Alone in the Dark
- March 11, 2008 15:13 PM PST
- Email this!
Clenching loosely to its survival-horror roots, the new Alone in the Dark is much more action-oriented than the series' past games. Take, for example, our recent look at the game where protagonist Edward Carnby races a taxicab through the rippling streets of a New York City that's tearing apart at the seams-like Cloverfield minus the Godzilla-like beastie.
Electrocuting pesky creeps is just one environmental challenge you'll encounter in Alone in the Dark.
A Long Time Coming
Alone in the Dark has been a hot topic for years because of its lengthy production schedule and multiple push-backs. But now with the game right around the corner, we finally got to see the fruits of years of development, and its end-result could be a mixed bag.
As an action game, Alone in the Dark might be a smidgen behind the times. With more action-based survival-horror games emerging, games like EA's upcoming Dead Space are leading a genre packed with top-notch titles. Had Alone in the Dark released in the first year of the Xbox 360's lifecycle, it might have been a better sell, technologically speaking.
But still, this game is horror-based, and it's a got a great deal of spooky puzzle-solving to go along with its fast-paced action sequences. Let's look at, for instance, a level that takes place in the sewers underneath Central Park. Edward is hindered by a host of environmental obstructions that take a little thinking and a lot of maneuvering to traverse; case in point, carefully clearing away an open electrical wire that's submerged a sewer stream, or brandishing a flashlight to divert a mysterious oozing liquid that seems to be light-shy. A cool on-the-fly feature also lets you create a virtually endless number of items from goodies found in the game, a distinctly survival-horror-ish feature that's presented from a nifty view inside Edward's trench-coat.
Escape from New York
After the sewer trudge, Edward is pinned in a car on the streets surrounding Central Park, forced to escape before the city crumbles to bits. It's a rather arcade-y sequence, and you have to get out fast-lag for even a few seconds and you'll plummet beneath the crumbling streets.
It's fun to gander at a collapsing New York City, especially if you make it through the obstacle course of falling buildings and rippled roads. Here's to hoping the rest of Alone in the Dark offers enough variety to keep Edward Carnby's latest adventure fresh (also on Wii, PS2, PSP and PC).
