Alone in the Dark (X360)

I'm working on a review of Alone in the Dark for MEGATONik.com, and I thought I'd post a few thoughts here.

Alone in the Dark was developed by Eden Games and published by Atari. The premise is that you are Dr. Edward Carnby in the midst of a chaotic New York City. You continue on to discover that Central Park holds a dark occult secret. This is as far as I'll go with the story specifics. The only comments I have on the story is that it's not bad. Certainly not the best I've seen but far from the worst.

Alone in the Dark divides itself into episodes. If you resume a save or opt to quit the game after the end of an episode, you will be treated to a video teaser or remind of the story so far. The video reminder is an excellent idea. I can't count the number of times I've had to put down a game and forgotten the story line when I tried to resume. There's also a DVD-style mechanism to let you skip parts of the game that are too hard. You'll be tempted to use this. Promise.

The game is definitely a cinematic experience. Eden Games definitely knows how to create some exciting visuals. The camera will frequently pan away to show buildings falling down above you as you drive by or swing about trying to stay alive.

Unfortunately, the game is extremely glitchy. Eden Games would have been wise to pay a little less attention to detail and more attention to the quality of their game engine. These glitches caused me to replay areas 4 or 5 times out of 15. This made for an angry reviewer that almost sent his fist straight into a television.

Ultimately, the game is worth a rental if you're a fan of the survival-horror genre, but others should be careful.

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Retired LANville Mayor- Served: 2005-2007