Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Peer review/The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay

The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay

After a failed GAN two months ago, I've decided to work on this article again. I would like comments so I know what I need to fix. So, please give me your thoughts. GamerPro64 (talk) 01:52, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

Comments by Guyinblack25

Lead

• Awkward wording.
  • "The likeness and voice of the movie's lead actor..." I would move this sentence to the end of its paragraph because the current order of things implies that a film version of the game exists. Placing it after mentioning Pitch Black and Chronicles gives the word "movie" better context.
  • I think you could get rid of the second movie title as it doesn't really add much more context. Though leaving it in doesn't really hurt anything, so your call.
    "Set before the events of the films Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick..."

*Two sentences is kind of short for a paragraph in my opinion. I'd add one more to it, maybe about new characters being introduced.

• Not certain about the grammar rule for this, but I think the numbers don't agree. I'd either switch it to
  "A cCommon complaints included was the lack of a multiplayer mode."
  or
  "Common complaints included the lack of a multiplayer mode and INSERT COMPLAINT."

Gameplay

• I don't think "generally" is needed in this sentence.
  "Escape from Butcher Bay is generally played from a first-person perspective..."
  • The example for a third person perspective are the cutscenes, which aren't really played. If there's another example of gameplay from third person, then use that one instead and keep "generally". Otherwise, I'd take out "generally" and the mention of cutscenes.
• Switch out gaming jargon. "can be unlocked" → "can become accessible"
• Just sounds better to me. Your call though. "scattered around the levels → "scattered throughout the levels"
• I would reword this to something more out-of-universe.
  "The playerRiddick's exploration of Butcher Bay often leads to violent conflict withbetween Riddick and guards and other inmates."
• More tweaking for in-universe and flow with later sentence.
  "In combat, Riddick has access to aA variety of homemade and improvised weapons are available for combat, including shivs and clubs."
  • I'm not confident my revision is the best way to go. I guess experiment with it some.
• Trimming and tweaking.
  "HeThe player can also use his fists to attack opponents with a variety of punches..."
  • "Variety was already used in the sentence above. Also, it can be a redundant word. You could probably remove it in the previous sentence as well.
• More from Riddick's POV.
  "If Riddickthe player is defeated, heRiddick does not die but..."
• The next paragraph has more examples of things being described through Riddick's perspective rather than the player. I suggest giving it a sweep to reword things
• Clarify for the general reader.
  "...without a heads-up display, a common convention of first-person shooters."
• I think this wording is stronger. Your call though. But the comma is not needed.
  "...indicators are quick flashes that signifying a weapon change, or small..."

Setting and characters

• I question if this small amount of text requires a sub heading. I would either remove the sub heading and just have it be the first content of "Plot" or combine "Setting" and "Characters" into one section titled "Setting and characters".

*This isn't really that big of an issue, so ignore it if want. I've never been a fan of the CHARACTER (VOICE ACTOR) format because I don't think it provides the proper context to the information. But I know others have found it work quite well, so you're call.

• Condense to strengthen sentence
  "...a criminal who has recently been apprehended criminal."

*Not sure, but I think a comma should be here.

"...mentally unbalanced, old inmate..."

**If the first adjective ("mentally unbalanced") is modifying "inmate", then a comma should be there. If it is modifying the second adjective ("old"), then there should be no comma. Another test is is if you can put an "and" between the two adjectives, then you should a comma.

*Awkward wording.

"Fighting his way through the sewers against mutant "dwellers" in the sewers..."

**You can fight through something, but generally not people. You either "fight people" or fight against people". *I would put "Xeno's" in quotes since it's a game term. Also, is the apostrophe and "S" needed?

Development

*The order of things seems off to me. The announcement info seems like it should go right before the E3 and release info. The length of development would probably go better at the start of the second paragraph. I'd also tweak the first few sentences to better introduce the development.

**

"Universal Studios Consumer Products Group granted the Riddick license to Vivendi Games; both companies were owned by Vivendi Universal. The game would beas developed by Starbreeze Studios and published by Vivendi Games in association with Tigon Studios, the game development company created by Vin Diesel. It would serve ais a prequel to the events of Pitch Black and Universal's then upcoming film, The Chronicles of Riddick. Universal Studios Consumer Products Group granted the Riddick license to Vivendi Games; both companies were owned by Vivendi Universal. Tigon Studios' Cos Lazouras..."

*I would avoid using "not" when writing (contractions too). Use a word with a negative meaning instead of using "not" to modify a word with a positive meaning.

"Starbreeze wanted to specifically didn't want toavoid createing a "see-the-movie-play-the-movie" experience..."

*Switch from passive voice to active.

"...as they were given instructions by the filmmakers instructed them to leave it a mystery."

