In the showers segment you actualy can snag a disguise in one of the lockers. So full section plays very differently, you can speak with npc, and no combat is necessary. And later, just past eye scaner is secret vent where you can take guard armor. This section whent full hitman. :)
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat, holy shit, I've finished this game 4 times now and I've *never* found that. Thanks, I know what I'm gonna spend my Sunday with. (I honestly think this is not very well telegraphed, but it makes a lot of sense. This whole chapter always felt extremely out of place to me)
Okay! Just replayed the part with the knowledge that there's a guard uniform you can steal and hoo boy, it makes me think that the shower itself is an even more horribly designed segment than I thought before. This time around, knowing that this is possible it took me multiple attempts to even find the uniform, and then even after putting on the people in the shower room still attack you on sight after you put it on (without being noticed doing it, even) -- so you have to put it on and then get out undetected and *then* the rest of the chapter changes drastically. It definitely is far more enjoyable like this and makes 100 times more sense - also in line with what Riddick says at the beginning of the chapter: "Better to stay low and undetected". Thanks for pointing this out! I'm gonna pin this comment so anyone can avoid turning this part into shooty mayhem. (Spoiler: The uniform is in the first or second locker on the right side of the shower room from where you enter)
@@RagnarRoxShow there are actually 2 guard uniforms you can acquire in that section leading up to the boss fight. There is a heavy guard outfit(the outfit that Abbot/Xibits character wears) in a backroom somewhere in those hallways under the guards quarters...... been a while since i played, cant quite remember the exact spot. I think there is a vent somewhere that allows access to it.
Vin Diesel is such a strange man because he makes all of these dopey goofball action movies but genuinely 100% cares about all of them and the stories they're trying to tell.
Because he can admit he basically liked for playing this roles and don´t do it because he gets payed handsomely for doing almost no work? I can imagine that he does this movies because he feels good about and have fun doing it. Not sure about Johnny Depp, but he seemed like he did a lot of movies just for the money as he basically plays a role which is the Directors version of Jack Sparrow because Depp was highly praised for doing this role.
It's because he's not a typical actor, he's a nerd, he plays (or played) D&D, he's shy, and has all of the stereotypical quiet-nerd characteristics, and while he just happened to get famous as an actor, those personality traits and past don't just disappear.
@@user-vn7ce5ig1z He still actively plays DND I heard a story from a BTS of Fast and Furious where he had a whole campaign going during the filming with the cast and crew it was freaking charming as hell.
@@nullakjg767 There is originality in Hollywood, just not for Blockbusters because the Audience doesn't show up for "Original" movies, and user reviews always cry how their boring movies (if they aren't huge action blockbusters). So they respond to the market. but for Original ideas, hollywood funds them as smaller movies for streaming or as long form tv shows on Cable or Streaming sites.
Riddick and Lord of The Rings got some of the best movie-tie-in games in history. But I've never knew how integral Vin Diesel was to the creation of the final product. The man deserves respect.
@@webinatic216 And built like tanks. I remember when my little brother was watching Pitch Black, and he said this, "that guy's arms are bigger than my head!"
Man..these old games are literally a slap in the face of current gen AAA games. These are freaking atmospheric and despite not having modern special effects have an art style that doesn't get old. Fantastic game.
@@carrotsongRPG These old games were complete with version 1 without any need for patches, dlcs, qol improvements, micro transactions etc. Now a days, even if a game seems interesting, buying it on day/month 1 is like buying the lowest quality product at the highest price. Kids still rush out to purchase these games and then complain that they don't work flawlessly. Just wait it out for 6 months and get the complete edition with all patches and dlcs.......for a BIG price drop. Don't remember a single instance of a modern game that hasn't improved over time after patches. Being a patient gamer, in todays times, saves a crap ton of money and headache.
@@main_stream_media_is_a_joke I don't generally go in for the nostalgia-laden, weren't things better in the old days, thing, but for this comment I'll make an exception. Often when I raise this kind issue in some communities, I'm skewered, the comment is taken as some kind of indictment of the game in question (which fundamentally it is I suppose) rather than of the business practices that fuel it. It baffles me how people are (edit: typo) so apathetic about this issue. People are literally spending money for no reason on games that don't warrant you cash and who will happily defend anti-consumer business practices as though they're defending a friend. It's maddening. Anyway, thanks RP, I'm with you!
