Alone in the Dark 2

aka: AITD2, Alone in the Dark: Jack is Back, Alone in the Dark: One-Eyed Jack's Revenge
Moby ID: 907
DOS Specs
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Description official descriptions

In Alone in the Dark 2, you take the role of detective Edward Carnby, one of the two main characters in the original Alone in the Dark. Carnby is now called upon to investigate a bootlegger named One Eyed Jack after an old detective colleague named Stryker attributes Jack to the kidnapping of young Grace Saunders. Stryker attempts to infiltrate Jack's dilapidated mansion of Hell's Kitchen and rescue the girl, only to disappear himself. That's where Carnby comes in.

Carnby soon learns that Jack and his gangsters are really 15th-century pirates who gained immortality after Jack joined forces with Elizabeth Jarret, a Voodoo witch. However, the dark magic which keeps them immortal also requires Jack and his crew to regularly make human sacrifices (which explains Grace's kidnapping).

Now Carnby must battle his way through Hell's Kitchen and Jack's army of Tommy-gun-wielding gangsters, searching for a way to break the spell and make them stay dead.

Alone in the Dark 2 is an action-adventure game, similar to the original Alone in the Dark. Like its predecessor, the game uses hybrid 2D-3D graphics. Completing the game requires you to solve a lot of puzzles while fighting zombie pirates along the way. Some enemies can be killed with the numerous weapons at your disposal, while others need to be defeated via trickery.

Apart from Edward Carnby, the game also includes a short section (two sections in the CD-ROM version) where you play as the little Grace Saunders. Grace obviously cannot fight, and thus the sections featuring her are all about fast reflexes and wits to evade and outsmart the enemies.

Spellings

  • アローン・イン・ザ・ダーク 2 - Japanese spelling
  • 鬼屋魔影2 - Chinese spelling (simplified)

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Credits (DOS version)

35 People (27 developers, 8 thanks) · View all

Produced by
Directed by
First Assistant
Screenplay
Production Design
Technical Assistant
Cutting
3D Modelling & Animations
Set Designers
Designers
Illustrations
Flashback
Roughman
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Original Score & Sound Effects
Additional Music
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 75% (based on 47 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.5 out of 5 (based on 106 ratings with 8 reviews)

A brilliant sequel to a well-known classic

The Good
First of all, it includes a plot featuring BOTH gangsters and pirates for you to deal with on your mission to save Grace Sanders, a kidnapped girl. Now all you have to see is the introduction and you have a clear idea about what is going on, there isn't even any speech in the intro (except the quiet narration you can hear). All you see is a guy climbing across the windows of an old mansion and he just happens to make it into the right room where Grace lies captive. In the same intro, the same guy get STRANGLED by a PUPPET, now that is original and creepy. Soon after that, you step in the shoes of Carnby (the guy from the last game). After blowing down the front gate, you're ready to begin! The music is also excellent I believe as well as the creativity and effort that was put in this game.

The Bad
The game sadly relies on you to do a lot of guesswork. I mean, there is one part in the game where you have to combine a rope and hook (simple enough) then throw it an arm of a statue to open a door, now does that sound simple enough if you're under ten years old at that time. I mean, of course you have to scan your eyes across a photo, but kids aren't gonna have that patience.

The Bottom Line
Well despite a few flaws, Alone in the dark 2 is a great game. Just because the game has outdated graphics, doesn't mean this game is bad. In fact, a lot of people across the World Wide Web have stated this game a classic. It just proves that better graphics doesn't make a better game and that is no exception for this jewel.

DOS · by Arejarn (7353) · 2008

A disappointing sequel, yet still worth a look for series fans.

The Good
A common complaint of the first game was its shortness and this one delivers a longer, harder game that is still quite immersing. While the story was not quite as interesting or mysterious as the original game, it was still a good mystery to solve. The puzzles are also well done. Only a few did I think were a bit too obtuse.

The Bad
For some reason the designers of this game thought that the reason why people loved the original was for the combat. This game has a huge increase in fighting over the first which really tested my patience for the game. The weak point of the first Alone in the Dark game was the awkward combat. It is barely functional and only worked because it was not used very often. Its sparse use meant you never really had to dwell on its limitations. Unfortunately since this game is more about fighting bad guys than ever before I soon started to lose interest in the game. This problem is especially apparent in the opening to the game which is mainly combat oriented. I'm sure this game turned off a lot of new players as they were constantly cut to pieces in the opening moments of what is supposed to be an adventure game.

