If the character of Richard B. Riddick sounds familiar, it is probably because you’ve seen the movie Pitch Black. In that film about spacefarers stranded on a deadly world, Vin Diesel played Riddick, a convict who becomes the film’s unlikely hero. Riddick will be returning to theaters in The Chronicles of Riddick, but the game is set before the events of both films. In The Chronicles of Riddick (CoR) the game, we get a glimpse of another episode in Riddick’s life – his escape from the previously inescapable hellhole of a prison known as Butcher Bay. Suffice it to say, you don’t get sent to Butcher Bay for jaywalking or shoplifting…

In the game you play as Riddick and your goal is simple: escape from Butcher Bay at any cost. As a prisoner this is no easy task. Your only weapons will be your wits, fists, and crudely made weapons such as shivs because all of the real weapons found in Butcher Bay have built in DNA readers. If the central computer doesn’t recognize you as a guard then the weapon will not work. Your only choice is to twist the gun arm of a guard and try to get him to take his own head off. If only there was some way to access the central database…

CoR is a first person game that is going to be a bit different than most other action games out there due to its emphasis on hand to hand, up close and personal fighting. You’ll be forced to take on both prisoners and guards with your fists, feet, and elbows while fighting from the same first-person perspective that is the de facto standard for action games. In addition, you’ll be able to utilize moves normally limited to fighting games such as counterattacks and combos. Stealth will be a part of the action as well, not just to keep out of sight of the better-armed guards, but also to sneak up behind unsuspecting enemies and quickly and quietly snap their necks. While on the subject of stealth, you Perfect Dark fans will be happy to hear that Riddick will be able to make use of his “eye shine” which allows him to see enemies even when it is too dark for them to see him.

A lot of work went into the look of the game and the design of the Butcher Bay prison and it shows. The designers have given CoR a realistic, dark, and very harsh look while creating a convincingly realistic prison environment. One particularly cool touch is the cylindrical modules used to transfer prisoners between floors of the huge hollow silo-like cell blocks. The size of the cell block is enormous, which makes it easy to get rid of an annoying person by giving them a gentle push over the edge.

Vin Diesel is lending his likeness and voice to the effort, but apparently his input went even farther than that. Vin played an active role in defining the look of Butcher Bay and in ensuring that the game’s action is realistic. The suggestions were well-received by the developers and incorporated into the game. Turns out that Vin is not just an action hero, but a gamer as well.