Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare

The Good
Those who have parosed the MobyGames sections for the original AitD games at any length will know that I am an old school Alone fan since the first game came out. I have been dying to get my hands on this title and now that I have I can safely say that I'm glad I did. The atmosphere is very dark in this one. The use of the flashlight is very nicely done with the light passing realistically over walls and objects. There are some good puzzles which are reasonably thought provoking and much better than the bog standard fare in Resident Evil. The books are very well written and are interesting to look through. They help shed light on the well crafted story that sits behind the game. You can play as 2 different characters in a similar fashion to Resident Evil 2, however in AitD4 the paths for each character are very different in both story and gameplay. So much so that aside from the overall story and setting it's much like having 2 unique adventures. It's not until you start to get fair way into the game with the 2nd character that you start to realize just how well the game fits together. The questions that you had at the end of the first time through are answered with the 2nd character and it's also nice to see that unlike the 2nd scenario in RE2 which saw you performing many of the same tasks that you had to in the first scenario, AitD does not make you do the same puzzles again, instead you have entirely different ones which not only makes sense logically but also means the replay value is such that you haven't really finished the game until you've played through with both characters.

The Bad
My interest in this game is not without reservation however. It's a shame that Darkworks decided to push more towards Resident Evil than Alone in the Dark and as a result, a lot of alone fans may feel they've been slightly short changed. Some of the puzzles are more akin to a harder version of the RE variety rather than Alone 1, 2 and 3, seemingly dumbed down for a more mainstream audience. It's also a real shame that the game has an unfinished feel towards the end where much of the polish covering the earlier half of the game is absent as the game is reduced to more of a run and gun situation. This also extends to a few continuity issues where we are expected to fill in the gaps with a few things that we shouldn't have to.

The Bottom Line
One of the better Survival horror titles to date, marred slightly by the half-hearted final section of the game. The 2 different characters are completely different to play thorough the game as so there's hours of entertainment to be had. It's a lot of fun but the few of you out there who are fans of the original Alone games who don't like Resident Evil may want to give it a try before they buy. However, I for one will be standing in line for my copy when the next title in the Alone in the Dark saga is released.

The Good
the moment i switched this game on and got to control the character i knew this would be one hell of a game. the character is not exactly light on his or her feet not like in res-evil or silent hill 2 but that does not spoil the game its still good. the music and the darkness are what really make this game good you feel as if you are in a horror movie and that you are trapped in an old house stuck away out in the middle of no where all alone with the things that go bump in the night :). the atmosphere is faultless as is the music there was one part i felt scared at and it was where you went through a grave yard if you used the woman character and it was as creepy as hell you were passing all these vaults that had no doors on them and it was pitch black and you were expecting something to jump out at you from the of the vaults. im not telling you if there was something or somethings that jumped out at you because it would spoil the atmosphere and your enjoyment of the game.

the atmosphere in this game is as good as the atmosphere in the silent hills maybe even better just maybe though. the weapons you got for the guy were: a double barreled 357 magnum or at least that is what it looked like and a tripple barreled shotgun which was great fun in using but you ran out of ammo if you didnt watch what you were doing and a few other weapons that were ok to use like a kind of laser gun that you could charge up with these kind of crystals you found lying at the side of cavern walls. so you kind of had infinite ammo for the laser gun which was usefull at times a plasma gun which looked like a blooming flame thrower when you fired it. and for the woman: a pistol and the tripple barreled shotgun and one or two of the guns the guy had. puzzles were a little difficult at times which was one of my only complaints about the game. but apart from that the game is fine a worthy opponent for the survival horror crown which i think belongs to Silent Hill 2 just now because i havent played the gamecube version of the res-evil yet because it`s not out in the uk yet.

The Bad
one or two of the puzzles were a little annoying and the guy could have been just a little lighter on his feet. when the end credits were playing it had a crppy song playing were was the TESTAMENT song called ALONE IN THE DARK it should have been playing at the end credits. it can be found on the cd THE LEGACY.

The Bottom Line*
if you like survival horror games then i dont see why you will not like this game because it has atmosphere and has good controls not great but good and that is what a survival horror should be like if it is to be good.

better than the 3 A.I.T.D games that came before it far far superior in every way.

The Good
The Alone in the Dark series has offered a very early and interesting shot at action adventures. It always focused on the creation of a dense atmosphere and so does its newest addition. The graphics are dark and you will often have to find your way using your character's flashlight.
The game offers two different characters, which leads to different gameplays depending on your choice.

The Bad
The graphics are surprisingly low-res and remind me of Playstation games. Additionally the designers failed to correct one of the most nerve wracking gameplay errors ever. In all Alone in the Dark games it has been a great hassle to find the "hot spot" for a pick up item. That's the area where the game actually recognizes what you would like to do. So you will find yourself often walking from left to right in front of a door, feverishly trying to open it.

The Bottom Line
The game is a horror adventure with good atmosphere, a relatively high replay value (because of the two different characters) and nerve wracking keyboard control.