Title: Alone in the Dark (AITD)Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Adventure
Publisher: Atari (Developed by Eden Games)
Release Date: June 23, 2008
Rating: 7.0
“Alone in the Dark” (AITD) is a visually alluring game that will threaten to disrupt your sleep with visions of impressive pyrotechnics and creative gameplay muddled with rampant technical difficulties.
Every once in a while a video game is released that changes the way the world thinks of Video Games. “Alone in the Dark” is one of the games tries to do just that, but ends up falling short.
“Alone in the Dark” is all about the fire. Eden has developed a game with a multitude of ways to burn things. You’ll have hours of fun experimenting with different combinations of fire based weapons and problem solving puzzles that need a keen eye pyromania.
Why the necessary obsession to spark a fire? In AITD, it’s the only way to kill your enemies. Sure you can bash them over the head, but they won’t stop coming. And, why would you want to bludgeon a foe when you can have so much more fun lighting a bullet and shooting your enemy down as though you were a contemporary Robin Hood.
One cool feature of “Alone in the Dark” is the inventory system. Your inventory is stored on your pockets and belt. Much like any belt that’s less that a Bat-utility belt you’re only allowed a few items to keep on hand. Checking through your inventory is done from a first person angle, as you look down at your belt and pockets searching for the items you need.
Unfortunately, given enough time cool features seem to fall apart in AITD. With a plethora of unique combinations to set things on fire, you’ll quickly wish you had some magical way you can expand your working inventory. Maybe a “Marry Poppins” bag? Also, you’ll find that those nifty little cans of healing spray are few and far apart. Not to mention that your clothes magically regenerate after getting burned.
For the most part the graphics are excellent. From escaping a burning building to navigating through Central Park the topography of “Alone in the Dark” is visually pleasing to take in. Just beware that sometimes the lighting will get bizarre and will make you wonder what exactly the Eden designers were doing when making this game.
The cut-scenes are well worth the watch, and will pull you deeper into the story. A definite plus for “Alone in the Dark” is the story. Unlike many adventure games on the market, their is a deep story line in AITD that is worth following.
Driving is painfully arduous. But, the same thing can be said about navigating any location in AITD on foot or just walking in general. Gamers will get a feel for the clunky control from Chapter 1. In the escape from the burning building, you’ll get your fair share of headaches trying to precisely scale the wall on an electrical cable.
Watching the game from the 3rd person perspective will leave you thinking you’re really controlling a zombie. You can always opt for the first person perspective, but keep in mind the 1st person POV lacks fluidity in control.
It’s easy to pick on game bugs and glitches. What piece of software doesn’t have the occasional bug? Even desktop computer operating systems have bugs, which is why there are several updates and service packs after a software release. Too bad video games are a short term investment and gamers will not wait around for a bug fix before they’re on to the next game.
The problem with “Alone in the Dark” is that there are just way too many technical difficulties coupled with visual inconsistencies, which makes a potentially good game into a game that is way to distracting to play.
If you find yourself stuck with a problem, you can always jump ahead to another Chapter. Eden delivered a Chapter based game with AITD, so gamers can jump around the game as if they’re surfing a DVD. Each new chapter gives you a quick sum-up of the previous chapter.
If you’ve got the patience to put up with sporadically clunky game play and have an eye for pyrotechnic experimentation, then “Alone in the Dark” is the game for you.
