Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena remains violent, fun

The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena demo is now available for download on Xbox Live, with the promise that the demo is coming to the PS3 “in March.” Let’s hope that means “tomorrow” for the PS3 fans in the house. After giving the demo a shot, here are our feelings. Spoiler warning: they’re mixed.

Graphically, you can tell that the game came from a last-generation title. The textures just aren’t as good as what we’re used to seeing in current-generation games, and even the menus look somewhat dated. Everything is slightly shimmery, and depth of field effects seem to be way overemphasized. We don’t play games for graphics though, so I’m happy to report that the gameplay still holds up.

Escape from Butcher Bay, the original release on the PC and Xbox, was known for its melee combat, and you’ll find that same system in place here… although you’re not given much guidance in the demo about how to use it. Pick your opportunities to attack, don’t be afraid to block, and have fun playing around with the killing moves. Dark Athena is not a run-and-gun experience, and playing it that way will get you killed. Skulk around, use those special eyes of yours to see in the dark, and pick your targets carefully.

The demo also shows off a new addition to the gameplay: the ability to take control of enemy drones and use them to kill their pals. It’s a fun addition, and if one dies you can simply move onto another one and watch the bodies pile up on the floor. You’ll even use a drone in an amusingly twisted environmental way that I won’t spoil here.

One disappointment is that the health animation—which used to be a set of needles ramming into Riddick’s neck to give him health—has been slightly toned down. Don’t worry about the rest of the content though, as this is an M-rated game through and through. It has been a while since I’ve been called “*slang term for male genitalia*-breath” in a game, and I think that’s somewhat sad.

If you get past the graphics and the somewhat swimmy controls, there is much to like here. Dark Athena is coming to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on April 24.

I’d like to point out that even though Xzibit was in the original game, I refrained from running an image with the caption “Sup Dawg, we heard you liked murderin’ so we put mirrors in your eyes so you can see while you kill!” I hope you appreciate the self-control.