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It doesn't seem too long ago that I was playing Lucasarts' 'Outlaws' for the PC and believing with all of my 9 year old heart that action games would never get any better, and in a way, for me at least, they never will. That said, much has happened to the genre since this time, and with the advent of such revolutionary games as 'Halo', the 'Call of Duty' series, Gears of War & many others, gamers expect more than “Run around & shoot the bad guys”, and so they should! The side effect of this is that games with no excellent or stand out features get left behind by the tide of excellent & innovative games.

'The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena' (Dark Athena from hereon in) is a perfect example of this, but before I get into the review, I feel some obligation to write a mini review of 'Escape From Butcher Bay', as an updated version of the original Xbox game is included alongside 'Dark Athena'.

Dark Athena is to Butcher Bay what The Chronicles Of Riddick was to Pitch Black

I'm going to be fairly clear-cut here; 'Escape From Butcher Bay' is a masterpiece by all accounts. It was one of the first games to really integrate stealth & action in a way that allowed the player to choose their own tactics without the game being biased towards either path. Games like 'Metal Gear Solid' claimed that the player could choose to simply shoot his/her way through levels, but it is clear from playing these games that they are designed with a heavy focus on stealth, whereas 'Butcher Bay' effectively includes sections of both stealth & action. The side quests & non-linear nature of the game also add to the enjoyment, & players are encouraged to collect hidden cigarette packets, which unlock bonus content & something of a scrapbook on the production of the game, which adds to the replay value. The game's buying & trading system also adds enjoyment & realism, while never becoming too intrusive. Add to this some great boss battles, varied levels & environments, great melee combat & a solid plot, and you have a great game that will keep you entertained for hours. 9.5/10

Unfortunately, as the saying goes, lighting never strikes twice. 'Dark Athena' is a very loose follow on from 'Butcher Bay', taking place an unspecified period of time after the initial events.

'Dark Athena' is much more linear in fashion, and it's rarely necessary to backtrack through past levels, as it is in the previous game. Also, there is much less variety in the levels, with the objective usually being either; 'go here', 'get this' or 'kill this person'. This does get a little tedious after a while.

The stealth element that made 'Butcher Bay' so brilliant is still present in 'Dark Athena', but whereas cloak & dagger was often encouraged & facilitated in varying ways in 'Butcher Bay', it feels almost unnecessary in this game. Gone are the costumes, light switches, power breakers & other forms of distraction. The only way that the player can utilise stealth is by shooting out the lights & using Riddick's eye shine ability to see in the dark. This feels ultimately redundant, surely if the player has a gun with which to shoot out the lights, they have the ability to turn it on the 2 or 3 enemies they would be evading! Atari have included a couple of nice new features, such as the ability to control mechanical drones at a couple of points throughout the game, but ultimately they don't make up for the omissions.

'Dark Athena' is to 'Butcher Bay' what 'The Chronicles Of Riddick' was to 'Pitch Black'; an unnecessary continuation with an unnecessarily big budget. By no means is 'Dark Athena' a bad game, but it fails to offer that excellent or stand out feature, which is a huge requirement in today's market. Like the second movie, it has a weak plot & tries to humanise an anti-hero, with cringe inducing consequences. Bad scripting accompanies out of place emotional moments throughout 'Dark Athena', causing plenty of awkward moments. Overall, I would advise that if you already have 'Butcher Bay' for the original Xbox, this game isn't really worth the money (unless you want a graphically improved version!), but if you haven't had the opportunity to play the original game, this is an essential purchase purely on the basis that it's included, and 'Dark Athena' will stop you getting too bored on a rainy day.

n.b. Scores are for 'Assault on Dark Athena'