The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Graphic, gory first-person shooter with some sexual themes.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this game was created for adult players. The "Mature" rating warns of excessive violence and gore -- and there is plenty of it -- as well as foul language and sexual references and imagery. This game is not appropriate for kids, tweens, or young teens.

  • Not applicable.
  • While a sci-fi adventure, this game offers realistic graphic violence including many gun-based weapons and hand-to-hand kills. The lead character is known for his lethal use of razor sharp "ulak" blades. Human-like enemies can be decapitated, dismembered, and strangled. Blood sometimes sprays when enemies are killed.  
  • It's from behind, but one male player is masterbating in his prison cell, and the scene is quite lengthy. Moans of pleasure can be heard, too. Some lines of dialogue contain sexual references to rape and necrophilia.

What's it about?

While it didn't sell too well at retail, The Chronicles Of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay (based on the movie of the same name) became a cult hit among gamers a few years back for its intense action and gripping narrative -- not to mention raising the bar for video games based on movie licenses. Thanks to Atari, Riddick is back in THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK: ASSAULT ON DARK ATHENA, an all-new cinematic adventure that once again stars ba(l)d boy Vin Diesel as Riddick, who uses stealth and cunning to take down the evil Captain Revas of the predatory Mercenaries ship, Dark Athena, and her loyal followers. To stay alive, Riddick must rely on his signature moves and powerful weapons (such as the razor sharp "ulak" blades) while navigating the dark and creepy corridors from a first-person perspective.

Along with the lengthy single-player campaign is a "re-imagined" edition of the previous blockbuster game Escape From Butcher Bay, as well as six multiplayer modes including "Pitch Black," in which five players, as Mercenaries, try to hunt down the 6th player who assumes the role of Riddick, using only weapon-mounted flashlights to see through the darkness. Another multiplayer mode, "Butcher Bay Riot," is fast-paced three-team mode, where 12 players split into teams of Guards, Prisoners, and Mercenaries to brawl over a power cell.


Is it any good?

 

While not a revolutionary game by any stretch, The Chronicles Of Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena is a good action brawler for mature players -- and is a good deal considering it includes the original game and many multiplayer modes for added replayability. It's not the next Halo, plus it's violence, sexual themes, and language might offend some, but the game shouldn't leave serious shooter fans disappointed. If money is tight, then it's at least a very good weekend rental.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about whether they like when a Hollywood celebrity "stars" in a video game? Is this game more appealing because Vin Diesel plays as the main character or do you prefer a different face (or none at all, such as the helmet-wearing Halo's Master Chief or Metroid Prime's Samus Aran).


This review was written by Marc Saltzman
Adult
October 29, 2009
 
Great for older kids and teens.
The brutality is at it's fullest, game characters make reffrences to having sex and ra*eing, they use coarse sexual dialouge like f*ck, cu*t, pr*ck, di*k and show a mild deception of a man mastrabating. The language is extreme and the violence is brutal and grotesque! I recommend this for older audeinces!

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Adult
April 15, 2009
 
15

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Teen, 14 years old
April 11, 2009
 
it is not rated by esrb

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Teen, 15 years old
May 27, 2009
 
I love it!
A great shooter with a lot of blood,violence,and language. The enemies call you bad names. The language includes s--t,f--k,f--ker. Over all a great game with adult language.

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Teen, 13 years old
March 23, 2012
 
Have this for my PS3,great for mature teens.
A few words of golden advice:If your kid can handle it and is old enough,let them play it.

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This review was written by Marc Saltzman
Platforms:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows
Available online?Available online
Genre:First Person Shooter
Developer:Atari
Release date:April 6, 2009
Price:$59.99
ESRB rating:M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language

This review was written by Marc Saltzman

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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