July 1st, 2008 by Slackerchan
Also available on:
PS3, PS2, WII, PC Central Dark
As far as I can recall this is the first survival horror title to exist in a sandbox environment. The scale in which Eden Studios has recreated Central Park is surprisingly deep, as it maps down every path, road, and bench to within about a yard of its real life location. While slightly twisted by the forces at work with fissures and divides that separate the park from the rest of the city and a very apocalyptic presentation thereof it is still a very nice recreation that is worthy of praise. Every single landmark on the map is present including Belvedere Castle, Delecorte Theatre and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Heck, I’m certain that if you were to play the game enough and memorize the map, upon actually visiting Central Park you would never feel lost.
Even though the game is set entirely within the confines of Central Park, there is a nice diversity of environments that range from sewers to building interiors and even underground ruins. While Edward is not granted the ability to swim (otherwise known as GTA 3 syndrome) he can still travel everywhere on the map that is not a deep chasm. Indeed, the highest point of merit within Alone in the Dark is the park itself as you will learn.
Things that Go Bump in the Night
As a survival horror game it is a given that any enemy you encounter is designed specifically kill your character. Alone in the Dark is no exception to this rule. However, given some fundamental flaws in the game’s design it is far from being a horror game that drives you to frantically play it safe to ensure your survival. Dare I say it but it seems that the game does not frighten you in the least. The horror aspect of the game is absolutely minimal and not once will it make you jump off your couch in fright.
What makes the game abysmal in terms of horror are the enemies you encounter, ranging from possessed ‘Humanz,’ bats known as ‘Vampirez,’ and poison-chucking insects known as ‘Ratz’. That’s it. Given the small variety one would expect a number of random different AI attack routines upon each encounter. Again the game fails as the AI is in itself blatantly stupid in all regards. The only time it seems your enemies are smart is when they are retreating from you because you are wielding an axe that’s on fire. I believe that everyone should flee from such an imposing weapon and those that don’t, well, deserve a Darwin Award. I apologize, but sticking a Z at the end of your enemies’ names does not make them unique. The survival aspect is made redundant based on the fact that fire, essentially the arsenic for every single enemy in the game, is easily found or made and can end any encounter you have in just a matter of seconds.
The horror aspect only appears in terms of the game controls. Put quite simply, unless the game is played almost exclusively in the first-person perspective, players will find that, despite being in a mainly closed-in third-person camera ala Resident Evil 4, Edward handles like a tank. The controls are clunky at best and one of the main reasons you will die throughout the games. In addition, the game does not pause when you have entered your inventory screen and can thus result in further damage should you be in the middle of a swarm. Perhaps this is an attempt to conform to the RWR set but its poor game design for inexperienced players.
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