*Proper verb tense. "...wais a tribute to Half-Life." **The game and its content is a perpetual thing, so the tribute still exists in the present. *I think the mention of Doom 3 is misleading. The GameSpy source and this article compare the game's graphics to Doom 3, but following the previous statement it can be construed that Doom 3 influenced this game when it was released a few months later in August. Not sure what to suggest here though.

**Also, tweak to strengthen the sentence.

"...Escape from Butcher Bay makes uses of a technique..."

*Ambiguous pronoun. Who's mind was changed, the developers', Diesel's, the focus testers'? I assume it's the developers, but with so many groups of people in the sentence using a more accurate word would be better. "...feedback from Diesel and problems with focus testers changed their minds." *Personal nit pick, so feel free to ignore. "The Xbox version was..." The way this is worded could be better in my opinion. Mainly because the first use of "version" kinda comes out of nowhere and none of the preceding text ever establishes that there are multiple versions. **In fact, I do actually suggest rewording it in the lead. This will avoid repetition between the lead and the article.

• Verb tense

**The game still features these things.

"The game featureds a higher resolution, additional..."

**It still includes the commentary.

"It also cameincludes with a..."

*Missing word.

"Vivendi referred to the new game as a 'reinvention' of Escape from Butcher Bay, and stated it would include a..."

• Maybe switch out the name of the month for more generic wording to reduce the repetitive format.
  "The following monthIn October, Atari was..."

*Add a word for context.

"Atari later confirmed that it..."

Reception

*Given the short intro paragraph to this section, I would remove the "Critical response" sub-section. The content about being received by critics overlaps with critical response, and the content specifically about sales is too small to warrant a separate section.

• I would split this sentence up and remove the word "only". No real need to point out the difference that much.
  "...for June 2004, but. Conversely, the PC version had sold only 32,500 copies six months after it was published."
• I'd really cut down on the amount of quotes in this section.
  • Paraphrase more to make the content more concise and encyclopedic.
  • There are two quotes in this section that are very prominent: IGN and GamesRadar's. Anytime you see something like this, ask yourself, "What makes this quote so special over the others?" The only reason I would put a quote like that in a reception section would be if it epitomize other critics' response.
• Personally, I try to attribute the comments to the reviewers instead of just the publication. Like "Greg Kasavin of GameSpot", "IGN's reviewers Douglass Perry and Dan Adams", and "1UP.com's Shawn Elliott"
• In the awards section, I would expand in by including why the game earned the award. Why is it the 12th greatest Xbox game? Good gameplay, audio visuals, etc.? What made IGN name it the PC Game of the Month?

Images

*File:CREBBRiddick.jpg seems to provide the least amount of extra content to the article. Also, the FUR is a bit weak. The only information it adds is showing some other characters and depicts the the third-person perspective of cutscenes. This may or may not be an issue at GAN.

• Because there are free equivalents of Vin Diesel, I don't this non-free version (File:CREBBDiesel.jpg) complies with NFCC. I think a second opinion is in order. Maybe ask David Fuchs, he's dabbled in checking images.

Removed the picture from the article. GamerPro64 (talk) 22:20, 1 August 2009 (UTC)

Sources

• Not that big of an issue, but if a site does not provide an author, it's fine to use "IGN Staff" or Game Informer Staff". Some people don't care one way or the other, but I think it's a good practice.
• I'd recommend using GameSpot's release data instead of GameFAQs'. Basically the same thing, but I find it to be a good practice.
• I don't know anything about Firing Squad as a reliable source, but since you're only using it for their viewpoints in the "Reception" section, there should be no issue.
• I believe PALGN is a grey source, that is not totally considered a reliable source by the whole project. But since you're only using it to cite gameplay and story, it's probably not an issue here.

WP:VG/RS has it listed as reliable, and I've never had a problem with it before. Vantine84 (talk) 01:50, 2 August 2009 (UTC)

Overall

• The article looks pretty good and should have little trouble at GAN.
• If you plan on pursuing FA, I recommend copy edits from a few different editors. The "Reception" section is the weak section right now, and needs the most copy editing. More details in the "Development" section wouldn't hurt either.

That's all I have time for today. I'll do another chunk another time. (Guyinblack25 ^talk 22:16, 29 July 2009 (UTC))

Round 2. Fight! (Guyinblack25 ^talk 17:53, 30 July 2009 (UTC))

Part three. I hope to finish the rest soon. (Guyinblack25 ^talk 17:16, 31 July 2009 (UTC))

Done. (Guyinblack25 ^talk 22:31, 31 July 2009 (UTC))

• Just to let you know, anything I struck out means I've done it. GamerPro64 (talk) 21:19, 30 July 2009 (UTC)

• I agree with Guy. Non-free images of living celebrities fall afoul of WP:NFCC crit. 1 and 8. It's just a picture of Vin with glasses. A picture of him from anywhere else wouldn't be that much of a loss of information, and would adequately serve the same purpose. --Der Wohltemperierte Fuchs ^(talk) 12:24, 1 August 2009 (UTC)