InsomniaReview: Alone in the Dark (360)

I'm going to skip over giving a summary of the game's production cycle, because frankly, you probably don't care.

I got REALLY excited around Alone in the Dark around the time details game out regarding it's survival horror, item combining mechanics. I watched all the videos I could find on it, which showed off it's impressive fire mechanics, and all sorts of interesting uses for tools. However, as is the case with many exciting next-gen games, the hype has failed to live up to the promise.

The fire mechanics are exactly as interesting and useful as advertised. As are the variety of different ways you can combine items you find scattered around the game. You can shoot or bash open a locked door, use fire to clear a barricade, or combine several items to make an explosive to blow/burn your obstacles away. It's a mechnic that really fits well into the survival horror genre, where the main attraction is scavenging up the resources you need to progress and stay alive.

The problem, however, is the components you need to make these useful items are almost everywhere, which takes away from the sense of scarcity or urgency. Bottles of lighter fluid and double sided tape lie scatter along side the road at every turn. Ironically, scraps of cloth that can be used for molotov cocktail wicks are less common. And what's worse, you can usually empty a locker of it's contents, wait a few seconds, then open it back up and GET MORE STUFF. In the end, it makes the game almost too easy. I've never once run out of ammunition for my pistol, and actually ended up throwing away a stack of nearly 100 rounds to make room in my inventory. And since some of the 'tougher' enemies can only be killed by applying fire to a certain part of their body, you'd think they'd be hard to kill. You'd be wrong, however, since you can just use the aerosol flamethrower or exploding bottle almost willy-nilly, and find more supplies in short order.

Compounding that issue is your lack of inventory space. In most survival horror games I can recall, you once in a while would have to make a hard choice as to which item to take or leave. In Alone in the Dark, however, since items are so plentyful, you get to pick and choose constantly. And not in the fun way, usually. It doesn't really upset gameplay, but it is aggravating. In any other game like this, a lack of inventory space would add to the paranoia, but in Alone, it just frustrates as you walk past boxes of healing spray. Maybe that's just me, but my survival horror instinct blanches at having to leave good supplies unused and undisturbed.

Being able to hop in and hotwire a car in Alone is, to my knowledge, a first for the survival horror genre. And it's a great idea. The cars are well detailed too, and bristle with points of interaction. Some useful, some just fun. You can turn on the radio, dome light, and high beams, all without ever turning on the engine. You can raid the glove box for supplies, move around the seats, and even pierce the gas tank to drain it of it's contents (although with all the other bottles of gasoline lying around, you'll never really need to.) The cars fall apart, however, when you start trying to drive them. They handle poorly, for starters, and collisions are handly oddly within the game's engine. Worse still, it's possible to get your car 'wedged' on a hill, which makes it impossible to move.

The first driving sequence in the game, a break neck chase through a rapidly disintegrating New York, is painful. Frequently I'd hit an oncoming car, have to put the car in reverse to go around him, and end up failing. Even when I did manage to avoid all the obstacles the game threw at me, I might find myself inexplicably falling through what APPEARED to be a solid road. This is especially common after jumps... you'll look like you're just BARELY going to make it, only to find yourself falling through the environment.

And that brings us to another of Alone's features... the DVD skip feature. Which I employed after my 20th replay of that shitty driving sequence. The game allows you to skip forward or backward in the chapters as you see fit, but restricts playing the final chapters of the game to only those players who have completed enough of the game. I've heard some people gripe and grumble, but I was always in support of this feature. I'm paying $60 for a game, and god dammit, I should get to play it however the fuck I want.
I've actually been suggesting similar features in games since MGS2. Remember that one boss fight where it's Raiden with a Stinger vs 100 Metal Gear Rays? I loved that fight, and did it over and over. It's a hard fight, but I had mastered the MGS2 controls to the point where I could have done it all damn day, if it would let me. But, in order to play those blissful 5 minutes of Metal Gear Meyhem, I had to keep a save file at a specific point, which I would have to reload every time.
So, the DVD skip feature IS a good one. But it's also one I personally NEVER planned on using. I HAD to use it, because the driving was shit.

