Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare

Review

by J.C. Barnes

Alone in the Dark pioneered the survival horror genre almost a decade ago with simple polygon made characters in a haunted house. In addition to creating the genre of "Survival Horror" (which was subsequently popularized by the Resident Evil series) the series spawned several sequels, none of which were extremely noteworthy. Now, almost a decade later we have the newest installment in the series. The graphics engine has been significantly altered to the standard pre-rendered backgrounds with polygonal characters moving around in them (again, popularized by the Resident Evil series), voice work has been added as well as CGI. So how does the end product stand up to its previous incarnations, as well as the high water mark set by Resident Evil 2 and Dino Crisis?

Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare starts out kicking with innovation and genuine, deep, horror themes. From the beginning of the game, frightening visions, Hitchcock-like camera angles, and heart racing confrontations are plentiful. Although there are tons of "jumper" that will startle you (similar to those found in the Friday the 13th movies), they are brilliantly woven into an eerie atmosphere accented by the music and environmental sounds (similar to The Shining and Jacob's Ladder). Most of the game is played in the dark (no pun intended), and your flashlight is your guide, which brilliantly illuminates darkened areas, forest paths and caves as you traverse through Shadow Island.

So the end product starts out being a successful mix of the paranoid dementia found in Silent Hill as well as the gun blasting action in Resident Evil 2. Anyone familiar to the survival horror genre will recognize the puzzles that will have you scratching your head, wondering what goes where and what to do next in order to advance. The puzzles range from the insanely easy to somewhat difficult, but none are so challenging as to have you pondering over solutions for more than an hour or so.

As you progress through the game, particularly the mansion area in the beginning, you'll begin to appreciate the fine intricacies of the game, such as the light sourcing and visions of apparitions, however, the more you progress the more you will gradually become disappointed in the game. It's almost as if the creators made this game linearly, and that their bag-o-horror tricks began to run out towards the end. The fighting aspect of the game becomes increasingly stranger and ranges wildly in the difficulty range. Also, some of the camera angles make it near impossible to aim directly at enemies. This could have been solved easily with an auto lock on function. Escape is also difficult, as there is no 180 degree turn button, something that is now standard in survival horror games.

The ending sequences and locations are utterly ridiculous. This, coupled with horrible voice acting, make for a game that could have been so much more, and while many will point out that it is not fair to judge a game based solely on potential, it is nearly impossible to not be so critical of Alone in the Dark 4 because the series A) pioneered the survival horror genre and B) is being held up to high standards set by Resident Evil. The puzzles also become increasingly annoying, commonly resorting to the all too common task of getting key a to door b and then finding key c for door d, etc, etc. The storytelling is also mediocre, and the annoying voice acting (ESPECIALLY the voice of Ailene) makes you have no emotional connection to the characters--you don't care about their problems because they are so shallowly illustrated, and players will find it extremely hard to give a damn whether or not they get off of the island at the end.

This game should have been in development longer and more polished (there are numerous graphical glitches and clipping that occurs). A good game, but it could've been great.

As with all survival horror games, play this game in the dark, and only at night. It's vital that you do, and it accents the game.