The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay

 Xbox
User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 117 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 102 out of 117
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 117
  3. Negative: 2 out of 117
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  1. rcoberle54
    Nov 7, 2020
    7
    I just finished this on PS3 as it was included with my copy of Dark Athena. Did this not come out on PS2 originally? Maybe that's why I never played it as a kid.

    Anyways I was really impressed with how far ahead of its time this game was. It is a first person shooter/stealth game with RPG and platforming and survival-horror elements. It honestly reminded me of Fallout (years before that    I just finished this on PS3 as it was included with my copy of Dark Athena. Did this not come out on PS2 originally? Maybe that's why I never played it as a kid.

    Anyways I was really impressed with how far ahead of its time this game was. It is a first person shooter/stealth game with RPG and platforming and survival-horror elements. It honestly reminded me of Fallout (years before that franchise went to first person shooter/RPG), Dishonored, and Prey. I was really impressed with the physics of this game. The dead body dragging stuff was really next level. I was impressed with the scope of this game especially considering it was a movie tie-in game that came out in 2004. They didn't have to go as big as they did but I'm glad they did. It's a fun game that moves quickly and there is a lot to explore. It's fairly linear but not wholly and it never feels like you are rehashing the same corridors over and over. Some of the graphical things were really impressive for the time too like how you will occasionally see Riddick's shadow based on the player movement and lighting.

    But overall the graphics don't hold up and the textures and polygons mostly look like crap now. I did like the colors and overall design of this game. The characters' mouths moving when speaking is probably the worst offender of "past graphics that don't hold up" in this game.

    The voice cast features plenty of actors/characters from the movies as well as a couple of big names from the industry. However, it felt like the game didn't get the most out of its cast. So many of the actors just sounded so sleepy during the whole thing.

    As impressive as the physics were it seemed like you never had to use the dead body drag mechanic all that much. The AI was smart, almost too smart. Any time I tried stealth they would spot you immediately. You would barely peak out of a corner and the guards would start blasting you. This caused me to basically abandon stealth all together and basically speed run the game. I liked that there were little RPG style fetch quest side missions, but I played the game fairly linearly and before I knew it I was escaping from Butcher Bay and the credits were rolling. I never got a chance to return some of the items I found along the way because the game didn't bring me back to the spot where I accepted the quest. I guess that's on me for assuming it would.

    Overall this was a really impressive game given the year it came out and the type of game it was. It reminded me of so many modern games I've played in the last 10 years or so. It was fun, interesting, and a breeze to get through. I'm really glad a copy of this was included with my PS3 version of Dark Athena because the obsessive compulsive completionist in me felt like I had to play the first game first. It's better than most movie games you will come across, but it's not without its pitfalls. Onto Dark Athena now.    … Expand
  2. TrevorC.
    Jun 3, 2004
    5
    Alright Jordan A., either you work for Microsoft, or you're the biggest Xbox fanboy I've ever seen. DON'T rate a game before you've even played the full version - you ruin the score for everyone else. I haven't played it myself but I'm posting a 5 to even out the 10's this game has already received by others who haven't even played the real thing. Alright Jordan A., either you work for Microsoft, or you're the biggest Xbox fanboy I've ever seen. DON'T rate a game before you've even played the full version - you ruin the score for everyone else. I haven't played it myself but I'm posting a 5 to even out the 10's this game has already received by others who haven't even played the real thing. What 'average joe' player describes a game as 'wildly ambitious' anyway? .. I smell a fraud.… Expand
  3. LoucasM.
    Sep 17, 2004
    6
    Beautiful game but WAY TOO SHORT with no replay value. A pity it could have been fantastic.
  4. Gecko
    Jun 10, 2004
    5
    This game is vastly overrated. Visuals are sub-par. Jagged edges abound even with composite cables. Sound is medicore, dialog is poor. Storyline is muddled and cliche. Gameplay is standard fps faire brining nothing new to the table. Wow I can see in the dark, thanks. Stealth concepts are cool but you don't need to use them at all, you can run and gun your way through with little This game is vastly overrated. Visuals are sub-par. Jagged edges abound even with composite cables. Sound is medicore, dialog is poor. Storyline is muddled and cliche. Gameplay is standard fps faire brining nothing new to the table. Wow I can see in the dark, thanks. Stealth concepts are cool but you don't need to use them at all, you can run and gun your way through with little problems, above all that the game lasts 4 hours to complete from start to finish. Ugh, skip this one.… Expand
  5. Uter
    Jun 18, 2004
    7
    Not sure why, but I'm not all that impressed so far. Also I don't think it's as easy as some of these reviews say - I've died 3-4 times in the 1st half hr.
  6. TheSoup
    Jun 29, 2004
    7
    The graphics are by far the best I've ever seen in an Xbox game, but once you get over the graphics, the fighting can get really repetitive (especially with the traquilizer gun). My second problem with the game is that it took me roughly six hours to beat it on normal. I definitely suggest renting it before buying it.
  7. HansA.
    Sep 30, 2006
    7
    This is a ridiclously gory video game. I like it a lot though and I play it with my son very often if it's not too late.
  8. FSWMaster
    Jun 22, 2004
    7
    I played the demo to this game and thought it looked very good but didn't know if it would play as good as it looks. Playing the actual game I noticed the framerate was better but noticed the hand to hand got a little boring. Now don't get me wrong, putting a shiv through someones head or blowing their head off with their own weapon is cool in a game , at least the first few I played the demo to this game and thought it looked very good but didn't know if it would play as good as it looks. Playing the actual game I noticed the framerate was better but noticed the hand to hand got a little boring. Now don't get me wrong, putting a shiv through someones head or blowing their head off with their own weapon is cool in a game , at least the first few times. After I got over the graphics and figured out the fighting I was left thinking"Why couldn't this game engine and over the top mature "everything" be coupled with the seemingly better fighting and combos from Breakdown?". I'm not saying Breakdown is better, just it would have been nice to have more moves and combos such as kicks. Either way I think if the graphics had turned out to look like Breakdown's or even Unreal 2's decent engine everything else in this game would have been overlooked and forgotten before Shadow Ops came out.… Expand
  9. You'reanidiotjordana
    Jun 4, 2004
    5
    Played the demo... it's obviously trying to be too ambitious with it's graphics causing the frame-rate and animations to suffer. I prefer smooth fps to high res textures... and please don't rate games based on hype... guys like Jordan A ruin sites like this.
  10. KevinF.
    Jul 15, 2004
    7
    Entertaining but linear, like most first-person shooters

Awards & Rankings

9
#9 Best Xbox Game of 2004
7
#7 Most Discussed Xbox Game of 2004
25
#25 Most Shared Xbox Game of 2004

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 84 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 80 out of 84
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 84
  3. Negative: 0 out of 84
  1. Console Gameworld
    91
    A finely crafted gaming experience that will not soon be duplicated. The action, script and presentation are all worthy of the highest praise.
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  2. Da Gameboyz
    90
    Butcher Bay soundly defeats "Halo" and takes it's place as FPS of this generation.
    Read full review
  3. Total Video Games
    90
    Merges both action and stealth perfectly to create a completely enthralling experience. Whereas it's a definite split between the two in most other titles, Butcher Bay fuses the two seamlessly, resulting in an entirely satisfying experience that plays wonderfully.
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