The Bottom Line
The higher emphasis on fighting in this game spoils what would have been a pretty solid adventure game. Still there is enough in the game for me to marginally recommend it to fans of the first one. But for newcomers it might be best to stay away and play the original.

DOS · by woods01 (129) · 2002

Not a patch on the original, but fun nevertheless....

The Good

I own the PlayStation version, and it is one of my favourite games. It is hard to come by now, so if you can find a copy....

Alone in the Dark 2 isn't really a horror game. It is horror like in that there's another big mansion with a creepy feel to it, but the enemies in this game act just like normal pirates, and the emphasis is focused more on action than horror.

The controls are very annoying. You have to press different keys at once, and you also have to do a lot of running. If you get cornered by a pirate armed with a Tommy gun, it usually signals the end of your game unless you can find a way to get past this problem.

The story involves the kidnapping of a young child, and the subsequent attempts to rescue her from the clutches of a fearsome pirate gangster. You play as Edward Carnby, the same detective from the original Alone in the Dark game (although it is almost impossible to compare the two since they are so different).

Anything can be used as a weapon against the pirate goons: Frying pans, guns, swords or even your own fists and feet. This is quite clever in my view. The numerous notes you find barely serve a purpose, but they do add a background story to many of the strange foes you encounter.

Playing as Little Grace Saunders is a lot of fun. But sadly, it is not to last as you will quickly resume gameplay as Edward Carnby shortly there after. Hearing Grace make baby like noises as she attempts to ascend a ladder on the pirate's ship is quite cute, and it is strangely challenging having to control a character who has many childish restrictions.

There are loads of environments to explore and the notes are narrated by voice actors, which is quite exciting.



The Bad
Awkward controls, outdated graphics and an emphasis on shooting rather than puzzles make Alone in the Dark 2 a major disappointment to fans of the H.P. Lovecraft-esque original. If you can look past the flaws, then you have a fun game to play through.

The Bottom Line
It might be a sequel to a horror game, but fans of the original may be let down by this very different sequel.

PlayStation · by Melvin Raeynes (22) · 2007

[ View all 8 player reviews ]

Trivia

Controversy

In the UK, some moral guardians were shocked by Alone In The Dark 2's content. Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Burdis from South Yorkshire CID called for the game to be banned from sale to children, saying, "It's sick. It can terrify them, damage their thought processes and make them insecure for life." Prompted by this, the Sheffield Star newspaper ran the headline, "Ban Kids From This Computer Sickness".

(info sourced from: PC Format magazine)

Music

When Carnby dies, the haunting music that plays in the background is "Vesti la Giubba" from the opera "I Pagliacci".

Processor speed

In order to not give spoilers, I will try to talk very generally.

There are various actions you're supposed to do within the game that are now impossible. The problem is that they rely on special timing within the AITD2 code. Modern computers are so fast that the timing routines no longer work, and these actions are not doable by computers that use a processor faster than a Pentium II. Therefore, you can not finish the game on a modern computer without resorting to slowing down your processor.

There are various utilities you can obtain via Google to slow down your processor.

Datapoint: On an AMD 1.3GHz Athlon, I had to slow my CPU down to about 40% before the actions became doable. One of the very first puzzles in the game is one of the undoable ones, so you should know right away whether you'll be able to finish the game or not without slowing down your CPU.

Awards

  • PC Player (Germany)
    • Issue 01/1995 - Most Annoying Copy Protection in 1994

Information also contributed by Artful Gamer, null-geodesic

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  • MobyGames ID: 907
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Alan Chan.

PC-98, FM Towns added by Terok Nor. Macintosh added by Scaryfun. 3DO added by Indra was here. SEGA Saturn added by CheshireCat. PlayStation added by Matthew Bailey.

Additional contributors: xroox, Matthew Bailey, Brolin Empey, Unicorn Lynx, Alaka, Freeman, ケヴィン, Patrick Bregger.

Game added February 25, 2000. Last modified March 16, 2024.