Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

 With two great games, superb presentation and a sense that you're playing something different to the norm, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena comes highly recommended.
When presented with the choice of two games, 2004's Escape from Butcher Bay and 2009's Assault on Dark Athena, only one thing ran through our mind: how has it been five years since Riddick dazzled on the Xbox? At the time Starbreeze's first-person action game was a technical marvel, doing things with the Xbox that didn't seem possible. It also proved to be a highly entertaining game that managed to mix stealth, gun-play and melee combat more successfully than any game in recent memory. Bringing it and a full-length follow-up to next-gen platforms and PC in the shape of The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena seemed like a very good idea, and we haven't been disappointed.

The two games act as prequels to the surprisingly good movie Pitch Black, once again starring Hollywood hard man Vin Diesel as Riddick. As the titles of the games suggest, Escape from Butcher Bay sees you trying to get out of the high security prison, whereas Assault on Dark Athena picks up where that left off and tasks you with getting off a - you guessed it - high security space ship. The two games share many gameplay similarities, but Dark Athena probably has a slight edge in terms of action, if not in overall quality.

The on screen HUD is minimal with only a health bar (which uses a recharge mechanism similar to that seen in almost every FPS released since Halo) appearing on screen. Lose a block of health completely and you'll only get this back at health stations, but get to cover while that block is still visible and it'll replenish while you're stood still. It's a neat system that mixes the modern approach with a more old-school health pack system.

Riddick has a very well implemented hand-to-hand combat system that the entire game is built around - Dark Athena isn't quite so reliant on fists, but the option to go in for up close and personal kills is still there and by far the most satisfying option. Punches are thrown and blocks are made with ease, making hand-to-hand combat more than just a gimmick plastered on the back of the box. Good timing can result in some impressive combos and you can pull off some wonderfully brutal disarm manoeuvres - Riddick isn't against brutally stabbing someone in the armpit if you time a counter well enough.