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Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare
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Graphics & Sound:
Well, it certainly looks scary! There's no denying that being Alone in the Dark with this game is a guaranteed path to shivers, chills and maybe some high-pitched screams. Sure the Survival Horror genre is overloaded and the Dreamcast is dying, but nobody will fault you for enjoying yourself with Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare before the genre or the hardware is completely dead and gone... Jumping in feet first with an intro that would make Capcom proud, Alone in the Dark kicks off its fourth chapter nicely, setting a gloomy stage and quickly populating it with all the moody darkness anyone could ask for. Since the two-character gameplay model is used, a choice comes very early in the game whether to use Carnby or Aline, and you'll see very different parts of Alone in the Dark depending on which choice you make. Carnby starts out in the woods and Aline begins in the house, but freaky darkness is what these two have to deal with in both locations. I can't decide which I found more disturbing, but Carnby's side of the adventure tends to escalate more quickly and produce more monsters, which is always scary. Aline faces off against plenty of spooks, but she's poorly equipped to fight them and ends up running away most often. But, imagine running through dark rooms trying to find a door, a light switch, a first-aid kit...anything! The flashlight effect is well done here, and even though the beam is less diffused (or maybe it's just the lack of fog) than in Silent Hill, the contrast between pitch-black dark and bright light seems to make everything more obscure and unfamiliar. Creepy looks are nothing without creepy sounds, and Alone in the Dark includes infrequent music and constant environmental sounds that conspire to give the impression things are lurking around you and bloody murders are being committed just out of your line of sight. Screams, gunshots, wind, footsteps... While this may be a tried and true formula now, Alone in the Dark was one of the first games to explore the Horror genre, years ago on PC. And I mean really explore, in the sense that a mood was created and maintained, building and building with momentum that never forgot to be clever and unique. Unfortunately, Darkworks seems unable to avoid the influence of other console Horror games, and the result looks and sounds more like an also-ran than the innovative or at least clever stuff we came to expect in previous Alone in the Dark installments. |
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Gameplay:
It's Survival Horror with a capital RE, and no bones about it. The plot here is a little more mystical, avoiding any biogenetic experimentation and settling on ancient Indian relics that must be retrieved from a mysterious island and decoded. By a pretty hot professor, no less... (heh) Aline Cedrac most definitely is the body and brains to Carnby's brawn, but she falls short on power or stamina. She's useful in that she knows more about the powers they're opposing and is needed to help recover the tablets. Edward Carnby, our hero from previous Alone in the Dark games, doesn't care much about all the mystical mumbo-jumbo, so long as he can take revenge on the person responsible for the death of his friend Charles Fisk. So, it's off to Shadow Island, which just sounds like one of those places I avoid like the plague. Sure enough, the plane crashes on route and Carnby with Aline in tow make like a parachuting couple and jump. Separated at first, they try to stay alive long enough to regroup and go after those tablets. Giving away the story would just suck, so I won't do it, but one of the neat things you'll find here that separates Alone in the Dark from other games in this genre is the use of light as a weapon. Aline especially doesn't earn a powerful weapon for some time, and even Carnby has to deal with some seriously limited ammo. So, somewhere between the run-and-gun action of Resident Evil and the more cautious gameplay of Silent Hill, Alone in the Dark runs the risk of trying to be everything to everybody and missing out entirely. Moving through the game, characters gather ammo and weapons along with health and save-tokens, solve puzzles and defeat or avoid monsters. Those save tokens remind me a little too much of the save crystals in Tomb Raider, which is not a good thing. Not that I expect unlimited save points, but using limited 'tokens' to save at any point in the game just makes for confusion and frustration, IMHO, resulting in players who save too early or too late. Puzzles aren't more than what we've seen in other games of this type, and although some might argue that the puzzles in earlier Alone in the Dark games were more creative, there wasn't as much to compare them to back then. Really, the standard key-block-card puzzles aren't anything we don't expect these days, but I can say that Alone in the Dark at least goes beyond simple key and key-card puzzles to try a few brain benders. Nothing that most folks won't be able to puzzle through with time and maybe a few cheats. The most basic element of Alone in the Dark apart from puzzles, items and control is story. The series has been known for its character development and interesting settings, with few exceptions. This chapter is a definite return to the good side for Alone in the Dark, but fans