Customer Reviews

Alone in the Dark

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

Most people attribute the start of the Survival Horror genre to Resident Evil. While you can trace the birth of Survival Horror back far, far before that game (to Sweet Home or, if you want to stretch it, to Haunted House in 1981), modern Survival Horror games were firmly established by the first Alone in the Dark. Since that first game, though, the series has been an up and down roller coaster that never seemed to be able to outmatch some of the better known and more famous franchises like Resident Evil or Silent Hill.

So, when Eden Games started to work on reinventing the franchise, I was cautiously optimistic. A lot of the ideas and concepts they spoke of seemed like great ideas, and they seemed to be trying to Do Something Different. Unfortunately, the sum is not greater than its parts and Alone in the Dark, while reaching for the stars, can't stay afloat.

Things begin appropriately apocalyptic. Edward Carnby awakens in some hotel with some bad men arguing about cryptic shenanigans. Carnby, no longer useful, is led up to the roof to be executed but before that can happen, bad juju hits the fan as a "scar" tears through the building. From here, this first episode really picks up as you're trying to escape the building alive.

Here is where the goodness lies. Alone in the Dark has a great opening that's appropriately cinematic but in such a way that only games can do. The building starts to fall apart, you have to run and jump your way to safety, climb along the outside of the building while debris tumbles and while watching cars below you explode. You learn how Eden Games created some appropriately realistic fire for the game as you watch it spread and have to put it out or use it as a weapon. You'll see things happen to the various rooms you're in that will make you want to believe you're watching a cinematic, not playing through a game. It's very cool.

And then you try to move.

Movement is the worst part of the game. Actually moving feel as if you're controlling a drunk, disobedient person. Another problem comes in the form of switching perspectives. Melee is in third person (and horribly implemented; you'll be hit a lot more than you'll actually hit) and incredibly sluggish. Fighting monsters becomes a chore, one you'll grow to hate because as the game progresses, you'll learn that basically all monsters can only die via fire. So, grab that chair, light it on fire and swing away...hoping you hurt it more than it hurts you. Similarily, gun fights are also not terrific as you have to pop into first person whenever you want to shoot someone. No lock and pop here.

Likewise, if walking around makes you feel like a drunk, driving is a good approximation of drunk driving, I believe. The controls are incredibly loose and in the first driving portion of the game, loose controls isn't a good idea. What should be an exciting escape sequence that involves the ground behind you exploding, tears appearing across the streets, buildings collapsing, fire, death explosions, cats and dogs sleeping together turns into frustration as you'll probably find yourself repeating the episode. Over. And Over. From the beginning. It loses its fun and becomes a chore.

Towards the end of the game, the game pulls a Zelda: Wind Waker moment and has you hunting down certain things and destroying them in an effort, one has to assume, to artificially lengthen the game. If there's one thing that Alone in the Dark does exceptionally well, it's the pacing. When you hit this moment it's like running smack dab into a brick wall. It's sad.

There's a lot going for Alone in the Dark, don't get me wrong. The inventory system is a cool innovation. The whole episodic "TV show/DVD" feel is perfect, with DVD-style menus complemented by the ability to switch to any episode you like. The graphics are pretty decent, as is the engine it's running on. Some cool, small features, like the ability to blink your eyes is very effective during some sequences. And the pacing--for the most part--is perfect; it can really get your adrenaline going...until you're forced to repeat the same thing over and over again.

I really wanted to like Alone in the Dark. I didn't honestly think that Eden Games would elevate the game to the front of the pack, but there was enough little things and innovations that I thought maybe it'd be a good game. When I played it, I was amazed. Eden Games wanted no less than to shoot for the moon and make the most ambitious Survival Horror game yet. Unfortunately, reality is sometimes like gravity and unfortunately Alone in the Dark isn't the masterpiece I, and Atari, I'm sure, was hoping for. Definitely give it a rent, but I'd hold off on purchasing it.

Alone in the Dark is a game that should have worked...get a new developer to reboot a series that apparently took a nosedive a while back, and you can easily fail. I was even willing to put my doubts aside that I'd heard about the Xbox version when I heard that despite the faults, the storytelling wasn't that bad...

There's a problem however. While developing this game, the developers missed the advent of the third-person action genre, with games like "Gears of War." They missed how you worked with camera for such games, how the controls work, and how gunplay works. The controls are as unfriendly as they come, with movement relying on the fact that you're supposed to act as though the camera was behind our hero Edward, even if it's halfway across the room. You do not get used to this, at all. Doesn't help he handles like a truck either...

The combat, as I played, basically amounted to me and the other uglies taking turns batting each other over the head, repeatedly. I'd barely come out on top, and wasn't even sure how to heal. To add to that, it took me a while to figure out how to use the fire extinguisher as an extinguisher, not a blunt object...wasn't very clear on that point, I'll tell you that.

A lot of people are knocking the driving sections, but personally, I actually found this the least problematic...after you got the bloody car started that is. Not all cars have keys, and the hotwiring isn't so easy to do when you've got baddies closing in fast. But if you played Halo on the PC way back when, it handles about as well as those Warthogs did, just there's some obstacle issues you encounter that dampen it a bit.

