Summary
The original and best.
The Good
Alone in the Dark gave birth to survival horror, and while Resident Evil made this very genre a household name for gamers, Alone in the Dark was the founding father of the category.
As either Edward Carnby or Emily Hartwood, you explore the large mansion Derceto. Unlike Resident Evil, there aren't multiple endings or character specific privileges, so you need not worry about which character you decide to control....
Many puzzles are straight-forward, but not always. The enemies are mainly zombies, but they are infrequent, and some of the other ghouls are just there to make you solve a puzzle quicker and then exit the area before the monster/ghost gets close to you. In one memorable scene, you have to pick up something left in a ballroom, but without alerting the dancing ghosts to your position. This can be tricky, so I advise you to save first.
Some copies of the game came packaged with Jack in the Dark, a mini game starring Grace Saunders from Alone in the Dark 2. It is a very simplistic adventure in which you have to rescue Santa Claus from a gang of toys that have mysteriously come to life.
The Bad
The game(s) have blocky graphics, and using a keyboard to control your character(s) gets incredibly boring after a while.
The Bottom Line
Alone in the Dark is a splendid mixture of puzzles and monster fun, with a strong emphasis on the work of H.P. Lovecraft.
