Alone in the Dark is the 5th installment on the
series for the Xbox 360. Originally it was set to be released along the 2005
film but was delayed because to be reworked from the ground up. Thank god
because the movie really sucked and that would have given the game a bad
reputation. Alone in the Dark may not be what it seems, but it sure as hell
keeps you entertained until the end.
You are Edward Carnby (who looks alot like Tommy
from the Video Game Prey) looking for answers to strange supernatural and
bizzare occurrences while fighting his way through New York city against demons
and the city falling apart. Too bad there isn't a Radioshack in the game
otherwise he could have stopped by and gotten his questions answered. As the game
progresses Edward finds out who he is and what happened to him in the past.
The game is set up as a TV show where you play
through episodes. When you start the game where you left off you go through a
sequence of clips that explain what has happened so far and drops you off where
you left off. Each sequence changes as you find out more about Edward throughout
the game. There are a total of 8 Episodes in the game and it is set up that you
can go back at any time during the game to any part of the episode you wish to replay
or skip an episode if you find that a certain part of the game is too hard for you.
Skipping it however will not get you the achievement points that are given at
the end of every episode until you go back a beat the segment that you skipped.
Alone in the dark has a camera style similar to that
of Resident Evil which changes depending on what part of the level you are on.
You can also switch to first person with the press of a button. While in FPS
mode it gives the player a better view on where they are shooting, however when
attacked by multiple enemies it is very hard to know where they are attacking
you from. The game is open environment which means anything can come at anytime
from anywhere. While playing you must plan out what and how you will defeat
your enemies. Most demoms that attack you will require that you use fire to
kill them otherwise they will be coming back to life time after time again. One
sure way to kill them is mixing bullets with gasoline and making fire bullets.
Weapon combination can be the difference between
life and death. There are many weapons combinations all of which must require
that you use at least more than once. You can combine weapons to create a Molotov
cocktail, a sticky bomb, fire bullets, etc. You can also pick up weapons from
the ground like a Fire Extinguisher (which you will have to use alot during the
game) Gas Tank, 2X4, metal pipes, etc. Blowing up your enemies is a lot of fun
and sometimes because you are losing the battle you will not think twice about
what you should do. Throwing something highly flammable like a first aid spray
or a bottle or rum can kill many enemies and level bosses however when they are
so close to you and you are cornered you have to use them at close range which
will blow you apart and kill you if you are low on health or wounded. Healing
yourself is very easy of course it requires a first aid spray. However when you
have an open wound you need to find medical tape which if you don't have with
you at the time you will need to find it within 7 Mins or die of blood loss.
Your inventory is limited to what you can carry. Most of the time you will need
to sacrifice something in order to carry another thing. One item that is a must
is the first aid spray. It will heal you and you can also use it as a
flamethrower and a grenade assuming that you shoot it before it hits the
ground.
Solving puzzles are interesting yet very easy at the
same time. However that doesn't mean you can beat the game with your eyes
closed. What is really challenging is the enemies on the game and Eden game
must have known that players were constantly going to keep dying so they
implemented a checkpoint system every few minutes. While solving the puzzles
may be somewhat easy the controls makes it more challenging than it needs to
be.
The control layout is probably one of the strangest
layouts I have ever seen in a game and will require that you get used to them.
While on FPS mode you will constantly need to blink otherwise your vision will
get blurry and you will not be able to see even if your life depends on it.
This is very distracting however it does add to the real life effect; however gamers
don't play games for the real life experience. We play to get away from real
life.
When in FPS mode the controls switch to a familiar
layout which is easier to control. The game is hard to control however it is
not impossible. When you play the game for so long you will get used to the
control layout that everything will come natural afterwards.
From time to time you will be required to drive a
vehicle through New York City. While the chase scenes are great the car handling
could be way better. Your character will die many and I mean many times before
you realize that you can skip this part of the game or beat this segment and
move on with your achievement points.
Visually the game looks amazing; from Humans and
Demons to the environment around you. While the game may not be as scary as
anyone hopes it to be it is both entertaining and interesting. Throughout the
game I did find a few bugs. The major bug that I found is at the time was at
the beginning of the game when you first step outside of the building into New
York City and all you see is just a blank screen. Thinking that it was part of
the game or maybe a movie was about to begin until everything just started
falling into place. Yes falling into place like a tetris game.
The Games soundtrack and sound effects are phenomenal.
The developers didn’t use a real orchestra for the game’s soundtrack; instead
they did everything with electronic instruments and added a few voice covers
which matches with the games feel. The voice over however could have been
better. Sometimes the characters would engage in a conversation and would say
cheesy dialog that just wasn’t believable. All the actions performed by the
characters don’t get you into the characters. You get into the action but not
the characters. There are a few tender moments in the game that would have you
asking yourself; “how did they to that point?” Just like the voice over some
sequences in the game are just not believable.
Alone in the dark is an interesting game that is
worth checking out. However because there is little replay value it is not a
game you may want to hold on for too long. There’s nothing to unlock and no
online multiplayer. There are rumors going around that there might be some DLC
but all those rumors lead to a dead end. It is unknown whether or not Atari
will release or is currently working on new episodes for the game however
because the ending wasn’t what one was expecting it will definitely be interesting
to see if any what Atari might offer for the game.
