Alone in the Dark (PS3)

• by McKinley Noble
• September 17, 2008 00:00 AM PST

Eden Games throws a firestorm of changes at the PS3 version of Alone in the Dark, but will it pay off?

Playing Alone in the Dark on the Xbox 360 was a frustrating experience for many people who wanted to enjoy it. With awkward controls and gameplay glitches aplenty, Alone in the Dark couldn't have gotten a positive verdict from any sensible jury. However, the upcoming port for the PlayStation 3 aims to be better, and looks like it just might deliver.

When playing Alone in the Dark, it's easy to feel sympathy for the bewildered and confused main character, Edward Carnby. Developer Eden Games took some huge leaps with their title, but not everything played off so well in Alone in the Dark. The camera was obsessed with showing everything BUT what you needed to see, the vehicle system treated paved roads like they were made of ice, and various gameplay elements seemed half-polished.

Eden's listened closely to consumer and critic complaints.

We Can Make It Better, Darker

Thankfully, Eden has taken their laundry list of problems and made various corrections in the PlayStation 3 version of Alone in the Dark, which aim to make the game less of a headache for fans of the series. One of the biggest changes is the first-person camera, which you'd often have to rely on when the normal camera was out to lunch. Instead of stiffly following the direction of your gun, the first person camera now moves based on where Edward is physically looking - like any decent FPS camera should. The third person view also works much better in this version, especially since it no longer needs to be micromanaged around every corner. You can move it whenever you need to, but now the camera will always eventually re-center itself directly to the rear (and a few feet back) behind Edward. This gives you a better angle on the action, but it also gives you one less enemy to fight.

The controls have also been tweaked a step in the right direction. Edward even runs differently, finally sprinting without the aid of a run button. (Which makes sense, given the fact that armies of undead are around every bush and boulder.) Now, you can run and walk just by moving the analog stick. How wickedly modern! Attacking an enemy will be much smoother then before; especially since item manipulation and lock-on mode is essentially the same action. Speaking of which, digging in your pockets is also MUCH better this time around: you can now scroll through your tools one-by-one, and opening up your jacket actually pauses the game altogether. Also, you no longer have to select items in a certain, predetermined order to "MacGyver" yourself some flaming bullets. Now, simply selecting the two correct items is all it takes, eliminating huge amounts of trial-and-error. Plus, you can save your favorite mixes to a quick menu via the D-Pad.

The game's camera has received a complete overhaul.

Edward controls much better and lighter on the PS3.

Big Changes; Future Still Dark

Finally, the vehicle combat has gotten a much-needed kick in the butt from the 21st century. Eden has added suspension control and quick turning to the driving, which should make events like 59th Street more tolerable than the you-drove-over-a-pebble-and-flipped-your-car gameplay from before. We sure as heck didn't beat the level when Eden demoed it for us, but we fared better than on the Xbox 360 version.

Alone in the Dark so far looks just as good on the PS3 as it does on the Xbox 360. The fire and explosions still get us all doe-eyed, saying "Oooooh!" and "Ahhhhh!" with every gasoline or alcohol-fueled eruption. Developer Eden is very candid about what the fans want, specifically with tiny changes like more in-game hints, instantly recoverable items, and even giving the flashlight unlimited battery power. We'll let you know in November how these changes turn out, so keep your lights on until then.

The PS3 version includes an exclusive, creepy new subway stage.

The game's fire effects are as stunning as ever.

• Print
• Email this!
• • Digg
  • Yahoo Buzz!
  • FaceBook
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us