Pitch Black Challenge (PS3 Contest)

I love The Chronicles Of Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena. While not my first FPS love (that goes to Left 4 Dead) it has definitely been the one I've spent the most time on, soaking in every morsel and spending the last 4 months going after every trophy and depending on what the game has to offer I might have walked away. Not so with Riddick. However after 4 solid months I still find myself lapping up Riddick's online. This game was literally the first game I played where I formed some sort of online community of aquaintances. Sure we weren't all chit-chatty but there were regulars and we'd start chats and what not when it felt appropriate. Hell we even boosted some of the harder trophies in game (The Trophies/Achievements in that game go from easy to absolutely ridiculous) but as time has gone by, people have moved on and thus only a few regulars have stuck it out. Do I blame them? Not really I also moved on to games like AvP and MAG and slowly but surely Riddick was a once in a while indulgence. This is just natural and happens with every gamer. Be it frustration with one of the two previous titles, one day I revisited Riddick and just fell in love all over again. Plus I started to realize I was actually getting pretty good at this. Infact too good. So very few people stick around these days. People rage quit all the time. It kinda stinks. So this is where the Pitch Black Challenge comes in...



I won't lie to you. Riddick's online is nothing special. Not really. The reason I refer to this as the Pitch Black Challenge is because the rest of the online modes are basically trying to be Unreal Tournament. You've got Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture The Flag, Butcher Bay Riot...but none of these are really interesting. I think Butcher Bay Riot is a 2 on 2 deathmatch, with rotating players watching and fighting through rounds. Pretty basic frag fest stuff and if you lived on a desert island It'd do nicely, but since other games exist and probably do it better (nevermind are more popular) it really leaves only one online mode worth playing and believe me I play the shit out of it. It's Pitch Black.

The basic principles of Pitch Black are as follows. It's a glorified game of hide and seek...except involving murder. One player is chosen to be Riddick. Since Riddick can see in the dark with his eyeshine it's up to the mercenaries (the other players) to hunt Riddick down and kill him. The player that kills Riddick becomes Riddick and the game starts anew. This guy kinda sucks though and realistically that is not the way to play this mode (as Riddick anyways) however it's a good basic example of how the game is played.



Half the fun of Pitch Black for me is seeing the different tactics people employ to stay alive. Sometimes people will just freak out and swing their flashlights every which way in the hopes that they'll avoid getting killed. Others think that Standing in one spot will save them. Really depends on whether your sharp enough but for the most part that'll get you killed just as quickly too. The thrill of the game has absolutely everything to do with the anticipation, the way you can stalk some prey and unleash on them before they knew what hit them. It's delicious. So delicious. BWAHAHA. Ultimately though and humbly I say, I'm obviously beatable and there's always better players but I offer this more out of a desire to share this great game mode with my Destructoid friends, and partially because I kick ass at it and am confident enough I can keep the challenge going enough to atleast get some people interested.

You see, Pitch Black is my tank and I'm the shark circling the water. Now I'm inviting you into the water but not without enticement. Since this is a contest there will be *drum roll* PRIZES! So let me outline some of what you'll need to do/have to be eligible to win my shit and then reveal said prizes!

Contest Rules

What You Need To Do To Win: Defeat Me In 7 Games Of "Pitch Black". I'll keep record and confirm with people if they've earned a win (though winning is pretty obvious since the game announces it at the end) and I'll keep track of the people who've won and lost. I'd like to get this in the rotation for FNF if I can make it for those however I'll create a thread on the Meet and Play forum for details on what times I play usually which I atleast log some time every day on the PS3.

Rule 1. You Must Own a PS3: I'm sorry X-Box friends. I'm not discriminating. If I had the money I probably would have a 360 by now and I love Riddick enough to probably buy it for the 360 as well. However with bills and thrift purchases I am not a rich man and my 360 dreams are on hold for now. Also I should note your PS3 must be able to get online, but this is a given.

Rule 2. You Must Have Access To Chronicles Of Riddick:Assault On Darth Athena: Seems pretty straight forward. I don't care if you rent it, borrow it, or buy it but if you wanna join up (and I hope you do) you're gonna need the game right? In most Blockbusters I've seen it for as low as 20 bucks. Abit more expensive in the stores like Gamestop which specialize in games however I think the less chain associated a store is the cheaper you'll find it. The lowest I've seen it for PS3 has been 15 dollars.


The Prizes

The reason you'll be playing. I have Edit: Three different prizes and it'll totally be up to whoever wins to choose what they want. So here they are.


A sealed copy of Mystery Science Theater 3000 Volume 16! With a Tom Servo Toy!

OR (and possibly the more popular choice)


A full 46 pack box of Nintendo Game Packs! With 2 stickers per pack that's 92 stickers!

EDIT: AND ALSO THIS



Conclusion: So there you have it. Basically my contest and it's prizes. I'm thinking tomorrow (unless Iron Man 2 gets in my way...again) I'll make a thread in the Meetup and Play forum for this and widen the net for other players and offer up more details on play times. I should also point out that it's only 6 players per game, however wouldn't that be awesome if you guys hunted in packs? To sum up though, I love this game! I want to share this game experience with you and damnit if I can only do that by giving away free shit then by god I'll do it! Sure it's not always going to be a game that you'll play like an addiction, but it's something I hope I can get some Destructoid people interested in it so that it becomes an occasional FNF staple on the PS3 end and hell sometime down the road for the 360 as well! Thanks guys and happy hunting.