Review: The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

WodashGSJ

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Mar 20, 2009
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Doug said:
Hmm, I'd always assumed the Riddick games where ... well, movie cash ins, like the bulk of movie linked games. This one actually seems like its worth playing as a stand alone product.
In a reversal of the usual order of things, the Butcher Bay game was much much better than the associated movie.
 

Doug

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Apr 23, 2008
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WodashGSJ said:
Doug said:
Hmm, I'd always assumed the Riddick games where ... well, movie cash ins, like the bulk of movie linked games. This one actually seems like its worth playing as a stand alone product.
In a reversal of the usual order of things, the Butcher Bay game was much much better than the associated movie.
What next, a good Uwe Boll movie?
 

Liamsd

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Apr 24, 2009
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Payed some dood to shine his eyes, FALSE!!!

Ahh, Riddick only told that to the girl as a story.

It's not actually true, he was one of those warrior race doods and that's why his eyes are like that. ;0
 

Jupsto

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Feb 8, 2008
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lol video was really sassy and funny, but short. shame the videos here don't go much in depth, I don't like reading reviews so much.

PS: I actually liked the second film despite its more tacky sci-fi feel, but glad I saw pitch black first its much more genuinely bad ass.
 

Susan Arendt

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Jan 9, 2007
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Liamsd said:
Payed some dood to shine his eyes, FALSE!!!

Ahh, Riddick only told that to the girl as a story.

It's not actually true, he was one of those warrior race doods and that's why his eyes are like that. ;0
Yeah, we like to pretend the CoR movie never happened because, really...Necromongers? Underverse? Furians? Stupidity.

It is, however, some damn nice eye candy with some fun action sequences.
 

Doug

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Apr 23, 2008
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Susan Arendt said:
Liamsd said:
Payed some dood to shine his eyes, FALSE!!!

Ahh, Riddick only told that to the girl as a story.

It's not actually true, he was one of those warrior race doods and that's why his eyes are like that. ;0
Yeah, we like to pretend the CoR movie never happened because, really...Necromongers? Underverse? Furians? Stupidity.

It is, however, some damn nice eye candy with some fun action sequences.
Ah, the Necromongers - how silly they where. And for some reason, it went from slow speed interstellar travel (i.e. Cyrogenic sleeper ships) to FTL jump ships...very silly!
 

Evil Scotsman

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Dec 1, 2008
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Keane Ng said:
The year of Diesel continues. This is going on my "for a rainy day" list of games.
Well, if you lived here in Scotland, you would be playing it a lot...


and i mean a lot
 

GyroCaptain

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Jan 7, 2008
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Doug said:
Susan Arendt said:
Liamsd said:
Payed some dood to shine his eyes, FALSE!!!

Ahh, Riddick only told that to the girl as a story.

It's not actually true, he was one of those warrior race doods and that's why his eyes are like that. ;0
Yeah, we like to pretend the CoR movie never happened because, really...Necromongers? Underverse? Furians? Stupidity.

It is, however, some damn nice eye candy with some fun action sequences.
Ah, the Necromongers - how silly they where. And for some reason, it went from slow speed interstellar travel (i.e. Cyrogenic sleeper ships) to FTL jump ships...very silly!
I've heard it remarked that it was Conan "in SPACE". I'd add "plus lava-like heat blasting and Armor-wearing goths".
 

Doug

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Apr 23, 2008
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GyroCaptain said:
Doug said:
Susan Arendt said:
Liamsd said:
Payed some dood to shine his eyes, FALSE!!!

Ahh, Riddick only told that to the girl as a story.

It's not actually true, he was one of those warrior race doods and that's why his eyes are like that. ;0
Yeah, we like to pretend the CoR movie never happened because, really...Necromongers? Underverse? Furians? Stupidity.

It is, however, some damn nice eye candy with some fun action sequences.
Ah, the Necromongers - how silly they where. And for some reason, it went from slow speed interstellar travel (i.e. Cyrogenic sleeper ships) to FTL jump ships...very silly!
I've heard it remarked that it was Conan "in SPACE". I'd add "plus lava-like heat blasting and Armor-wearing goths".
Actually...yeah, pretty much - Although Conan the Barbarian was better! It didn't take itself so seriously, nor did it have the Vampire Space Goths with Gimps on leashes.
 

OblivionWolf

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Nov 11, 2008
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I can never remember the story in any Van Deisel movies I watch. They just seem to be strings of action sequences to me.

But seriously? CoR is a stupid movie... and a plague of creatures of darkness on a planet with 3 suns is more plausible?
 

GyroCaptain

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OblivionWolf said:
I can never remember the story in any Van Deisel movies I watch. They just seem to be strings of action sequences to me.

But seriously? CoR is a stupid movie... and a plague of creatures of darkness on a planet with 3 suns is more plausible?
That's what we call a silly plot device, as opposed to a silly plot with silly plot devices. :D
But seriously, I still enjoyed both. Lowest common denominator me all you want, it was still good for some fun.
 

Kstreitenfeld

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Mar 27, 2009
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orannis62 said:
I know. I'm getting more and more respect for Vin Diesel. First, he decides to forgo the easy cash of a cheap tie in, then it comes out that he plays DnD and WoW.
It caught me by surprise too, that's why this comic made me laugh :)
http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/4/20/
 

ryuutchi

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Apr 15, 2009
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"Vin Diesel's silken gravelly voice"? I'm pretty damn awful at first-person shooters, but I may have to pick up the game just for that.
 

