Moving Carnby around Central Park is a frustrating experience, but putting him behind the wheel is equally bad. The cars in Alone in the Dark are not weighted correctly, and as a result they handle strangely and are not fun to drive, which is surprising considering the last game from Eden was Test Drive Unlimited (which is prominently advertised atop every taxi in the game). It should be a blast to jack a ride and rip through Central Park.
Unfortunately there are only three basic car models ?taxi, cop car and something that looks like a 1985 Mercury Cougar ?and they all feel like cardboard boxes. There are three main driving challenges in Alone in the Dark, spaced at the beginning, middle and end of the game. All are cheap trial-and-error affairs full of scripted events which force you to reload the challenge over and over and over again until you've memorized the software routine. Even if the cars handled like a dream, these levels would be a drag.
Perhaps anticipating that gamers would want to skip large portions of the game, Alone in the Dark includes a clever DVD-like menu system that allows you to fast-forward, right up to the beginning of the last level if you like. Doing so brings up a slick recap segment similar to what you might see on an episodic TV drama.
While there's nothing particularly episodic about the story structure of Alone in the Dark, it's a cool addition that lets you bypass some of the more troublesome parts of the game. And it's a good thing, too, because there are segments of Alone in the Dark that are so completely unintuitive and frustrating -- including a particularly cheap turn of events near the end of the game ?that you'll be lobbing your controller in exasperation.
Some puzzles in Alone in the Dark are reasonably well-designed, but many are either unintuitive, buggy or both. There's one level in which Carnby has to reach a ledge in an underground storehouse with the help of a forklift. This one had several IGN editors gathered around scratching their heads. Once we figured out how to use the lift, we put it in place and prepared to fight the inevitable spawned monster, who is blessed with the uncanny ability to *****-slap items out of your hands.
Once we dispatched it by tapping it with a red-hot kitchen chair, we went back to finish the puzzle, only to find it broken. The forklift was parked inches too close to a wall and we couldn't re-enter it. After trying in vain to jump inside, Carnby was mysteriously crushed to death by the game.
In case you're a glutton for punishment, I won't give away the ending of Alone in the Dark. But I will say that it feels like a slap in the face. After trudging through Central Park for hours on end, clumsily swinging flaming furniture at boring monsters, I was presented with what felt like nothing more than a game-lengthening gimmick.
As the story, silly as it was, built to a climax, all efforts at sensible pacing were suddenly thrown out the window in favor of more unsatisfying combat and general drudgery. And at the end of it all, I was treated to one of the more ridiculous endings I've seen in a good long while, complete with my new favorite videogame quote. And not in a good way.
Closing Comments: Alone in the Dark has some good ideas, but it fails at most because it tries them all. Nice visuals, great fire effects and valiant efforts at innovation don’t make up for boring combat, frustrating controls, poorly designed levels and a hackneyed story. There’s a certain amount of old-school adventure charm in Alone in the Dark, but it shines only as the dimmest of lights, hemmed in by the darkness of its many failures. Need a light?
Unfortunately there are only three basic car models ?taxi, cop car and something that looks like a 1985 Mercury Cougar ?and they all feel like cardboard boxes. There are three main driving challenges in Alone in the Dark, spaced at the beginning, middle and end of the game. All are cheap trial-and-error affairs full of scripted events which force you to reload the challenge over and over and over again until you've memorized the software routine. Even if the cars handled like a dream, these levels would be a drag.
Perhaps anticipating that gamers would want to skip large portions of the game, Alone in the Dark includes a clever DVD-like menu system that allows you to fast-forward, right up to the beginning of the last level if you like. Doing so brings up a slick recap segment similar to what you might see on an episodic TV drama.
While there's nothing particularly episodic about the story structure of Alone in the Dark, it's a cool addition that lets you bypass some of the more troublesome parts of the game. And it's a good thing, too, because there are segments of Alone in the Dark that are so completely unintuitive and frustrating -- including a particularly cheap turn of events near the end of the game ?that you'll be lobbing your controller in exasperation.
Some puzzles in Alone in the Dark are reasonably well-designed, but many are either unintuitive, buggy or both. There's one level in which Carnby has to reach a ledge in an underground storehouse with the help of a forklift. This one had several IGN editors gathered around scratching their heads. Once we figured out how to use the lift, we put it in place and prepared to fight the inevitable spawned monster, who is blessed with the uncanny ability to *****-slap items out of your hands.
Once we dispatched it by tapping it with a red-hot kitchen chair, we went back to finish the puzzle, only to find it broken. The forklift was parked inches too close to a wall and we couldn't re-enter it. After trying in vain to jump inside, Carnby was mysteriously crushed to death by the game.
In case you're a glutton for punishment, I won't give away the ending of Alone in the Dark. But I will say that it feels like a slap in the face. After trudging through Central Park for hours on end, clumsily swinging flaming furniture at boring monsters, I was presented with what felt like nothing more than a game-lengthening gimmick.
As the story, silly as it was, built to a climax, all efforts at sensible pacing were suddenly thrown out the window in favor of more unsatisfying combat and general drudgery. And at the end of it all, I was treated to one of the more ridiculous endings I've seen in a good long while, complete with my new favorite videogame quote. And not in a good way.
Closing Comments: Alone in the Dark has some good ideas, but it fails at most because it tries them all. Nice visuals, great fire effects and valiant efforts at innovation don’t make up for boring combat, frustrating controls, poorly designed levels and a hackneyed story. There’s a certain amount of old-school adventure charm in Alone in the Dark, but it shines only as the dimmest of lights, hemmed in by the darkness of its many failures. Need a light?