Alone in the Dark (computer game 2008)

Alone in the Dark (PS3 version: Alone in the Dark: Inferno ), first published in June 2008, is the fifth part of the computer game series of the same name and was released for the Windows , PlayStation 2 , PlayStation 3 , Xbox 360 and Wii platforms . The game was developed by the France-based company Eden Games . It is the first in the series to be developed entirely in 3D graphics. In addition, some basic gameplay elements were changed, so that the classic survival horror had to retreat a little and the game became much more action-heavy.

action

New York City, 2008.

At the beginning the player wakes up dazed in the form of Edward Carnby, who is held captive by two dark, unknown figures. Carnby has lost his memory and cannot remember anything, neither how he got into this situation nor who he is himself. When one of the two strangers tries to drag him to the roof of the building to execute him, Carnby escapes. Suddenly, chaos breaks out in the entire building: fires are blazing everywhere, earthquakes bring parts of the house to collapse and supernatural creatures roam around.

On the run from the skyscraper, the player meets Sarah Flores, an art dealer whom he frees from a stuck elevator, and Theophile Paddington, an older man who seems to know Carnby well. On Theophile's advice, after they were able to leave the building, the three go to New York's Central Park , where they discover on the way that there is an abnormality throughout the city similar to that in the previously abandoned skyscraper.

Once in the park, Theophile hands Carnby a mysterious stone and tells him to meet him in room 943 of the city museum. Theophile then pulls out a gun and shoots himself. Stunned and confused, Carnby and Sarah make their way through Central Park to the museum to find out why the chaos has broken over New York, what the mysterious stone is all about has to do with how Central Park has to do with the whole thing and to refresh Carnby's memory.

Gameplay

Unlike in the earlier parts, the player no longer only experiences the action from fixed camera angles. For the first time, a typical third-person perspective is also used , especially in hand-to-hand combat, as well as an ego perspective when using ranged weapons. This gives the game a much more action-oriented gameplay. It is also possible to short-circuit and drive cars in order to cover longer distances and explicit driving passages.

In the course of the game the player only finds two different pistols. However, he can combine a wide variety of objects that he can find practically anywhere in the game world, such as alcohol bottles, healing sprays, adhesive tape and a lighter, to make makeshift weapons. For example, you can use a rust protection spray and a lighter to imitate a flamethrower, or you can use a bottle of alcohol, some tape and a bandage to make a Molotov cocktail that sticks to opponents and other objects . In order to gain access to the objects carried and to combine them, one opens Carnby's jacket at the push of a button, whereby he then looks down at himself from the first person's perspective. The treatment of wounds is similar, whereby you can explicitly choose the wound that you want to treat most urgently.

There are also various options for using the game environment for yourself. For example, you can have a fire that spreads to other combustible objects and thus z. B. clears a barricade blocking the way out of the way or surrounds opponents, kindle. Fire is also the only way to permanently destroy most of the supernatural beings, which is why a wooden slat can become an effective weapon if it is lit in a fire source beforehand.

The entire game is divided into eight chapters, each of which tells a completed subplot and ends with a cliffhanger , similar to a television series. The player also has the option of “fast-forwarding” and skipping passages at any time, as with a DVD film. Eden Games explains this step by stating that every player should have the opportunity to reach the end, even if a passage is too difficult for them.

The individual game sections are sometimes relatively linear, sometimes quite open. Especially in the sections in which the player is out and about in Central Park, he can explore it relatively freely.

development

The game was originally announced as Near Death Investigation . The game and the versions for Windows, Xbox 360 and PS3 were created by Eden Games, the ports for PS2 and Wii by Hydravision. A further development of the Twilight engine was used for the game, an in -house development by Eden Games, which was already used in Test Drive Unlimited . The Havok physics engine was integrated into this . B. allows fire in the game to realistically expand to other combustible objects and destroy them at different speeds depending on their mass and nature. After several postponements of the release date, work on the versions for Windows, Xbox 360, PS2 and Wii was completed in June 2008. The PS3 version has been postponed again due to problems with the frame rate. This has also been changed in some points compared to the other versions. The controls and camera work have been revised, the inventory system simplified, additional game aids added, the level of difficulty adjusted at various points and a new action sequence added. The version of the game was released as Alone in the Dark: Inferno on PlayStation Network .

A limited edition with identical content was released for Windows, Xbox 360 and Wii , which in addition to the game includes the following extra features:

an artbook with concept drawings,
a soundtrack CD,
a making-of DVD,
a character by Edward Carnby.

reception

On the game portal 4Players , Jörg Luibl was disappointed with the game: “I was looking forward to the big comeback of a classic and was bitterly disappointed.” The fifth part offers “quite a few creative ideas and game mechanics” , the less than captivating background story, and cumbersome controls however, graphic errors predominated. A few days after the game was published, Heise online and Kotaku reported that the publisher Atari SA was trying to take legal action against various game tests. 4Players should sign a cease and desist declaration because the test “did not proceed with the right things” , the editorial team wanted to gain unfair competitive advantages and used an allegedly illegal test version. 4Players replied that they had received the trial version from a dealer a few days earlier.

Felix Schütz from PC Games said he had “a lot of respect for the people at Eden Games, because they keep all their promises: the innovative inventory, the realistic vehicles, a park that can be explored, great graphics, episode structure, fire, physics, combinable items and much more - everything is included, everything works. Wow! Two things, however, depress the rating: firstly, the controls, which do not allow sensible hand-to-hand combat with either the gamepad or the keyboard. Second, the save point system! Too often I was frustrated, too often I missed the Quicksave function on the PC - such a top game deserves better. "

Web links

Alone in the Dark at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

[1] Alone in the Dark 5: Also for PS2 and Wii

[2] Alone in the Dark Q&A - Technology to Make a Scarier Horror Game

[3] Alone in the Dark: Gold Message

[4] Dev explains PS3 Alone in the Dark delay

[5] Alone in the Dark: Innovations presented

[6] Alone in the Dark - Inferno: New features of the PS3 version and demo date

[7] Alone in the Dark: Details on the Limited Edition

[4players-8] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Jörg Luibl on 4players.de

[9] Alone in the Dark: The Garden of Eden

[10] Alone in the Dark: Stuff of nightmares

[11] Gripping action horror film to play by yourself

[pcgames.de-12] s.de: Test of Alone in the Dark

[heise-13] Heise.de: Atari demands deletion of negative reviews of the game Alone in the Dark

[kotaku-14] Luke Plunkett on kotaku.com: Legal Mess Over Euro Alone In The Dark Reviews


Computer games	Alone in the Dark (1992) • 2 ( Jack in the Dark ) (1993) • 3 (1994) • The New Nightmare (2001) • Alone in the Dark (2008) • Illumination (2015)
Film adaptations	Alone in the Dark (2006) • Alone in the Dark II (2008)