Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Dark Athena - Atari publishing, PC ver confirmed - by EvaUnit02
Thirith on 7/1/2009 at 10:37
I'd agree with Angel Dust. Much of Escape from Butcher Bay allows for different approaches: sneak past, hide in the shadows and snipe, run and gun. By comparison, Half-Life 2 always tells you which approach to use for any given bit. Even though you can leave the buggy behind and walk or you could just not use the sawblades in Ravenholm, these are clearly not the gameplay choices intended by the devs.
The two bits of EfBB that are Half-Life 2-ish (if I remember correctly) would be the bit in the heavy armour and the sewers episode, since those also proscribe how to play.
Angel Dust on 7/1/2009 at 11:31
Thanks for agreeing but not quite what I was saying. :thumb: My point wasn't that Riddick gives you many gameplay variations as once, I think it dictates the style a bit more than just those two sections, but more that the variations are quite different from one another, a genre mash-up, rather than HL2's variations on what is essentially FPS gameplay.
gunsmoke on 7/1/2009 at 16:27
Quote Posted by Angel Dust
I always thought the Riddick was must play for TTLGers not because it has stealth elements but that it is a FPP game with a lot more going on than shooting. It's one of those hybrid games that we generally go bananas over.
That's what I was saying, but koki thought I meant it purely from the stealth.
the_thiefster on 7/1/2009 at 16:28
Quote Posted by Angel Dust
Thanks for agreeing but not quite what I was saying. :thumb: My point wasn't that Riddick gives you many gameplay variations as once, I think it dictates the style a bit more than just those two sections, but more that the variations are quite different from one another, a genre mash-up, rather than HL2's variations on what is essentially FPS gameplay.
Also there was nothing revolutionary about HL2's gameplay, besides the way physics were implemented. Even then, everything just felt like they were there because Valve wanted you to accomplish things in said way
"Not gonna give you the ability to mantle up that wall nyah nyah! You're gonna have to use our physics to create a seesaw thingy to get up there!"
"Let's show off our 1337 our physics are by creating another see saw puzzle, this time by using items to float that plank so you can drive your cool race boat up lol!"
I agree though that Ravenholm was cool. That was about the only level that I really enjoyed. Everything else felt so tacked on. The antlions part was just lame! Have fun getting through an entire desert of antlions by playing "arrange the cardboard" because someone decided that Gordon's too stupid to, you know, find an alternative route, like say climbing up that mountain that looks climbable
Riddick, on the other hand - I wasn't expecting anything big from the game, I bought it because I had 30 bucks to spend and I was looking for a decent FPS to waste some time away. The game turned out to be absolutely stunning - it really gives you a barrage of choices to make. So many ways to get past a level, so many ways to bypass a security system
Plus Riddick is so badass. He can climb railings (Gordon can't), hang on to them while slowly edging along (Gordon can't), use his fists to block incoming melee attacks, move stealthily (Gordon can't), break people's necks, navigate 2 robots through a bunch of levels that actually make sense, have actual conversations that make sense etc
In fact, I just replayed the original Half-Life. It made more sense than HL2 - "just get out of lab and save ass with no knowledge of what's going on" vs "just save world with no knowledge of what's going on" - had some stealth mechanics (tentacle boss; avoiding alien and human grunts at times), weapons that made more sense than it's sequel's counterparts...the list goes on. I've played HL about 3 times, but couldn't even be arsed to destroy the 8th helicopter in HL2. For the record, destroying the first helicopter was a moment of pure joy. Destroying a helicopter in HL2 was just another routine job
But I'm getting carried away. This is supposed to be about Riddick after all
EvaUnit02 on 7/1/2009 at 17:44
Quote Posted by the_thiefster
had some stealth mechanics (tentacle boss; avoiding alien and human grunts at times),
HL1 had stealth mechanics?! Since when?
Getting past grunts = Killing them with your weapons. Later in the Xen levels you also have to avoid damaging the big barrels in the "alien factory" sections.
Getting past the tentacle during "Blast Pit" = Lob grenades at it and then run to the other side. The game even suggests this by placing a pile of grenades in the room leading to the tentacle.
Koki on 7/1/2009 at 17:53
I guess I just can't really see the freedom if it all comes down to a single straight corridor...
Koki on 7/1/2009 at 18:51
That is remarkably close to how I imagine dethtoll.
Only with less tie
the_thiefster on 8/1/2009 at 11:26
Quote Posted by EvaUnit02
HL1 had stealth mechanics?! Since when?
Getting past grunts = Killing them with your weapons. Later in the Xen levels you also have to avoid damaging the big barrels in the "alien factory" sections.
Getting past the tentacle during "Blast Pit" = Lob grenades at it and then run to the other side. The game even suggests this by placing a pile of grenades in the room leading to the tentacle.
Yes they were simple, but they were there. It's not even near 20% of the system in Thief, but you certainly didn't need to blast every single bad guy in sight
Case in point: I recently replayed HL1. When I was first introduced to alien grunts, I managed to sneak past a few without them even noticing me, because I had no more ammo. I was quite surprised myself
gunsmoke on 8/1/2009 at 13:50
I just got back from GameStop. Found a brand-new, sealed copy of Escape From Butcher Bay for Xbox (I already have the PC version). Total price: $5. :D
