The Chronicles of Riddick

[OldsterHolster]

I've mentioned, before, that I don't care for holidays, and I like to hide out as much as possible until they go away. For me, hiding out is perfectly accented by having a good shooter to play, so I'm planning my escape, now. Heh, heh.

I finished Half-Life 2 twice, and I'll probably play it a third time in the future, because it's just that good; (Loved that airboat!) but I need to take a break and play something else, first. I ordered the Painkiller expansion, A Walk in Hell, yesterday; and that should keep me occupied for a while, but I'm thinking I'd better line up something else so I don't run out of things to shoot before I run out of holidays.

I read a couple of reviews on The Chronicles of Riddick for the PC, and it almost sounds interesting. Have any of you played the XBox version, and how was it? The idea of stealth or run 'n gun is always nice, and keyboard and mouse controlled melee action sounds a lot like using the light saber in the Jedi Knight shooters, so that might be interesting, too.

Anyway, I just thought I'd check with you folks, first. Gogamers.com is having their "Madness Mail" specials every day until Christmas, I think, and The Chronicles of Riddick may be tomorrow's offering. The PainKiller expansion was only thirteen bucks, so I think I can swing another game without ending up in debtor's prison.

I hope you all had a good day. It's 85 degrees down here in Florida, today, and I'm going to have to turn on the A/C before I take my nap. I'm not gloating, because it's actually uncomfortably warm; and I look forward to really, really, cold temps. (You know, like down in the mid-forties at night. Heh, heh, heh.) Take care, Edward.

[Bruenor]

Well, I haven't played it myself but the general feedback on the XBox version was that it was one hell of game, many people considered it the best game ever based on a movie license.

With that being said, the success of the PC version really depends on how it was ported over from the XBox version. I haven't seen any reviews for the PC version yet.

[SupaTroopa]

Alright Ed, I take it you've played both NOLF games and Deus Ex? The MOH series? If not, you should! And actually Deus Ex 2 is a worthwhile game - although I just couldn't get into as much on the Xbox as I could a PC game. I've pretty much left my Xbox for sports and racing games only at this point.

I played the Riddick demo, and it seemed ok - keep in mind console gamers have different standards for shooters as they tend to be better on the PC for various reasons. I didn't find it to be anything overly special - but it would be a good choice either way I think. Psi Ops was another good demo I played on my Xbox that's coming out for the PC.

Enjoy your AC! (I had a $90 heating bill last month btw)

[OldsterHolster]

Yep, Supa, I've played all those games except Deus Ex 2. I asked about it one other time and everyone said it really sucked compared to the original. Is it even out for the PC? The original was one of the best games, ever; so it's a shame the sequel is not up to par. Actually, I haven't played MoH-Pacific Assault, either, but it's still pretty expensive; and I understand it's nothing special. Thanks for your thoughts. Edward.

[Fzoulcmbyl]

Ya, Edward... I just finished MoH: Pacific Assault, and if you haven't picked this up yet, it's an awesome game.....much better then the MoH expansions.

There are many levels in the thick jungle, and so the difficulty is turned up a notch, but it makes for a very tense and exciting atmosphere.

:thumbup:



Fzoul

[NotSoFast]

My friend played it on Xbox. He said it was a very good game...just short. Way short. He finished it in one day. He is a power gamer, but come on, ONE day.

[OldsterHolster]

Thanks, guys. I do appreciate your opinions. After Fazoul's comments on MoH-PA, I think I'll put it on my list, too, and watch for it to come down in price. Meanwhile, I think I'll try The Chronicles of Riddick; even if it turns out to be a short game. I didn't see any mention of the length, but I'm not one to rush through games, anyway; and I've never seen a shooter that I could finish in one day. My only real concern is that it might be a buggy port to the PC, but maybe I'll get lucky.

I'll come out of hiding long enough to give my impressions of whatever I do play, and you guys be sure to share your thought about whatever it it you are playing, too. Even though I only play single-player shooters, I really like to read what others say about different genre games. Who knows? Someday I might even try something different, myself. Edward.

[Ghost]

No it's nmo shorter than most other shooters. Also they always add levels to the pc versions anyway. Like Full Spectrum Warrior they added a couple extra.

[Drewby]

Gamespot has a PC review of it now. It scored 9+! :thumbup:

[OldsterHolster]

Wow, their review is even better than what I had read, before. I'm starting to get a little excited about maybe having another surprisingly good game come out of nowhere, like Far Cry did.