of the originals may see too much of the more recent Survival Horror games showing up for their tastes. Not that there's anything wrong with copying a winning formula - heck, look at Konami - but it takes a little more to keep our attention every time a new copycat game hits the stands. Alone in the Dark leads you into understanding the characters gradually, although this isn't the first time we've seen Carnby. Especially because the choice is given immediately to play as Aline or Carnby, there's a definite replay value for people who get through and immediately want to see what happened on the other side. Not that everyone will feel compelled to go through again, but those who do will find the other character's side of the story played out a little more integrally than the 'flash' system used by Capcom. By the end of the game, a mystery really has been solved, and it doesn't feel stretched or fake as is often the case. Carnby really is a guy who gets down to the bottom of supernatural mysteries, and there's no pseudo-science explanation for what is happening on Shadow Island that leaves you groaning. You may groan over the controls, but that's a different story. Overall, Survival Horror fans will be satisfied. |
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Difficulty:
Part of building the perfect Survival Horror mousetrap is balancing difficulty. None of us really loved those Resident Evil controls, but we got by on the firepower. Let's face it, nobody was doing any acrobatics with those controls... So, it's with dismay that I report Alone in the Dark uses that herky-jerky RE control scheme. Now, the difference that really makes a difference is that the monsters are pretty quick, more like Dino Crisis than RE's slow zombies. And so, it becomes frustrating at times to fight through unfamiliar territory with monsters nipping at your heels and ammo dwindling. The controls are fairly responsive, although in heavy action or graphics-intensive areas they seem a bit sticky. Biggest problem seems to be that even after playing a few hours, when you would expect to be kicking big butt and taking names, Carnby and Aline are still getting pummeled. Aline, I can understand. But, it would have been nice to see a balanced system that rewarded a more 'action oriented' style of play, or that used puzzles and exploration in lieu of heavy combat.
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Game Mechanics:
The controls may not feel as great as we'd like, but they're organized in a way that doesn't prove too difficult to learn. Triggers control aiming and use of weapons, also showing your character's health. The analog stick controls a flashlight, allowing you to shine your beam around in areas and look for special items or doors. The D-Pad does movement, and works on the system we know from RE. A 'run' button as well as buttons to activate menus or use items rounds out the control scheme. Pressing (X) opens a dialog that gives you options to use an equipped item like the radio, look at your map or manage items, just as is standard these days. Thankfully, most of the display during in-game action is clear of clutter and easy to follow, but sometimes getting to the item screen feels a bit obtuse. Those folks who played Alone in the Dark on PlayStation or even PC will find the graphics for our DC version much improved, but why does this engine seem to chug along so badly at times? There are some seriously sketchy moments, like characters moving through walls or monsters running into you and jogging in place on a perpetual loop until you move out of the way. The monsters' AI is very poor, with either unerring accuracy and ferocity or chicken-like, mind-numbing stupidity. Item collection is made easier by the telltale twinkle items give off when the light shines on them, and I have to say most stand out from the background with enough clarity to avoid that 'walk along the wall and press the button until you find something' syndrome. Getting through levels and solving the locked-door puzzles is kept simple and smart by not asking us to backtrack for an hour to find the door or window to match our key. Puzzles are generally well balanced, so one wonders why Darkworks or Infogrames felt the need to load us up with shooting and action. Somewhere along the way, this game made me wonder if hype had ruined the experience for me. It's not that I'm over the whole genre, since I'm happily absorbed in Silent Hill 2 right now. From what I knew of Alone in the Dark going back to the original games I played on the Macintosh, there was way more puzzle and intrigue than guts-'n-gore or action, so how can I not feel like there is just a little too much synergy between this latest chapter and some of the similar games that have come out in the meantime? For Dreamcast owners who want a fun trip through a seriously dark and twisted little game, Alone in the Dark is satisfying, and it does what you'd expect it to do. Those who want innovation or remember Alone in the Dark when there wasn't anything much else like it on the market may be a little let down. But only a little. Carnby is a cool character, the story and atmosphere is right on time, and although you won't wet yourself in fear every five minutes, you'll probably feel a need to turn the lights on and look over your shoulder from time to time. |
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-Fridtjof, GameVortex Communications AKA Matt Paddock |
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