@@the_elder_gamer If I am not wrong, even in mid/late 90's, PC gaming was still considered as a nerdy hobby/activity. Most of the big companies didn't have pure MBA's running the show....there were technical people who also occupied managerial and higher positions. With the massive boom and acceptance of gaming as a mainstream activity, you have non tech MBA's in control and the entire game development cycle has been converted into a fast food production line with predictable profits....and practically little to no risk taking with different genres (this ensuring predictable profits). Now this is good from a shareholder, bonus tide to sales pov but this makes the entire industry extremely homogeneous and samey. No wonder the games are turning up how they are. The rabid fanboyism that you mentioned just seems ridiculous, with fanboys (Nvidia/AMD) etc fighting it out as if their actual lives are on the line. Bring into this mix the "influencers" who are nothing but company payed lackeys, and kids who have little to no concept of delayed gratification, and it's better to buy shares of gaming/HW companies and watch the shit show while making money at their expense.
@@main_stream_media_is_a_joke All I can really say is thank goodness for indies. I've all but abandoned every big developer/publisher. We all need to be smarter about voting with our wallets these days. In any case, stay safe and be well.
If only more people wanted to make fun, entertaining, and interactive series purely for the enjoyment factor instead of a giant corporate wheel intent on taking all of the money of their willing pay pigs, eh? Seriously I miss the old era of gaming.
Hell, he used to have a his own game studio. He was a definitely a guy who enjoyed the games he was involved in. (Except for the latest Fast and the Furious game)
It's hilarious that you called Rust a "prime rooster", because in Russian prisons "rooster" is a slang term for an inmate forced to give sexual favours.
Well Abbot called Rust "rooster" in the first place. And if i remember correctly there is no slavic refferences in the whole game. Might be coincidink. Damn i need to replay this game. Now im interested if Russian localisation did dirty and translated that moment.
One thing I think that is missing from the Riddick of the games compared to the Riddick of the movies, is that his sense of humor is way toned down. In all the movies Riddick has a dark sense of humor and is constantly subtly mocking his opponents but in the games (and especially Dark Athena) it's barely present. Instead Vin Diesel decided to lean *super* heavily on the man-of-few-words badass type personality.
That missing tone of voice he uses when joking around in Pitch Black was my only gripe with Dark Athena. That and the ulaks. Did he carry them through all of Chronicles of Riddick??
But he still does it though. He still has that dark sense of humour in the games, but it's done more subtly. It's not full "Sipping whiskey whilst the Hunter-Gratzner crew's paranoia does the job for him", but Riddick still gets a few digs in. Riddick (on Johns busting his first attempt out of Butcher Bay as a way to stick it to Prison Warden Hox): Nicely done, Johns. Give it another couple of years and this could be normal for you. Hox (Flanked by his forces): GOING SOMEWHERE WITH _MY_ PRISONER, JOHNS? Riddick: ...Just not today. :)
My girlfriend loves the Riddick series and just started going through them with me starting with this game two days ago. We're gonna finish the game and then watch your video together.
I've always been a huge fan of The Darkness, made by the same studio. I heard people say good things about these games too whenever I brought that up, but never really knew much about them before. Seems like there's even more in common between the games than just the developer and aesthetic. And hey look, the Riddick games are abandonware...
I love this franchise. Even Chronicles of Riddick. I know it has its flaws but I love how different the universe is so different from other sci fi universes. It’s very Heavy Metal.
Part one: How you totally botched your first year of college playing all those awesome video games with your new nerdy friends instead of attending to classes.
"It`s not the fall that kills you................................................................................................................................................. It's the sudden stop at the bottom."
i feel so happy that my religion is portrayed in such a positive way in this game/movie narrative and also so beautifully described in your video; because it's pretty rare that people view us, muslims, as actual people with their own culture and beliefs, we are rather some bunch of delusional and aggressive psychos in the eyes of some people.
I do not believe, but even I can see that Islam has given the world much more than religious fanatics could ever take away. Insha’Allah, truth will prevail and people will open their minds a bit more.
Imam was my first exposure to a Muslim in cinema, and he's arguably the heart of the surviving Pitch Black trio. I still hold that killing off Imam and Jack was a HUGE mistake of the franchise. Ideally he Riddick movies would center around Riddick, Jack and Imam, even though it's far too late to go back now :'(
"he's Riddick,thinks he's shit don't stink" was the first time I ever heard that expression back when the game came out,the only line I remembered from the game :)).
Agreed, I enjoyed the main campaign more than Halo 2’s or HL2’s myself though those are both great games as well. For me, EFBB has aged better than HL2, but I know that’s likely to be a controversial statement.
@@The_RedVIII Let’s not be unfair. HL2 was amazing, if you played it at launch. The level design, the oppressive atmosphere, the thrilling ride it took you on, were unprecedented. It’s great to play even now. And so is EFBB.
