Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare

"Great game, that's good for all!"

One word..WOW. Alone in the Dark has come along way from 256 colors to full screen 3D. My inital reaction, is this game is great. Great games are hard to find these days. Alone in the Dark is one of those few games that gets things done correctly.

However, to be fair I should list what system I was running the game on. I played this game on my Duron 900, with a Voodoo3 3000. Now that you know what I was running on, lets get to what the review is about..shall we:-)

GAME PLAY- I won't lie, it might take awhile for you to get used to the keyboard set-up. While, no, it will not tear your fingers up..it might make them red with all the reaching. Kudos to Darkworks and Infogrames for giving the player the ability to do make-shift changes to the keyboard, and being able to re-define the controls. They could of easily left that out. Also, almost any gamepad will work, I tested a few(to many to name) and they worked wonders. The controls are good enough, but not great(Better than the first 3 games in the series though). It's also a pretty long game, you can play as either a guy or a girl- both with great tales and stories. It took me a solid 5 days to beat this game(no walkthroughs). Which is longer than some console RPGS.

GRAPHICS- This is where the game truely shines. If you have a Geforce 3, no your not going to get anything special. However, before considering this game make sure you have at least 16 megabytes of VRAM.(Video Ram). Pure eye-candy though. The graphics are suberb in every sence of the word. From the Detailed faces, to the lush (although pre-rendered) backrounds. The game is played in a dark atmostphere- and with the aid of a flashlight, you walk around and explore. I could sit here and tell you about how cool the Flashlight effects are..or how they are the best lighting effects in a game to date..but 1)You won't believe me and 2) I wouldn't want you to. Just one look and you'll be hooked. Excellent as you move the light around onto statue's how it lights up. I'm impressed as will the gamer.

SOUND- EXCELLENT! Great gunfire sounds, dogs barking, wind, rain..all very good. The music..I could take or leave.. while it definatly fits the mood of the game(make no mistake about that) sometimes it seems like playing a techno song at a county barn house..it seems out of place. The voice overs..are of coarse..B-rated..this is to be expected. But one doesn't play a survivaly horror game for voice overs..the text is good enough for me... Overall though, it's superb. I have the Klipsh Promedia 4.1..and WOW!!! I tested it on a lower end Pulse 2.1,..and still..WOW.

SCARE FACTOR- No example's will be given..but if you want the MAX play at night..around midnight(I played at 1am) if you have surround sound..it's better..if not..no worries..it's just as good. You NEVER know what's coming around the corner. The Monsters were a little to be desired for..but overall..you'll be jumping a lot..

I loved this game personally..even with a dated video card it still is excellent. I didn't say a lot of negative..because truth be told..their isn't a whole lot. Great game..worth the 50 or so bucks..it's a keeper..

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/03/01, Updated 07/03/01