Samurai Goomba

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Oct 7, 2008
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A while ago I watched Pitch Black and picked up the original Butcher Bay. Once I get my Xbox working again, I'll try to finish the game.

And yeah, the ONLY movie featuring Riddick is Pitch Black. Thus, the "shine job" story is the correct one. Besides, it's just a better-sounding reason than "plot device ancestry powers."

Gotta love Riddick's voice, though. I played some of the earlier prison segments in Butcher Bay (the first iconic series of melee fights included), and thought it was some of the most awesome stuff I'd ever played in a game. Of course, the aforementioned Riddick Voice {tm} makes everything that much more immersive and awesome.
 

jonnopon3000

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Feb 25, 2009
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I'm sorry, but i have to say it.

I do not like your review style very much. I mean, sure u give a good perfoemance and show some good game footage, but there is no...liveleyhood. I mean, video reviews are compelling because they give information, a score, an opinion, and some great footage and a lot of the time a good voice to listen to. the only problem i had with this review was that it didn't have any action to the voice...it was dull and i found the review almost boring.

Good comments though, and i may buy the game...Sorry to be a critic, but that is the only problem i have
 

Hazy

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Jun 29, 2008
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Keane Ng said:
The year of Diesel continues. This is going on my "for a rainy day" list of games.
This will end up being on your: "I have to finish work so I can play this one more time" list. It's definitely worth the money, in my honest opinion.
 

Mrsoupcup

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Jan 13, 2009
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The game was very good until it made you use guns to much. The melee combat was loads of fun.
 

Joos

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Dec 19, 2007
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Heathen, Chronicles of Riddick was an AWESOME film.

For some constructive criticism, your video reviews would be more pleasant to watch/listen to if you made full sentences rather than 3 second staccato sentences awkwardly jumbled into one. Also, try to breath a bit more deeply, this will make your voice more dynamic and more interesting to listen to.
 

UtopiaV1

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Feb 8, 2009
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Dear Susan,

I've have been reading your reviews for quite some time, and I wanted to build up a little bit of reference material and evidence before I put forward the following statement: As a reviewer, you suck.

I will now go through a list of reasons why you are a particularly bad reviewer, evidence to support this, and then suggest ways to improve your reviewing style. I do not want to invite a flame war, or simply throw baseless accusations around, but I want to improve the way you review the games, so that you can advise gamers more helpfully on what particular games are worth playing.

Point 1: My biggest complaint is that you simply don't do a thorough analysis on the games good and bad points, and lack evidence to back up any criticisms you do make. All you do is simply say what you, in your own opinion, find entertaining and what you find annoying, and then maybe throw in a one-liner joke. Opinionated journalism may bring in a larger audience, but as a consumer, this gives me no actual insight into the games good and bad points, from a technical AND a gameplay standpoint. If you gave your reviews a more objective spin, saying what the game's strengths and weaknesses are according to a wider audience, then it would be much more helpful to people deciding whether to buy the game or not. Every time you write a criticism or comment about a game, think to yourself 'Is this what gamers in general will think, or is this what I think?'.
Evidence for this - In your most recent review (Chronicles of Riddick - Assault on Dark Athena), instead of explaining that there is a mech-driving section, outlining how it is or isn't fun, and how it does or doesn't fit in with the storyline/gameplay, your only comment was "...but in some areas you simply have no option but to shoot your way out, like in the mech sequence. (Apparently, every new game this year needs a mech sequence, whether it makes sense or not.)" Bearing in mind this is just one example, there were a few other moments where I felt your commitment to giving the game a complete and thorough review was somewhat diminished. (I won't list them all, just simply look at the end of some of the paragraphs, you'll spot what I'm talking about)

Point 2: I know it's only a supplement, but in your video reviews you don't say nearly enough about what is happening onscreen, or the game in general. Most of the time, it's an off-handed comment on how 'this sucks' or 'this is fun', without a shred of personal or technical evidence to back it up, despite the huge gaps of silence where you're not talking, which gives you plenty of opportunity to back up these claims. Please, I'm not asking you to do a Yahtzee and talk non-stop at high speeds throughout the review, but as any good video review will tell you, long silences are something to be avoided! All you need to do is describe the value of an asset or style of approach within a game, and then evaluate it's pros and cons. This is reviewing 101, and although it's an oldie, it's a tried and tested method that gets key information across quickly and accessibly, and it even gives you a chance to throw in a joke or two. In summary, no more long pauses after an unsupported comment, please!

I'm sorry if I seem mean or unfair, but I offer you a chance to give your own counter argument to my claims, and I hope you don't ignore my pleas for a better standard of reviewing. It just really gets me when someone doesn't review a game properly, not that they don't give it a fair chance (which is also annoying, but I'm definitely not saying you do it), but that they give no information to the receiver about the good and bad points of a game, and instead resort to calling something 'crap' without evidence, or even admitting it's a gut instinct. Please tell me if I'm wrong, or if you plan to change the style that you (and also John Funk, this is also directed at him) review games, because it's not only unfair to the developers, but deeply unfair to the readers and customers who leave the review as ill-informed as when they went in.

Thank you for your time.