Starbreeze's Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena takes a page from Valve's Orange Box providing two full fledged games on one mighty disc.  Included are the previously released Xbox 1 title Escape from Butcher Bay and the all new adventure Assault on Dark Athena.

The Butcher Bay visuals and sound have been given a high definition face lift, while the core mechanics were kept intact.  Players who never experienced Butcher Bay will find that it still holds up nicely and not a lot has changed with Dark Athena

Riddick, voiced by Vin Diesel, is a bad dude with the ability to see in the dark.  Say what you will about Vin Diesel but he does a nice job acting the part of Riddick, and Riddick is the perfect video game character.  He isn't a superhero with a strong moral code, he's out for himself and if helping someone benefits his cause then so be it.

Playing as Riddick has a nice even balance of power and stealth.  He's strong enough to overcome any situation, but mortal enough that there's a definite need to think things through.  This is helped by the health system which is a mixture of current philosophies.  While segments of the health bar will regenerate, totally depleted segments can only be regenerated by accessing stationary health modules found throughout the game.

Chronicles is largely a first person shooter but there is a fair amount of melee combat that feels very natural for Riddick.  Hand to hand fighting can be stale in first person shooters and while it's not as robust as Condemned, Chronicles does a nice job of keeping it fresh with solid combat and a variety of weapons.

Homemade shanks, clubs, and knives can all be used by blocking with LT and striking with RT.

Sticking to the shadows and sneaking up behind the enemy is the easiest way to get a quick kill, but some fights will take more thought.  The AI at times can be demolished with relentless straight forward striking attacks but sometimes patience is key and using counterpunches and blocks becomes essential.

Shooting mechanics are solid and a variety of guns keeps it interesting enough where it doesn't become boring. Also there are a few Mech type segments which add brief areas of complete dominance.

The game does get somewhat repetitive, with Riddick running through vents and hiding in the shadows all the while trying to escape something or other and there are a lot of "fooled you, you're not done yet" type moments. You will also find a fair amount of back tracking and the game does a very poor job of telling you where to go. While all this can be frustrating at times, it does give the feeling of escaping an unknown area by getting lost and having to access areas in unconventional ways.

Where the game really shines though is when Riddick interacts with other characters.  The voice acting is nicely done but the non verbal cues really help the game stand out.  Talking with characters seems completely natural with NPCs giving shoulder shrugs and facial tics which accurately reflect the tone of their voice.

Strong textures and great lighting make for some stunning environments, but everything seems to have a slightly wet look.  Character models are high quality with some NPCs looking better than others.  Transitioning from dark areas to lit areas can be disorienting and at times large environments can be difficult to see across.  None of this really detracts from the game and overall visuals are a plus not a negative. Each game separately could be considered rather short and putting them on one disc was a great idea.

Overall, I'd give Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena a very solid 8.5/10.  While nothing was revolutionary, everything together made for an enjoyable experience.