@@Banzeken well said mate I hear you - I like how you articulated your points there. Yeah, I think it’s a good game certainly for it’s time, just not in the same league as HL1. EfBB holds up very well/very fun game today.
2004 was a year of HL2 and Doom 3. EFBB was considered a bit less, because of its console roots and a bit lesser technical excellence. This was first year bumpmap and dynamic lighting was used in (mainstream AAA) games. But yeah, it seemed like a start of a new great era for games. And I would say 2005-2010 did not dissapoint. Most of xbox360 AAA releases seemed like a revelation in terms of scale, production etc. Oddly enough, next decade seemed to take wrong turn somehow.
Synchronicity never fails to amaze. Literally just watched Pitch Black the other night and picked up the game from a pawn shop yesterday. And now this. Wtf
Just coincidence. All sorts of things happen to align once in a while, but we only notice those that we care about. If you were into cooking or piano or painting you would also notice things aligning and go “ooooh, synchonicity,” but it’s nothing special. It’s why they say “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” The opportunities for various things are always around us, but we don’t notice because we’re into other things.
Man, after watching this whole video, I really want nothing more than a new Riddick game with refined stealth mechanics similar to Ghost of Tsushima, like air assassinations or multi stealth kills.
It blows my mind that this was on the original XBox and it ran well. I mean 2004 was 17 years ago and the game holds up visually and feels great even now.
@@98izzark69 I know, I guess I didn't explain that well. I have the original game and an original xbox still. I keep it around for a few authentic experiences like this and Ninja Gaiden because in my view they were so fundamentally tied to the hardware itself that even the creators haven't been able to replicate the magic of what just worked back then on any other platform. Dark Athena is content rich and pretty but the original is the first time that I ever really felt like I was in a fight in a game and I still have that same disc. It still holds up even though I have to use an adaptor for the display now.
I’ve done my Saturday chores while listening to this audio on my phone in my pocket without any of the video. That’s the quality of Rag’s narrative. I love your video essays 👍🏻
@@edgepixel8467 I know he didn't really said "waifu" (immediately went back to listen more attentively) but thanks for the explanation anyway , that's kind from you :)
incase anyone watching this video didn't know. Vin forfeit his paycheck when he cameoed in Tokyo drift to obtain the rights to Riddick some actors have their Favorite roles Kurt Russel has Snake Plisken Harrison ford has Indiana Jones Vin Diesel has Riddick and Dom
I actually really appreciate Vin Diesel as a person. Until recently, I really only knew him from The Fart and The Furious franchise, and if you can't tell from that, I didn't think much of him. But if you dig deeper into his passion projects and his personal life, you realize he's actually a huge nerd, and he cares about those nerdy projects. Mad props to him. And mad props to you for reminding me of this hidden gem. I randomly got this video game for Christmas one year and didn't think it was going to be anything approaching good. I was totally blown away when I started playing.
You're not supposed to stealth your way through the guard quarters. You can disguise yourself and it becomes another hub area where you can talk to people, do side quests, etc.
The game was amazing. I never played the follow up though. I always felt it was a game that was perfect in it's time and the sequel somehow didn't appeal enough. Big respect for the Jagged Alliance 2 music - that is a game I played for about a lifetime again and again.
I've never watched a Vin Diesel film, but I've heard tons of good things about these games. Wonder if they'll ever get a proper re-release/sequel. I know the devs are currently handling the Wolfenstein series.
Totally Missed this games, maybe it's time to finally embark for Riddick's journey in this year. Also, gotta really like that you also watched Pimp My Ride regularly in the past LOL
Couldn’t think of a better way to start my weekend....well better way “legally” to start my weekend. Thank you sir for this content, I can honestly say if anyone else would have recommended this game i would have laughed my ass off but you vouching for it well I wanna give it a try
Man I remember I was like 13 when I bought assault on dark Athena and escape from butcher bay, me and my brother weren't very good with videogames at that time, so I remember we tried to play if once or twice and gave up, then like a month or more later I decided to actually try and was able to push through and fell in love with both, I still remember trying to climb the rope to escape or jumping around to avoid bullets, it was one of the only times I've really put a lot of effort to finish a difficult game
I noticed the use of Jagged Alliance 2 music at the start of Part 4. Always puts a smile on my face to see tactics RPGs like Jagged Alliance and Silent Storm getting some love (even though I'm not very good at them).
I honestly hated the changes made in the Assault on Dark Athena rerelease. The melee combat lost its weight, everything looked like it was smeared with vaseline.
