Alone in the Dark

The Good
First off I bought this game when it first came out. I was amazed by the fluid 3d graphics, haunting camera angles and tricky puzzles. I was an instant fan. The story is basically a haunted house plot but has a suprising depth to it thanks largely to the fantastically written books that are found around the mansion. The puzzles, unlike the simplistic fodder that's featured in more recent games of the genre such as the famous Resident Evil, are challenging and thought provoking but are never without clues, however hidden. The music on the cd version is great and if you can get hold of it in this form, it's well worth getting. (you also get an exclusive mini adventure called Jack in the Dark that is all but forgotten now.)

The Bad
The puzzles, while good, also have a hidden evil in that it's possible to stuff something up leaving you unable to finish the game without restoring. Also some sudden death is featured so save often and use multiple saves. The game is fairly short. On the first time through you will likely not take more than a few days and subsequent plays are completed in under an hour. Lastly, the battle system is a little confusing at times because of the camera angles.

The Bottom Line
Alone in the Dark is a fantastic survival horror game which started the entire genre. It suffers slightly from some unwinnable situations but if you're a fan of the genre then you really should check it out if only just to see where it all began.

The Good
EVERYTHING! The 3D graphics are extremely outdated and boy are they blocky! But the game itself, oh my god! This is just one of those games. You have to download it, play it yourself, see it yourself. You will not believe the good time you will have, especially all the written material lying all around the mansion. I did realize why the written stuff was so good, it's all based on an old H.P. Lovecraft book called "The Call Of Cthulu"...a bit of trivia for you!

The Bad
It doesn't run well on modern computers, remember it was made in 1992 and designed to run on 286 and 386 computers. Find and download a program I used called SLOWDOWN by Bret someone or another and slow your modern rig down to 286 speed. Now you can run by double tapping the Up Arrow. One minor thing though, because of the perspective it's a bit hard aiming that revolver and bow. Don't worry, you'll get used to it!

The Bottom Line
Download and play, you won't regret it...hell I can't even believe it even after all this time...

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.