And that brings us to the story. Whenever you use the DVD Skip, or load a saved game, it treats you to a 'previously... on Alone in the Dark' vignette. The entire game is set to a haunting and epic score... one of the best ones in recent memory. It really fits well to the game, although it occasionally starts, stops, and swells at odd moments. And the game itself is broken up into 8 'episodes', which seem to want to capture the "Lost" style of cliffhanger television. Sadly, the game didn't seem to pay any attention to the fucking WRITING on that, or any other show. While the overall plot and characters are interesting, the interaction between them are just STUPID.

The main character, Edward Carnby, has amnesia, a mysterious past, and some sort of connection to all this crazy evil that's going on. Which is cliche, but I can forgive it because using the "protagonist only knows as much as the player" dynamic can really pop for immersion. But that's where the good news ends. The dialog is juvenile, at best. Carnby randomly degenerates into swearing every other syllable. At one point, when the inevitable female lead offers to tag along with Carnby into certain doom, he says, "Don't fuck around, or I'll shoot you myself." Dude seriously needs a hug. But it's okay... by episode 4 they're making out. Despite the fact that they've said MAYBE 50 words to one another.

The game leaves a LOT unsaid... which is fine to keep any air of mystery. But when people just aren't fucking TALKING to one another, it gets creepy. Driving around with Sarah in the passenger seat of a car, almost completely silent except for the occasional quip, makes me feel like I'm driving her to an abortion clinic.

Then there's parts of the story that are just ODD. For example, when first confronted with the fact that some sort of evil presence has possessed people and is speaking to him through them, Edward doesn't even bat an eye. Nor does he ask "What are you?"... he askes "WHO are you?". Like it's going to say "Greg Smith, nice to meet you. Yeah, I can make zombies I can talk through. Neat, huh?" And nobody else seems to be batting a fucking eyelash as the fact there's suddenly monsters everywhere, and New York is torn apart. Sure, they'll tell you "It's dangerous out there", but nobody seems overly concerned until they're getting killed. Characters will watch you do something COMPLETELY insane and survive, like rappeling along the side of a building while it's exploding, and not comment about it. And worst of all, the game occasionally take the reins and makes you watch, helplessly, as some poor schlub gets killed while Carnby looks on, silently. It's really fucked up.

Then there's the occasional cutscene glitch, where the first few second of a scene will get skipped (nothing important, but it makes for an odd transition), or where what should be a stunning look out over the city turns into a blur because the textures didn't load fast enough.

The only times you do see emotion from someone, it's similar to Carnby's "cap a bitch" outburst... it's like everyone in the game is schizophrenic. And, who knows. I haven't beaten it yet... maybe that's the whole thing. But for now, it really stretches credibility. How hard is it to write some lines like "What the hell IS that thing?", and sprinkle them in now and then?

Alone in the Dark gets VERY high marks for it's ambition and scale. Few games developers even TRY to push the envelope anymore, and Eden Studios is to be congratulated. But glitches, a wacky script, and the bad driving sections (or, perhaps more accurately, the unfinished mechanic) hamstring what could have been a solid 10 down to a 7 or 6. I have a feeling that's not entirely their fault... Atari has a history of shoving it's children out the door before they've learned to walk, and since the company looks to be going bankrupt (again), I'm sure they were desperate to launch this game. Hopefully it won't be the death of the series, however, since this title really breathes some new life and new ideas into the Survival Horror genre... they just needed to be better executed.

Personally, I'd love to see a sequel. Despite it's flaws and cringeworthy moments, the game is fun, well paced, and unique. I hope Eden Studios gets a chance to improve on what they've done right here, and eliminate some flaws. At the very least, Alone in the Dark is a good example of some ways the survival horror genre can be updated and improved for the next generation of games.

VERDICT: Rent it, for certain. You can beat it in a weekend, and it's worth a play. Buy it if you're a fan of Alone in the Dark, survival horror, or quirky games.