I had a lot of issues with it as well but was able to stomach it due to being ecstatic about being able to play Butcher Bay again. It was a flawed bonus.
@@Medieval_Dead My biggest hangup was in the mines. In the OG release, there's a big cavern with a riot guard patrolling. You could temporarily stun him with your tranq pistol, lead him to a pad where a shipping container gets put down and picked up, and use the environment to crush him. In the rerelease, the tranq pistol does nothing to him. ;_;
What annoyed me the most is that in original release you could sneak past the mech after getting the assault rifle and use the elevator. In Dark Athena you can only use the button after defeating the mech
I remember playing this for the first time on PS3 with an HDMI cable connected to my first flat screen tv. I was like 27 at the time... god... But i hadn't really kept up with technology so the graphics of Butcher Bay actually surprised me with how real they seemed to be. I recall walking through the opening cell block and looking in one cell, the way the light bulb just dangled from the ceiling and the room was so bare and empty reminded me of so many places i had visited in my life. There was even an echo in the cell! The melee combat was gritty, visceral, it felt realistic. I could feel some actual weight in the punches Riddick threw. I wish i had finished it.
It's like hearing an old song and time traveling mind & soul back to a special time and place. Even more so, because unlike a song, video game engagement is way deeper and more immersive. I loved these games so much - making this video so profound. Thanks!!
One of my favorite things about this game, and im not sure it's intentional is that nasty fluorescent like artificial light that's used in real prisons in the 70's and 80's. They reproduced it in game for the prison sections and it makes the prison atmosphere as nasty and oppressing as a real prison used to be. It was an incredible aesthetic choice, if done intentionally to reproduce real prison lighting.
@danielvandusen5724 sorry for replying to an old comment, but I’m pretty much completely sure that the lighting was a very well-researched and intentional choice. My father was one of the developers for the game, and through him I know that they spent a lot of the time making sure the look and feel of the prison would be just right. There are a lot of wall textures that are made out of ceramic tiles, which might seem kind of old-fashioned in this science fiction setting, but it really works to make the prison seem more like an inhumane institution, like the walls are there to be easily hosed down by the guards if they get too bloody. The devs made research into things like old prisons and old mental hospitals. They also put effort into things like how the beds look and where they’re placed, even the different graffiti on the walls have been researched and can give hints to the story and the inmates in the different areas.
@Trassel242 I wasn't sure because I thought it might have just been the result of the lighting in the Doom Engine, but then I remembered all the scenes after like the white room with the cubicles and the halls you use the mech in. And those are lit completely different and emphasize how oppressing the prison felt. That prison captured the mood and feeling better than any other game I've ever played. Somehow, they nailed it perfectly and there hasn't been a game I've seen since that was able to reproduce that weird, uncomfortable feeling, with a type of lighting that makes you feel... icky and overbearing is the only way I can describe it.
My dad had Butcher Bay when I was a kid on the original Xbox. I always wanted to play it but never got the chance. It sucks now this game is nearly impossible to get and I'll never get the chance to try it for myself. But I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers it fondly.
I remember playing the demo on one of the demo disks that Target used to sell. That small play time was enough for me to beg my mom to buy me both games. I still have them, stashed away with my Xbox, and I need to revisit them again. Thank you for showing the new line of players what a good team of developers can achieve back in the day
In 2004, I was amazed that Escape From Butcher Bay looked so glorious and ran so well on my relative potato of its day. I honestly can't remember which setup I had back then, but I do remember that I never had more than a low-to-midrange video card back then, and that I thought that there was no way this game could look and perform this well on that card, when Doom 3 ran like a slideshow on the exact same rig.
I'm a relatively new subscriber to this channel and seeing an entire vid on one of the most slept on game adapted movies just made my night. This game remains in the top tier by comparison to so many modern AAA games with gameplay, level design, atmosphere, ect
Big Riddick fan, ive always said he'd be great DLC for MK yet nobody thinks of Riddick for some reason, he'd fit right in plus even has powers with his Furian background.
What a brilliant video man, thank you for bringing back such great memories. If any game needed an actual remake/remaster it's these! Gonna see if I can require these games!
Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay was my favorite game on the Xbox, I played it relentlessly back then. To the point where i could of competitively speed run it, had there been a proper scene for that sort of thing back in 2004. It was also one of the best looking games on the xbox, besides Doom 3. I would love to work on a sort of Demake of Butcher Bay, keeping the Melee mechanics mostly the way they where, along with the prison setting. But Turning it into more of a FPS Beat em up Brawler. Like a whole game based around that fighting mission in the underground of the prison area. The only other game that ive played with effective First Person melee combat like this was the Condemned games, specifically the second game, Bloodsport. I just miss those visceral brawling mechanics, and wish more games would work around that concept.
