Alone in the Dark

[woodyear99]

Hmm sounds like the controls aren't tight enough, wtf I thought when u went into ur jacket/inventory the game would pause....

[chinarakinda]

real life don't pause lol. They probably wanted to make the game more tense, frightening and realistic.

[Rten-Kakashi]

Apparently succeeded in that department..to some extent, even with those ideas in mind though, looks everything didn't quite come together for a sweet package, as we all hoped it would...according to this review hmm hmmm =/    \=

I've been seeing a lot of mixed reviews for this game since yesterday, would you believe that  some sites gave it as high as 8.5 and others as low as 3.0? I'm not sure who to believe... but on the up side (for you 360 ppl) looks like the 360 version was ze best...

IGN UK reviewed it as well... http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/883/883153p1.html

Here is their little summary...

7.5 Presentation
     There's plenty to like, from interfaces to the the DVD-style chapter select, but as a whole the game lacks polish.

 8.0 Graphics
       Atmospheric use of fire, fog and shadow, but poor animation and first-gen plastic sheen takes the edge off detailed characters and environments.
 
 7.5 Sound
       There's a beautiful score, used sparsely, but uneven voice acting and strange effects work are detrimental.

7.0 Gameplay
      It's frequently thrilling and refreshingly imaginative. However, frustrating segments and some awful design decisions threaten to derail proceedings.

7.0 Lasting Appeal
      Without the tedious tree-trouncing, you're looking at around ten hours. Needless padding is so painful though, it's a chore to complete.

Overall 7.0

Imo they b1tched too much about the negatives, but it got a 7.0...

7 - 7.9 - good

8 - 8.9 - great

9 - 9.9 Excellent

10 - ...you're a noob if you can't think of an adjective to describe this...

[vinion2000]

i kinda expected Alone in the dark to be not so hot. its hard to make a truly creepy third person experience without some aspect of the gameplay ruining it (a longer discussion for another time ). i think first person is a much better medium, just take a look at fear and the very creepy condemn series.
survival horror games are always a hit an miss with me. i keep looking for that moment where i get scared shyteless by a flock of crows ( like in resident evil 3 ). sadly it never comes and now that the patterned RE controls and camera a staple of most of these games, they mostly suck. i was kinda glad when RE4 killed that in favour of the over the shoulder type experience. i doubt ill play RE5 though. there just isnt something right about playing as a white guy plowing through a zombified african village. it just doesnt settle with me quite right. capcom isnt the most sensitive company i know and ill have to see a few more gameplay elements to be convince this wont end   up a kkk best buy.

[AvatarTT]

^ Ever played Silent Hill? Best 3rd person survival horror, not including SH4 of course. F.E.A.R. is nothing compared to that in terms of scariness but I guess is what type of gameplay you prefer. I like both.

As for the RE5 comment , didn't it bother you when a white guy was plowing through a zombified Spanish village in RE4?

[vinion2000]

^ Ever played Silent Hill? Best 3rd person survival horror, not including SH4 of course. F.E.A.R. is nothing compared to that in terms of scariness but I guess is what type of gameplay you prefer. I like both.

As for the RE5 comment , didn't it bother you when a white guy was plowing through a zombified Spanish village in RE4?

i think in terms of sillent hill part 2 is a classic. it was creepy and had a well thought out plot. the problem though with these games is the backtracking and messed up camera. the reason i say fear cause i know alot of ppl who couldnt finish fear cause it had the really really subtle elements that can cause long term trauma. plus the fact that your in first person mode places you in the story rather than in a more cinematic presence. not that third person is bad but it can almost give you that self assurance that your looking at someone in a scary situation rather than transplanting you into it. silent hill 2 really ranked high on the shit myself meter but fear left a huge i may never play this game again feeling.

Capcom is as traditional as traditional japanese business models get i.e. find something that works beat it to death, give it some cybernetic parts and beat it to death again (megaman anyone). i find it hard to believe that Capcom will tastefully make a game where a white guy mows through black villagers. its probably going to have almost every african cliche ever imagined, mix in some mysticism for good measure. ill probably still try the demo if and when its made available in market place but i dont expect much.

[chinarakinda]

with all these mixed reviews for alone in the dark, I hope a demo comes to xbox live.