Alone in the Dark
Not to be mistaken as a remake of the 1992 original, Alone In The Dark is the fifth title in the series. You play the protagonist, Edward Carnby, who is suffering from amnesia and finds himself in New York City, which has been possessed by demonic forces. While Edward battles serpentine monsters, demented humans and evil black goo, he has to fight the feeling that he was somehow responsible. Alone In The Dark plays like an adventure game involving plenty of puzzle-solving through experimenting with objects around you or combining items in your inventory. Although the gameplay is linear, there are many ways to get around obstacles. Apart from jumping, shimmying and rappelling, you can bash, blow up, short-circuit or set fire to obstructions. Weapons come in the form of pistols and common implements. The latter serve as melee tools which you can use to bash, hack and smash your foes with. However, fire is always you best friend in Alone In The Dark for it illuminates and clears your path. It is also the only way to eradicate your foes permanently.
Like the adventure game of old, Alone In The Dark punishes you with many deaths as part of the trial-and-error puzzle-solving process. There are also many unexpected "sudden death" events. So, check your anger management issues before getting into the game. In this episodic game, graphics and sceneries of a chaotic New York City and an eerie Central Park are created with impressive light, shadow and water effects. The scares that Alone In The Dark put you through feel genuine - disintegrating roads and massive explosions conjure a real sense of chaos. Aided y well-directed cinematic action sequences and haunting music, Alone In The Dark feels like a Hollywood movie. Now the bummer. The biggest problems are the clumsy controls and bad camera angles. Strafing is replaced by turning and the camera is often consistently positioned, so Edward walks like he is blind.
The "Use" key differs in action between first-person and third-person perspectives. I wasted time vainly trying to put out fires by swinging an extinguisher in third-person when I should have been spraying it in first-hand. Using the keyboard and mouse was a painfully slow, clunky and unresponsive experience. Things improved after I replaced them with an analogue controller but not before tearing my hair out. The much-maligned driving sequences are actually not as bad as some reviewers complained about, once you get used to the awkward handling and the unnatural lightness of the controls. For a game that emphasizes the clever use of inventory, it has a not-so-clever way of administering it. Inventory is accessed via a "heads down" display. You need to look into your jacket to retrieve and combine items - all this while monsters continue their onslaught. Alone In The Dark is an ambitious title with a polished cinematic horror atmosphere. However, its poor execution of the basics ruined what could have been a great game.
