Consolation Prize

Small alarm bells start ringing in my head when demo’s are released onto Xbox Live Marketplace after a game has already been released. The cynic in me wonders what the publishers are trying to hide and if it’s just an exercise in damage limitation so the game is at least guaranteed some sales before word gets out that it isn’t as good as the developer diaries and the previews showcased. However after playing through the available chapters in the Alone on the Dark demo the game wasn’t as bad as I was expecting.

The demo starts off impressively as the player partakes in an interactive cut scene whilst the character of Edward Carnby lies half unconscious on a bed unable to move but able to see and hear, and occasionally having to blink to stop his vision from becoming blurred. Eventually you’re led off to be taken “care of” by one of your unknown captors giving rise to your release from captivity once your escort falls foul of some unseen assailant and leaves you to free explore your surroundings.

Alone in the Dark has some good production values and the cut scenes shown throughout the demo have a very cinematic feel about them. Graphically it looks decent enough, the main character model is fine, if a little woodenly animated, but the environments all look great and the fire effects as the flames flicker and dance across flammable surfaces are excellent. Speaking of which, fire seems to be an integral game mechanic. Used not only as a hazard to impede your progress but it can also be turned to your advantage; Furniture can be used to create torches lighting darkened rooms, locked doors can be burnt down, but most importantly fire is the Achilles heel of the inhuman denizens of the game.

The items selection screen employed in Alone in the Dark is quite novel with Edward opening up his ample jacket exposing various slots that can be navigated around. There are only a limited number of slots available to store weapons, medical sprays, torches, and other useful items you may find lying about, but the primary use of all these items is the ability to combine them to create more effective weapons and tools. For example you can use both a lighter and a medical spray to create a mini flamethrower. The demo does however only give you access to a few items to mess around with but it does suggest how this principle could be used throughout the game.

Unfortunately for all the presentation and decent graphics the game seems to be let down by an awkward and lumbering Edward Carnby and hampered by some cumbersome and unintuitive controls. Switching between items in your coat can be quite slow and apart from an obvious item, like your gun, other objects are quite hard to immediately identify which can cost the player vital seconds when in combat. The controls aren’t all bad however, I thought the use of the right joystick to swing melee items such as axes or chairs was well implemented.

Alone in the Dark doesn’t seem to be a bad game. There are some novel and interesting ideas shown in the demo but I’m still left with a niggling feeling that there are further flaws left buried within the game. There’s not enough on show here to convince me it’s worthy of a purchase and it’s a game I’d prefer to rent rather than buy.