results in higher frame rate
Frame rate
Frame rate is the frequency at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. The term applies equally well to computer graphics, video cameras, film cameras, and motion capture systems...
s.
Escape from Butcher Bay was completed in 18 months. Vin Diesel promoted the game and the accompanying movie at the May 2004 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) video game convention. The game was released shortly before The Chronicles of Riddick in North America, on June 1, 2004; it was released on August 13, 2004 in Europe. North American pre-order
Pre-order
A pre-order is an order placed for an item which has not yet been released. The idea for pre-orders came when people found it hard to get popular items in stores due to their popularity. Companies were then given the idea to allow people to reserve their own personal copy, before the release, ...
s of the game included a DVD of promotional content, such as a partial interactive walkthrough
Strategy guide
Strategy guides are instruction books that contain hints or complete solutions to specific video games. The line between strategy guides and walkthroughs is somewhat blurred, with the former often containing or being written around the latter. Strategy guides are often published in print, both in...
and footage from the film. The game's soundtrack, composed by Gustaf Grefberg
Gustaf Grefberg
Gustaf Grefberg is a Swedish musician. As part of the Amiga scene, he is known under the artist name Lizardking, and much of his production is tracker music. He is or has been a member of the demo groups Alcatraz, The Silents, Razor 1911, The Black Lotus and Triton...
, was released by Vivendi as a free download on June 24, 2004.
Following rumors, Vivendi confirmed in July 2004 that a Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
port
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
of Escape from Butcher Bay was in development. In October 2004, Vivendi Games formally announced the game, entitled "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay Director's Cut". The game features a higher display resolution
Display resolution
The display resolution of a digital television or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube , flat panel or projection...
, additional cigarette packs, and new scenes where Riddick steals mechanized riot armor. It includes developer commentary which details the game's creation and design decisions. The game was released on December 3, 2004 in Europe, and on December 8 in North America.
It was revealed in a 1UP
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
cover story that there was PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
version in development but was cancelled.
Expanded remake
In May 2007, Vivendi announced that Escape From Butcher Bay was being remadeEnhanced remake
A video game remake is a game closely adapted from an earlier title, usually for the purpose of modernizing a game for newer hardware and contemporary audiences. Typically, a remake shares essentially the same title, fundamental gameplay concepts, and story elements of the original game...
by Starbreeze Studios for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
(a PC version for Microsoft Windows is also available). Entitled The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, the game was referred to by Vivendi as a "reinvention" of Escape from Butcher Bay; it would include a multiplayer mode and new single-player content. It was planned that Vivendi-subsidiary Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
would publish the game in late 2007.
In December 2007, Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
and Vivendi Games merged
Mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies and similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of origin, or a new field or...
to become Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard, Inc., formerly Activision, Inc. is the American holding company for Activision and Blizzard Entertainment. The company is majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA and was created through the merger of Activision and Vivendi Games, announced on December 2, 2007, in a...
; the new company announced the dismissal of Assault on Dark Athena, Brütal Legend
Brütal Legend
Brütal Legend is an action-adventure/real-time strategy game created by Double Fine Productions and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released during October 2009 in North America and Europe...
, Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Ghostbusters: The Video Game is a 2009 cross-platform action game based on the Ghostbusters film franchise. Terminal Reality developed the Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 versions, while Red Fly Studio developed the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Wii versions, and Zen Studios...
and others from its roster in July 2008. The titles were put up for sale to other publishers. In September 2008, Starbreeze Studios confirmed that the game was still in development, and that it was nearing completion. The following month, Atari reportedly paid a flat fee for the publishing rights to Assault on Dark Athena and Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Ghostbusters: The Video Game is a 2009 cross-platform action game based on the Ghostbusters film franchise. Terminal Reality developed the Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 versions, while Red Fly Studio developed the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Wii versions, and Zen Studios...
; Atari later confirmed that it had picked up both titles. The company also stated that it had struck a deal with Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
to develop more Chronicles of Riddick games. Assault on Dark Athena was set for an April 2009 release in North America, Europe, and Australia.
Reception
Escape From Butcher Bay had a positive reception from critics. Certain reviewers preferred the game over its film counterpart, and considered it an exception to the general mediocrity of film tie-inTie-in
A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...
games. The Xbox version of the game sold 159,000 copies in August 2004, and was among the best-selling games on any platform during June 2004; it was later re-released as a Platinum Hits
Platinum Hits
Platinum Hits is a term used to refer to a line of select Xbox games that were considered by Microsoft to have sold considerable units on the platform in the nine months after release, and have dropped in price from their original MSRP to a newer, lower price, generally that of US$19.99, although...
title. Conversely, the PC version sold 32,500 after six months on shelves.
