Derrick
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- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
- Messages
- 5,085
- Reaction score
- 5
The control mechanism may well be better on a console, so if you have an Xbox 360, rather get that version. The games creepy and atmospheric, and if you can get past its little faults, quite enjoyable, particularly if you like a fairly linear story to advance through with the aid of strong visuals.
Some games are better suited to PCs, while others are better on a console. This particular title may well fall into the latter category.
The Alone in the Dark franchise has been around for many, many years, even though it has never really had the highest of profiles. However, it has sufficiently captured imaginations for a movie adaptation (it is a game-to-film license by the infamous Uwe Boll, and is not particularly good, to be perfectly honest...).
Interestingly enough, even though there have been several titles in the series, its creators have abandoned any sort of numbering convention, and so it is simply called Alone in the Dark (the same as the first title in the franchise).
The story is quite intriguing, which is going to make reviewing this game for you tricky, as much of the appeal comes from exploring the plot. However, I can tell you how it starts: you find yourself in a room with some men. One of them ppears to be a captive of the others, and it soon becomes clear that so are you.
It also seems that you have “been brought back from the dead” somehow, or at least something similar. And you cannot remember who you are... The captors want something from the other man, and as you are led away to your execution (or, more precisely, an attempt at disposing of “damaged goods”), you overhear snatches. And then, all hell breaks loose. I’m going to leave it there as far as the story goes, so as not to spoil it for you should you choose to play this game.
The game is a fusion of third-person dventure and first-person action. Much of the game requires you to see yourself and your immediate surroundings in order to function effectively, which makes it ironic that the third-person camera is not movable, and forces you to look only in the direction that the game chooses for you. In this mode, you are able to climb some walls and ropes, and perform a variety of other situational moves. In first-person mode, of course, you have more freedom of vision, but the controls are rather sluggish.
Sometimes this gets quite annoying, so it’s a good thing that much of the game involves solving puzzles, which often require a lesser degree of hand-eye coordination (though there is also a wicked carchase scene, as you careen through a disintegrating city...).
These puzzles, though presented in a modern 3D way, tend to be of the classic style where you are required to figure out what items to use with what items or on what environmental features.
One game design feature that its creators seem very proud of is the fact that “anyone can finish this game.” This is, however, only partially true. It is implemented by a mechanism that allows you to skip sections that you may be stuck in. Then, when you start at the next chapter, you are treated to a TV-style ‘previously on’ sequence, detailing events so far, with particular emphasis on the previous chapter.
While this means that you can bypass sections that you would otherwise be stuck in, it also means that you may well end up missing parts of the game if you need to use this feature. So, it’s not a perfect solution, but quite cleverly implemented.
Some games are better suited to PCs, while others are better on a console. This particular title may well fall into the latter category.
The Alone in the Dark franchise has been around for many, many years, even though it has never really had the highest of profiles. However, it has sufficiently captured imaginations for a movie adaptation (it is a game-to-film license by the infamous Uwe Boll, and is not particularly good, to be perfectly honest...).
Interestingly enough, even though there have been several titles in the series, its creators have abandoned any sort of numbering convention, and so it is simply called Alone in the Dark (the same as the first title in the franchise).
The story is quite intriguing, which is going to make reviewing this game for you tricky, as much of the appeal comes from exploring the plot. However, I can tell you how it starts: you find yourself in a room with some men. One of them ppears to be a captive of the others, and it soon becomes clear that so are you.
It also seems that you have “been brought back from the dead” somehow, or at least something similar. And you cannot remember who you are... The captors want something from the other man, and as you are led away to your execution (or, more precisely, an attempt at disposing of “damaged goods”), you overhear snatches. And then, all hell breaks loose. I’m going to leave it there as far as the story goes, so as not to spoil it for you should you choose to play this game.
The game is a fusion of third-person dventure and first-person action. Much of the game requires you to see yourself and your immediate surroundings in order to function effectively, which makes it ironic that the third-person camera is not movable, and forces you to look only in the direction that the game chooses for you. In this mode, you are able to climb some walls and ropes, and perform a variety of other situational moves. In first-person mode, of course, you have more freedom of vision, but the controls are rather sluggish.
Sometimes this gets quite annoying, so it’s a good thing that much of the game involves solving puzzles, which often require a lesser degree of hand-eye coordination (though there is also a wicked carchase scene, as you careen through a disintegrating city...).
These puzzles, though presented in a modern 3D way, tend to be of the classic style where you are required to figure out what items to use with what items or on what environmental features.
One game design feature that its creators seem very proud of is the fact that “anyone can finish this game.” This is, however, only partially true. It is implemented by a mechanism that allows you to skip sections that you may be stuck in. Then, when you start at the next chapter, you are treated to a TV-style ‘previously on’ sequence, detailing events so far, with particular emphasis on the previous chapter.
While this means that you can bypass sections that you would otherwise be stuck in, it also means that you may well end up missing parts of the game if you need to use this feature. So, it’s not a perfect solution, but quite cleverly implemented.