So happy my parents got me the Dark Athena and Butcher Bay package as a kid. I vividly remember struggling through Butcher Bay in the mid 2000s. Too bad it's nearly impossible to play on PC
The chronicles of riddick was what a “sequel” (using that term real loose here bois) should be not necessarily “this is what happened after the credits rolled” but more like “a continuation of of the themes and narrative from the same setting and characters you enjoyed before”
It seems to me that Swedish game developers are pretty adept at making rather decent games out of movie franchises. Another example that I quite enjoyed was the game Mad Max by Avalanche Studios from 2015. The story of the game is pretty "basic" in that way you'd expect from anything related to Mad Max. But the gameplay and the renditions of the enviroments and the brutal combat are all quite top notch. I normally avoid games based on movie franchises due to the reasons given in the video, but after I saw a gameplay video of Mad Max I immediately felt compelled to try it out and I was not disappointed at all. So it's very curious to find out that Escape from Butcher Bay was also developed by a Swedish studio.
I remember getting this game on sale because I heard rumors that it was actually good and being shocked at the quality. Then realized and learned how involved Vin Diesel was and it really left an impression on teenage me.
It's from my understanding that the reason the Warden doesn't just have Riddick executed is because Riddick doesn't belong to him yet. He is still in negotiations with Johns over price for Riddick's capture. To further make this point in Chronicles of Riddick he warns Tombs to just take the money and go, rather than haggle. Cause if Riddick escapes before payment Tombs would get nothing.
Doom 3 was amazing in almost every way. Mind-shaping experience that affected me deeply, infinitely more than half life 2, and remains by far my best horror experience. And later in the game, it turned into Doom in the perfect way.
Ah, yes, thank you for such a detailed and loving tribute to both of these games. I had an original Xbox and played Butcher Bay back in 2004, then had to sell it all the next year due to financial difficulties. A couple years later, when I'd gotten back on my feet and gotten a 360, I was sad to find out that EfBB wasn't one of the titles that the 360 had backwards compatibility for. Then Dark Athena came out, and that it included the EfBB remaster was so lovely, because I could revisit the old love and also experience the new joy. That said, one nitpick: Isn't the super-jank wobble-cam during the mech fight portion of Butcher Bay specifically explained as that Riddick was only able to find an unoccupied mech because it was in for repairs to fix a busted gyro-stabilizer on one side? Granted, they could've written in some other challenge-inducing malfunction that didn't bounce you around like that, but it's not like we're supposed to assume those mechs in general were that bad. I forget, does Dark Athena ever cover just how Johns escaped? You show how he gets captured and disappears from the narrative, but I don't remember if we're ever shown/told that he'd gotten himself out or if Riddick retrieved him for some reason or what.
Also, There is supposed to be a guard uniform in one of the lockers @ 36:45 When you come out of the sewers into that locker room prior to the guard quarters. Thats how you are supposed to stealth past that entire part, or most of it.
The guard segment is because you're supposed to steal a uniform out of one of the lockers, which lets you just walk around and interact with the guards. You can even buy a sick combat knife from someone there.
Fantastic video on these overlooked games, I would love to see them hopefully make their way onto GOG. I adore how atmospheric Starbreeze games are. Games like The Darkness and the Riddick games are among my favorites because of their thick atmospheric vibes. I also think a reason why the these work so well as a licensed games, is that they were made made as legitimate pieces of canon. So it builds upon the Riddick universe. While most other licensed games are beholden to big companies who are very selective with what can and can't be done. So they end up feeling like vapid rehashes of what they're based off of.
An hour and a half of Ragnar’s insights on one of the most criminally underrated games of all time with perhaps the best melee combat this side of Condemned and Dark Messiah
3:30 Why couldn't everyone think like this? That would make all forms of media so much better man. Experimentation with things not necessarily having been in the original. Of course, this is much easier to achieve in gaming, though. Massive shout out to Vin's involvement with this project and your expert coverage and review on it. You already know that your research, narration and editing skills are top-tier. Keep it up man, take care!
The Riddick Chronicles have always been my favorite, I remember watching the first 2 films over and over...in between certain barbie movies of course xD. The Films just had that core emotional development, sprinkles of horror and Lore, and Boy do I Love Lore. I only wish I had known about the Butcher Bay game earlier, even if I lack the dexterity for shooting games it would've been a great way to bond with my brothers ;D