It's going for only $29.95, now; but I think I'll wait until I'm almost done with the PainKiller expansion before ordering it, and maybe it'll come down even more.

Out of curiousity, have any of you ever heard of "Chaser"? Gogamer says it's a sci-fi shooter, and it's only six bucks; so I thought I might add it to my order since it doesn't increase the shipping cost, just to see what a six-dollar game looks like. Edward.

[Drewby]

I played most of Chaser.

It was an excellent game as far as I am concerned. The graphics are top notch (though maybe not by nowadays standards), the story was pretty gripping, it was overall really cool, until...

I came to a level where I had to jump from one building to the other. There was a glitch that as I jumped, the level disappeared and I got stuck in nothing. I emailed the company and ATi about the problem, but they gave me nothing. I haven't made it past that point.

So as long as you can avoid this glitch, then I think you will enjoy it.

And $6, not a bad deal at all!

[OldsterHolster]

Update: I just read a review of Chaser, and it sounds pretty good too; especially for six bucks. GameSpot gave it an eight rating, so I think I'll get it along with The Chronicles of Riddick, next week.

Sometimes these less than stellar, and mostly unknown, games turn out to be quite enjoyable; probably because you play them without great expectations. Armed and Dangerous is an example. I had a lot of fun with it, and I think it only got a seven rating and didn't cost much, either.

I think I'm going to have these holidays under control with three new shooters to play and only four weeks of the holiday season left. Oh boy! Edward.

[OldsterHolster]

"Stuck in nothing," huh. Heh, heh, heh. I know that feeling. Edward.

[Cap'n]

I own it for the xbox and love it. Haven't tried it on PC though.

It's about average lenght for a shooter now-a-days, but with extremely high production values. Wonderful voice acting and storyline. It's a real plus to the Riddick universe.

Just know that it's not quite the typical shooter. You'll do alot of pucnching/stabbing/sneaking at first. There's a little bit of exploring thrown in for good measure, but very little.

If ya get stuck when ya get it, just give me a yell. :thumbup:

[Fzoulcmbyl]

Best Buy has it on sale for $24.95

Hope you have one in your area Ed.


:thumbup:



Fzoul

[OldsterHolster]

Thanks, Cap'n, I'll do it. I think part of the reason it sounds interesting to me is because it's a little different from the standard shooter, so I won't mind a little sneaking, stabbing, punching, and exploring. I appreciate your response. Edward.

[OldsterHolster]

I'ts down to about twenty-seven bucks at gogamers, already, Fazoul; and, I'll be honest with you, I'd rather pay the shipping than have to drive across town to our local Best Buy in the holiday traffic. (Sign of my age, I guess)

Also, since I want Chaser for six bucks, and; if you get three games for the same shipping price of $5.99, then they give you a free game of some sort, too, I think I'll continue to give them my business. Now I just need to find that third game.

The PainKiller expansion will be here, tomorrow, so I'm good for a while; and I figure I can make my decisions by the end of next week and still get them before Christmas. I'd really like to see MOH-PA come down in price a few bucks. That would be perfect. Either way, I'm starting to look forward to having an ample fix of shooters to play over the holidays, and life is good. Have a great week. Edward.

[Kane]

Ahhhhhh, Chaser! The game has old school style shooter, cinematic in-game cutscenes which rivals any Hollywood movie, b-movie voice actors, over the top gunfights, huge levels(I would say the biggest compared to Q2, Doom3, HL2) with very short load times and cliche, corny but interesting storyline.

Don't forget to patch it to 1.50!

[OldsterHolster]

Thanks, Kane. It is due to arrive here, today, along with The Chronicles of Riddick, Red Faction II, and a free game; Swat Team, or something like that. I'm all set. I'm well into the PainKiller expansion, Battle Out Of Hell, and I think I'll do Chaser next.

The PainKiller expansion is just OK, so far, and I'll wait until I finish it before giving my overall impression, but it's keeping me occupied for the moment. Basically, it's just more of the same thing; but that's all I expected, anyway. My biggest gripe is the long load times. It sometimes takes almost three minutes to load the last quicksave when you die; and you die a lot. Very irritating! Also, although my system (P4 2.6gig, 1gig of RAM, 5900XT) is admittedly not cutting edge, it played Doom III and Half-Life 2 on the default settings just fine; but I had to turn everything down for this expansion to be playable. Oh well, that's just the way it goes, I guess, and since I only paid thirteen bucks for it, I'm getting my money's worth. Edward.