But he’s not there for a tan; how he found himself on a beach is a detail to be revealed later. Riddick makes his way into a ruined city, where his unique eyeshine lets him see in the dark and eliminate enemies, even though he has no weapons. Stealth and seemingly superhuman physical abilities are his modus operandi, and he puts both to good use as he explores the desolate environment.

Riddick is one of the last surviving Furyans, an offshoot of the human race possessing extraordinary traits. He’s much stronger and faster than an average human, with greater endurance and more acute senses. No one knows if his eyeshine ability is unique or if all Furyans have it; Riddick has little to say on the subject, aside from offhand comments that seem to contradict past history.

When Fists Aren’t Enough. Any of you mercenaries feeling lucky?

Vin Diesel reprises the role of Riddick, which he made famous in the cult hit film “Pitch Black” and its sequel, “The Chronicles of Riddick,” as well as in the animated movie “The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury.” Diesel also had heavy involvement in the game’s storyline; director David Twohy provided input too.

“Impossible to escape [from Butcher Bay]. But they never met me.”

- Riddick

Impossible to Contain

Assault on Dark Athena actually comprises a pair of Riddick adventures that serve as a prequel to the Riddick movies. The first is Escape From Butcher Bay, in which Riddick finds himself incarcerated in one of the galaxy’s most notorious prisons. He refers to it as a “triple-max slam” and says: “Toughest in the system … So they said … Impossible to escape. But they never met me.”

Surprise! Ulaks are perfect for dispatching the unaware.

You’ll want to chat up your fellow prisoners to learn more about the prison and uncover clues that will help you escape. Some inmates also give you assignments to complete; they’ll give you handy objects as rewards. Eventually, Riddick instigates a riot and slips away in the chaos, but when he heads into the prison’s sewer system, he finds himself fighting mutants that make his fellow maximum security inmates seem like galactic Boy Scouts. We even see him gain his infamous eyeshine, albeit via vague circumstances. And that’s just the first of what turn out to be multiple attempts to seek freedom.

Too Close For Comfort. Sometimes you just need to let the bullets fly and deal with anyone who comes running.

“The darkness, for me, is where I shine.”

- Riddick

However, Riddick’s eventual success is fleeting: his escape vessel is taken aboard the massive mercenary ship Dark Athena, and once again he must prove that no one can keep him captive for long. Eluding Captain Gale Revas, her second-in-command, Spinner, and their deadly crew, Riddick seeks a way off the Dark Athena; along the way, he runs into others held prisoner by Revas, and they offer to help him if he’ll do a few things for them.

“The dark can’t protect you,” Riddick says at the beginning of Escape From Butcher Bay. That statement holds true of his foes, but does it apply to him too? What is the toughest man in the galaxy running from, besides the mercenaries and bounty hunters who want to cash in the price on his head?

Punch-Out. Riddick takes care of a mercenary on board the Dark Athena.

By Any Means

In addition to characters willing to lend him a hand, Riddick also comes across various useful objects: UD money, which can be traded for weapons, packs of smokes, or other items; drugs, another form of currency in Butcher Bay; NanoMED cartridges, which let you recharge spent NanoMED stations and recover some lost health from them; vent tools for gaining access to air ducts; and bounty cards. The bounty cards and packs of smokes unlock special in-game collectibles, including concept art from the game and the movies, movie sets and props, and more.

While Riddick gets a few opportunities to use weapons during his adventures, he relies mostly on his physical abilities to survive. Crouch to activate Riddick’s stealth mode, which lets you remain hidden in the shadows; it’s the best method for sneaking up behind an enemy and killing them without raising a ruckus and alerting others nearby. Riddick can also shimmy across ledges and move along hang rails; if he needs to, he can drop onto an enemy from a great height, killing them while breaking his fall.

Just Hanging Around. No one here but us mice.

Plunge Into the Black

“You cannot escape your destiny,” Riddick is told at one point. If he has his way, the galaxy’s most notorious Furyan (and perhaps the Alpha Furyan) will manage to avoid whatever eats at his soul. Something keeps him embracing the dark. If you want to survive, you’ll do the same.

If you liked this game, check out:

• BioShock
• Quake Live
• Star Wars The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Edition