It takes place before Pitch Black, telling the story of Riddick's entering into the worst prison in the galaxy, Butcher Bay, and his eventual escape from it to reach the events of the film. This makes it a prequel and the first fully-told piece of the Riddick story, chronologically.Gameplay Butcher Bay is played from a first-person perspective, and although there is a fair amount of gunplay in the game, players will mostly need to improvise with melee combat by using fists, shivs and clubs. In hand-to-hand combat players have the ability to attack and block; blocking late or early will still shield Riddick from some damage, but a perfectly-timed block minimizes the damage the most. For the first section of the game, Riddick interacts with the prison inmates and guards, while he plots his big escape. Riddick completes tasks given to him by inmates and corrupt guards, in order to give him a leg up over others. He does quests to obtain UD Credits (Butcher Bay's currency), Cigarettes, or weapons. The majority of the game is played in first-person, with certain actions causing the camera to shift to third-person, such as climbing or shimmying railing.There are also some stealth mechanics in the game. Crouching in a dark spot will cause the view to take on a more fish-eyed look, and the color on-screen will tint blue if Riddick is hidden from enemies. Sneaking out of the darkness and attacking enemies from behind is far more effective and damaging than fighting them head-on.WeaponsMeleeFists - Riddick defaults to using his fists, if no other melee weapon is available.Knuckledusters - These will naturally make your punches more lethal.Shiv - An improvised bladed-weapon.Screwdriver - Another shiv-like type of weapon; the shape is different, but the purpose is still the same.Club - The club is a bludgeoning weapon that can take down enemies with just a couple of well-placed hits.RangedWeaponDescriptionClipSizeAmmoTypeFeatures / Special MovesWielded byTranquilizer GunAlthough not lethal, this weapon will incapacitate enemies with a single shot.1High-voltage Shock DartsFall on your unconscious foes while they're down and crush their skulls with this weapon.GunThis is your basic handgun, and it's quite weak. But it's still better than nothing when you can't get close to an enemy.149mm Uranium-core BulletsMaximum Security Light GuardsDouble-Max GuardsShotgunThis semi-automatic, gas-operated assault shotgun reloads pretty fast and is, of course, very useful and effective at close range87mm Tungsten BuckshotFlashlightMaximum Security Light GuardsDouble-Max GuardsAssault RifleThis is a powerful and fully automatic rifle, but it is however DNA-encoded to the soldier wielding it, so you won't be able to use it early in the game.389mm Mercury Twin-Tipped BulletsFlashlightMaximum Security Light GuardsDouble-Max GuardsPrototype RifleThe Prototype Assault Rifle is an incredible rapid-fire powerful weapon and uses the same type of ammo as its "twin-gun".149mm Mercury Twin-Tipped BulletsFlashlightMini-GunThis Fire Supression Weapon is without a doubt the most powerful weapon in the game, and will mow down your enemies like butter.400010mm Mercury Twin-Tipped BulletsRiot GuardsGrenadesThese grenades take a little moment before exploding, so make sure to try and calculate your enemies' trajectory before you throw them.Maximum Security Light GuardsDouble-Max GuardsReleasesPC VersionThe PC version of Escape from Butcher's Bay was known as the developer's cut. This version allowed PC gamers to play the game in a higher resolution and added other new elements such as a developer commentary and a new mech sequence. This release is similar in fashion to added bonus releases such as Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence and Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance.RemakeOn April 7, 2009, a remake of Escape From Butcher Bay was released for the Xbox 360 and PS3 under the title Assault on Dark Athena. It includes a better graphics engine, multiplayer, and the extended vehicle segment from the Director's Cut version.SoundtrackThe original score for Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay was composed by Gustaf Grefberg and is free to download.No numerical order for the tracklist is known, so tracks are listed in alphabetical order instead.TrackSong TitleRunning Time01Beast Within - Action01.3202Beast Within - Sneak01.3203Code Red - Action03.0004Code Red - Sneak03.0005Critters - Action02.0006Critters - Sneak02.0007End Credits08.0208Pope Joe Theme01.4509Prison Break - Action02.1110Prison Break - Action02.1111Showdown - Action01.2212Showdown - Sneak01.2213The Arrival03.0814Butcher Bay Slam (mix)02.5915Desert All Around (mix)03.2316Exploration (mix)06.1917I Can Escape Anything (mix)03.05Voice TalentsEscape from Butcher Bay was highly praised for its voice acting and also for the fact that very few actors were asked to reprise roles, thus giving almost every single character a different feel and voice approach. To top it up it is probably worth pointing out that there's a handful of "stars" in the cast.Vin Diesel - Richard B. RiddickCole Hauser - William J. JohnsKristin Lehman - ShirahXzibit - AbbottWillis Burks II - Pope JoeRon Perlman - Jagger ValanceMichael Rooker - Centurion / JackArnell Powell - JupiterDwight Schultz - HoxieSteve Blum - RustJoshua Leonard ... Coyne / Two TongueJoaquim de Almeida ... Mattsson / Silencio / Zuni / FateenArthur Burghardt ... Booger / Haamid / Thunder / WilkinsLombardo Boyar ... Theo / Zlonzo / BarassaMichael Chinyamurindi - Jamel-Udeen / Lambert / BarneyBingo Dinh - Yu / ChangNicholas Guest - Gray / Pixie / Gulug / Napolean / ShiversNick Jameson - Nurse / Barber / Georgie / GinoAdam Alexi-Malle - Izzudeen / Waman / ShurikStephen McHattie - Pascal / Haley / Harman / SawtoothF. Valentino Morales - Mercury / CusaIvo Nanov - Baasim / Armadaro / Dog BoneKhary Payton - Rael / MichaelsWayne Pére - Binks / Abe / Moesgaard / Mosely / PadillaTony Plana - Tom / CuellasMichael Ralph - Abu Bakr / Craps / MotorheadEddie Santiago - Molina / Quintana / TrigoWilliam Morgan Sheppard - Pink / Valya / RedHarry Van Gorkum - Jimbo / Flores / SteeleJody Wood - Victum / Gomer / Charlie GreenRon Yuan - Matthies / Monster / Wpminer / ShinnickDebi Mae West - Computer voice / Elevator voiceMichael Gough - Smoker / Valve / IDIPC System RequirementsMinimumOperating System: Windows 2000 (SP4), Windows XPProcessor: Pentium IV 1.8 GHz or AMD equivalentRAM Memory: 256 MBGraphics Card: 64 MB AGP OpenGL 1.5 compatible video cardHard Drive Space: 3.7 GBSound Card: DirectX 9.0 compatibleDirectX: DirectX 9.0RecommendedOperating System: Windows XPProcessor: Pentium IV 2.6 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 2500RAM Memory: 512 MBGraphics Card: ATI Radeon 9700 or NVIDIA GeForce FX5900 or betterHard Drive Space: 4.4 GBSound Card: DirectX 9.0 compatibleDirectX: DirectX 9.0
