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Here are two juicy bits of trivia for you. Fun fact #1: Vin Diesel’s name means “Petrol Wine” in French. Fun Fact #2: Vin Diesel’s first computer game, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, was one of the best releases of 2004.
Okay, so only one of those statements is actually true (and it’s more of an opinion than a piece of trivia), but it’s still fair to say that Butcher Bay was a game that lots of people enjoyed. Most of these people will now be celebrating the fact that a complete remake is on the way to the PC, 360 and PlayStation 3, courtesy of Starbreeze and Tigon. In actual fact, they’ll be celebrating doubly hard… because alongside the original campaign, gamers will also receive Assault on Dark Athena – a completely new full-length game. How about that? Twice as much Petrol Wine for your money.
Starbreeze tells us that Assault on Dark Athena began life as a set of levels that were supposed to bolt an extra episode onto the end of the remade original. The team wound up getting carried away with their enthusiasm, and the decision was made to give the campaign its own identity. This second story will therefore begin shortly after the finale of Butcher Bay, which saw Riddick the shiny-eyed serial killer making a clean getaway from a high-tech prison (yeah, he gets away. Apologies for the spoilers, but we figure that the title kind of makes that obvious).
Anyway, Riddick’s celebrations are cut short when he runs into Dark Athena. We had initially assumed that this would be an evil version of the high-street poster shop, but it actually turns out to be a very large spaceship controlled by a gang of mercenaries. Unfortunately these aren’t just any old cut-throats, but a particularly nasty group of villains who like turning people into Ghost Drones – human slaves controlled by surgically-implanted technology. In the course of your battles with the mercs, you’ll have to fight against these unfortunate drones – but you’ll also learn to use them to your advantage.
The most direct way you’ll use the drones is by picking them up and using them as weapons. You see, these poor blighters have had laser blasters grafted into their arms – so rather than just nicking their guns, you’ll have to kill them and use their corpse as an oversized handle. It’s a cool idea, but we’re more excited by the fact that you’ll get the chance to control a few drones for yourself. In certain parts of the Dark Athena you’ll find control points that the mercenaries use to direct the drones. Kill the poor sap using one, and you’ll be able to take his place: as soon as you do this your point-of-view will suddenly switch, and you’ll automatically raise your hands to inspect your new body – a nice touch that reinforces the idea that you’re a ghost in the shell. Of course, the real fun will begin when you start running about and taking on the enemy. Who cares if you get shot to bits? You can always dispense a new drone from the Athena’s in-built vending machine.
If this mechanic works half as well as it did in Abe’s Oddysee, controlling a drone will be a lot of fun. We’re told that Dark Athena will have a slightly stronger emphasis on combat than Butcher Bay, but rest assured that there will still be plenty of scope for stealth tactics. After all, Riddick is a master when it comes to skulking about in the dark and murdering people with sharp objects. Just as the first game did in 2004, Dark Athena is looking pretty snazzy in 2008 – with lots of brooding shadows and neat lighting effects. In line with current trends, the HUD is all but invisible, allowing you to get nicely drawn in to the grim atmosphere. The animations on close-up kills are looking particularly nasty: our notebook entry simply reads, “VICIOUS – stabbing in the face”. Stab-happy gamers will also be pleased to hear that Riddick picks up a couple of new toys early on in his adventures – a pair of evil curved blades, known as Ulaks. He’ll get some new skills too: one scene we were shown had the player dropping out of a pipe and onto the ground behind a hapless guard, slicing as he went.
In addition to the single-player hijinx aboard the Dark Athena – and, let’s not forget, the complete remake of Escape From Butcher Bay – Starbreeze is also throwing in a multiplayer mode. It’s being a bit tight-lipped about the precise details, but apparently far more time has been spent on this mode than on the multiplayer that featured in last year’s The Darkness. All in all, it sounds like Dark Athena will be packing rather a lot of content onto its little shiny disc. Of course, quality is generally more important than quantity – but if the studios can deliver on both fronts, we’ll be happy campers. Over to you, Mr Petrol Wine.
The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena will be released in March 2009 on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.