As far as storytelling goes...eh, it's there, but the horror was lacking, and the controls made me to frustrated to appreciate the story, and I am HUGE nut about storytelling, so that goes a long way.

Basically, if you really want this game, go buy the first one, or whatever one was the thing that made people love this series so much...if I didn't know better, I'd swear Uwe Boll got involved with this game's gameplay as much as he did the movie...unfortunately, I think this series just might have to be left "Alone in the Dark" for a little while longer.

I love these types of games: the survival horror genre. The sad thing is, they are few and far between these days, especially on PC. I was eagerly anticipating this game, although the last AITD for PC was absolutely horrible. I should've learned, but the graphics for this one looked great and the inventory system looked cool.

I never thought to question the controls. In 2008, you'd think a game developer would understand how to make fluid controls, especially for the PC. Not the idiots who completely screwed up this game. The controls just destroy the entire game. The worst part for me is, in third person mode, you CANNOT USE YOUR MOUSE to move your character! You can only move him with the direction keys. Just about every modern game I can think of with a third person mode allows you to turn your character with the mouse. Not since the late 90s have I encountered a game that won't let you do this. It is incredibly unnatural and makes things amazingly difficult. I thought I'd try to play the game in first person mode, where you CAN turn your character with the mouse...but the game is always switching you back and forth, whether you want to or not. It's just horrendous.

The sad thing is, there are a lot of good ideas here and a lot of cool set pieces. But without good controls that feel like second nature, WHO CARES?? A game is absolutely ruined without a great control scheme, and this game is a prime example. What really stinks for me is that I bought a digital download of this abomination, so I am out 50 bucks. Never again. Don't support this kind of crap, and hopefully some developer with working synapses will make the great survival horror game we've been waiting for. THis one ain't it.

when i first started playing i said to myself something is wrong..the controls are terrible , and its a shame because the rest of the game seems pretty darn good.the graphics and different camera angles when you are on the side of the building were great, if only the whole game was like that.The driving was good and the action happening around you while driving was great, but those damn controls and fighting..uh.oh..my..even worse...i kept saying to myself please dont let there be a guy waiting for me up ahead, knowing if i had to fight it was going to ruin my experience. its a shame really because this game has lots to offer and i did see some new things ive never seen before and want to play more but...those damn controls and fighting scheme....the madness!!!

I had such high hopes for this game after seeing the trailers with the awesome fire effects. I couldn't get it to run initially and my e-mail to Atari support went unanswered, to this day even. Finally I posted on a forum and someone helped me there, so now it runs. Unfortunately, as others have stated, the controls are horrible. Luckily, the monsters are slow and stupid, so while you fumble about pushing half your keyboard, the monster stumbles and groans and every once in a while swipes or regurgitates at you. Finally you get him in the fire and he dies for good. I haven't persisted to get to the driving sequences, but I hear those are similarly flawed. Its not very often I buy a game before its released, and after this experience I probably won't again. "Nice" job, Atari!

This is a title I eagerly anticipated but I am ready to delete the whole thing as a frustrating waste of time. I am playing the pc version, so it is possible the experience is better on other platforms. My main complaints are the controls. You are required to switch between 1st and 3rd person perspective for doing specific actions (Targeting an enemy with a gun, 1st person, targeting with a mele weapon, 3rd person). The controls for mele combat and general movement in 3rd person are terrible. I may try forcing myself to endure more of the game play to see if at some point a coherent storyline emerges, but so far, that seems less than promising.

I like the game a lot. You get to run zombies over with cars and drive like a maniac. The fire looks real. But my one criticism is that your in New Yourk and the only weapon you have besides explosive bottles and burning chairs is a handgun....if your in New York, you should have an abundance of police issue shotguns...theres lots of abandoned police cars, you should be able to get a shotgun...and you should be able to kick your enemies too. I still love to drive around and just run zombies down...and maybe just gather explosive bottles and play around with blowing up enemies. I like to do dougnuts with the cars in the middle of open fields in the park.

I think if they made this game over again and added to it, it would be even better. I am guessing that they could have made Edward Carnby able to have other weapons and fighting abilities, but that would take more programming and the game would probable be a 2 disc game. Other than that...its still a cool game and you can still have a lot of fun with it.

This was a very, very sad attempt to make a good game.
This game almost feels like it was rushed to get finished. The Graphics were Ok. The sound acting was sub-par. trying to control the guy was almost impossible both in first and third-person modes.
The best thing about the game was uninstalling it.
I can't believe I spent almost $50.00 on it.

My biggest gripe is the same as everybody else's. The controls. No mouse movement in 3rd person. What were the developers thinking? Most of the game is played in 3rd person, so your movement is very cumbersome. I played for about 30 minutes and removed the game from my computer.

After playing this crap, I have left the PC gaming venue for good. I bought an XBOX and connected it to my PC monitor and speakers. I'm getting fantastic graphics and sound, and can trade the games in for different ones when I'm finished with them. I had to get used to the controller, but now I like it better than the mouse and keyboard combo. I just wished that I had made the switch sooner.

This game can be hard, but once you get the hang of it, it is kind of fun. Cool story, too. Just get used to the controls, and put your own key mappings in, and you should have fun. Great graphics, and cool cut scenes. I paid $10 for this, so I got a good deal. I would give it 3 1/2 stars if I could.