Escape from Butcher Bays gameplay was compared to first-person shooters like Far Cry
Far Cry (series)
Far Cry is a franchise of first person shooter computer and video games, following the name of the first game of the series. Crysis is a conceptual sequel to Far Cry, but is not part of the Far Cry series.-Games:-Far Cry: The Movie:...
and Half-Life
Half-Life (series)
The Half-Life series of video games share a science fiction alternate history. Nearly all of the games are first-person shooters on the GoldSource or Source engines, and most are linear, narrative, single-player titles....
, and to stealth game series like Splinter Cell, Metal Gear
Metal Gear (series)
is a series of stealth video games created by Hideo Kojima and developed and published by Konami. The first game, Metal Gear, was released in 1987 for the MSX2. The player takes control of a special forces operative Solid Snake who is assigned to find the eponymous superweapon "Metal Gear", a...
, and Thief
Thief (series)
Thief is a series of stealth video games in which the player takes the role of Garrett, a thief in a fantasy/steampunk world resembling a cross between the Late Middle Ages and the Victorian era, with more advanced technologies interspersed...
. Reviewers enjoyed the variety of gameplay elements: Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
s Jeremy Zoss noted that "every aspect of play is expertly implemented", and GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's Greg Kasavin believed that the game "effectively and innovatively combines excellent shooting, hand-to-hand combat, stealth, and adventure elements". While the game's stealth mechanics were praised, certain critics received its first-person shooter elements with less enthusiasm. Reviewers applauded the control scheme, such as the Xbox version's analog stick
Analog stick
An analog stick, sometimes called a control stick or thumbstick, is an input device for a controller that is used for two-dimensional input. An analog stick is a variation of a joystick, consisting of a protrusion from the controller; input is based on the position of this protrusion in relation...
-based hand-to-hand combat. The implementation of Riddick's eyeshine ability was also generally praised, but Computer and Video Games
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
believed that it was no different from night vision goggles in other first-person shooters, and said that it "could've been developed into so much more."
The game's visuals—particularly the Xbox version's—were acclaimed, and compared to those of Doom 3 and Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2 , the sequel to Half-Life, is a first-person shooter video game and a signature title in the Half-Life series. It is singleplayer, story-driven, science fiction, and linear...
. GameZone
GameZone
GameZone is an American multiplatform video game website. GameZone's daily coverage includes reviews, previews, news, hints & cheats, and editorials. Additionally, GameZone offers downloads, a child-targeted website and in association with GameStop, hosts GZGameShop, an online retailer...
's Michael Lafferty said that the game's graphics "[take] the genre to the next level". The textures and lighting were cited as high points, particularly because of the gameplay role of shadows. Character models and facial animations were considered highly realistic; much praise was given to those of Riddick. GameSpot appreciated the developers' attention to graphical detail; they noted that recent bullet-holes glow red and smoke, but gradually cool and darken. Certain reviewers complained about graphical glitches, such as "seams" and "clipping", and gave as an example the visibility of bullet tracers
Tracer ammunition
Tracer ammunition are bullets that are built with a small pyrotechnic charge in their base. Ignited by the burning powder, the phosphorus tail burns very brightly, making the projectile visible to the naked eye...
through walls. The portrayal of Butcher Bay was considered convincing, and 1UP
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
's Shawn Elliott compared it to the settings of the Alien franchise
Alien (franchise)
The Alien film series is a science fiction horror film franchise, focusing on Lieutenant Ellen Ripley and her battle with an extraterrestrial lifeform, commonly referred to as "the Alien"...
.
The audio of Escape from Butcher Bay was generally well received, and critics praised its voice acting; the performances of Vin Diesel and Cole Hauser were given special commendation. In regard to the music, FiringSquad's Douglass Perry stated, "It's not good enough to sweep you away[,] but it's also not bad enough to stick out like a sore thumb". IGN said, "The music isn't memorable, but it's not bad". The Sunday Herald Sun called the voice acting "Surprisingly good".
The game's length was commonly criticized. Reviewers noted that it could be completed in eight to fifteen hours, and IGN said, "If you consider around 12 hours of gameplay short, then Riddick is just that." Several reviewers were displeased by the game's lack of multiplayer components; Computer and Video Games referred to it as a "missed opportunity". Game Informer said, "Since the main quest is short [...] and there is no multiplayer, it’s not a ton of game for your money."
Awards
Both versions of the game were given editor’s choice awards from IGN, GameSpot, and GameSpyGameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
. The PC version was IGN's PC Game of the Month for December 2004. IGN later ranked it 12th on its list of the 25 greatest Xbox games of all time. Game Informer placed Escape from Butcher Bay as the 8th best on their list of 25 greatest Xbox games of all time. Escape from Butcher Bay was nominated for GameSpot's Game of the Year award for 2004, but it lost to World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
. Computer and Video Games called the PC version the 98th best PC game of all time. Billboard's
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Digital Entertainment Conference nominated Riddick as its Best Character in a Game and a Golden Joystick Award for "Unsung Hero Game of the Year". GamesRadar placed Escape from Butcher Bay in their "Top 7 movie games that don't suck" list, and said that "Escape from Butcher Bay was a triumph on almost every level."